Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: Original Draft
by SKOOLATOON
Summary: Sendai Hakurei no Miko, which when directly translated, means "The Miko who Came Before". Translated further, that means "Reimu's Mom". Guess what? She's alive now! Woah! Why? 'Cause freakin', why not? Also- why is action not a genre? 'Cause this is very action-centric! Come on in and watch Reimu's Mom try not to die a second time...!
1. 1-1 - Bond of Scarlet

She opened her eyes.

"..."

Sitting up, the six foot tall miko found herself lying in a grassy field. Wind softly blew through her long black hair, and passed through her clothes.

She wore a black leotard underneath a thick red cloth apron, and a hakama. Two long Hakurei arm sleeves hung off each arm, attached by mysterious means which were most likely strings.

...

Springing into a standing position with her arms, she took a good look around the surrounding area. Before her was a lake, and to the right of that was a peculiar looking manor, complete with a clock tower.

The miko who came before cracked her knuckles.

"...I might as well. I have promises to keep."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 1 - Scarlet Bloodlines

STAGE 1 - Bond of Scarlet

' _What even happened…?_ '

Using her arm, Sendai Hakurei no Miko- the miko who came before- shielded her eyes from the day's sun. Scanning her surroundings, she spotted a familiar lake… and an unfamiliar mansion.

Narrowing her eyes at the structure, she spoke aloud. "...Just what the hell is that?"

' _The village doesn't have that kind of manpower or resources…_ ' She furrowed her brows. ' _Besides, I've only been dead for…_ '

…

She sighed. ' _I don't know how long I've been dead, but I'm alive now. Not usually a thing you wonder about yourself._ '

Bringing her arms behind her head, she stretches. "Hn~h…"

' _Yakumo doesn't strike me as the type who'd revive a Hakurei on a whim, either. I suppose the answer will come to me in time._ '

...

Finished stretching, Sendai runs her hands through her small pockets…

' _Ah. I still have my things…_ '

Bringing her hand out, she took out a Hakurei talisman, and threw it forward-

Woosh. It left a glowing trail of light as it flew off like a bullet, soaring into the distance of the plains…

Reaching into her pocket, she took out a small yin-yang orb this time…

Holding it up, she made it maximize to about the size of her upper body in diameter.

"Hup!" Jumping into the air, she brought her other arm back-

 _Smack!_ The orb arced into the air after she smacked it, before succumbing to gravity-

 _Bam!_ Moments after she landed, the orb also landed, bouncing in the dirt.

' _Everything seems to work. I don't even have any cramps..._ ' Reaching her hands into her sleeve, Sendai muddled about-

' _...Oh._ '

She takes out a handful of holy salt, freshly generated by magical means. ' _Useful._ '

Idly, she tossed the handful forward. The thick salt clumps fell to the ground lazily.

Returning her gaze to the lake in the distance, Sendai took a deep breath… and began running-

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Her sandals thundered against the dirt, kicking up grass and soil in her wake as she barreled towards the misty lake, a goal that was well over two thousand feet in distance from where she first stood.

' _I might as well check out that mansion I saw..._ '

Within moments, she skidded to a halt before the lake. Moving slower, she progressed to the water before staring into it.

She saw her reflection in the shallows. ' _...This is all too surreal._ '

...Looking up at the sky over the lake, she saw an ice fairy and a greater fairy approaching her.

She snorted. ' _A greater fairy following a generic fairy…_ '

"Heya, Reimu!" The blue-haired one waved at the miko. When she got closer, she gaped. "Woaa~h! Your hair got super long!"

The miko's gaze hardened. ' _...Reimu?_ '

"U-uhm, Cirno-chan…" Floating up behind her friend, the green-haired greater fairy stuttered. "I don't think... that's the shrine maiden you're looking for…"

...Floating closer to the miko, Cirno narrowed her eyes. "...Well, then she can get outta my way! Eye wanted to talk to Reimu!"

Abruptly, a barrage of icicles whirred out to meet the miko.

' _What…!?_ ' Tensing up, she braced for the impact.

…

' _...They're not as lethal as I thought._ ' Looking at her arms in the midst of the icicle barrage, she noticed the projectiles dissipate against her skin. ' _Danmaku. Where'd a fairy learn this…?_ '

"Hahaha~! Eye hit her, Eye hit her!" Cirno ceased firing danmaku, taking time to mock her as she floated higher into the air. "Stupid fake shrine maiden!"

...Breaking her guarding posture, the miko simply began to continue around the lakeside, indifferent.

"Cirn-Cirno-chan…" Again, the great fairy spoke up. "She's leaving."

"What!?" Roaring towards the shrine maiden, Cirno moved past her and into her way. Positioning herself in the middle of the path, she put her arms on her hips. "Haha~! You can't run from me, fake-"

Pi~chun!

"Ci-Cirno-chan!?" The great fairy flinched back, surprised.

With just one punch, the miko had obliterated the ice fairy entirely. She moved so fast that the great fairy didn't even see the exchange, but the dark shockwave that had spread from where Cirno was told her all she needed to know.

...Quickly, the green-haired fairy flew away.

' _Annoying as always…_ ' Surveying the path ahead, Sendai sighed. ' _They never did learn._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei No Miko Mode: _Hong Meiling_ ====

As she approached the mansion gates, the sun began to set.

"...Gorgeous."

Facing the setting sun, Sendai took a deep breath of fresh air. Her eyes scanned the horizon, taking in the contours of distant mountains bathed in the horizon's azure fog. ' _Mountains past the barrier, that no one will ever reach._ '

...All except for one mountain, but that was close enough as it was. It didn't hold the allure the horizon did, for her.

"Is that so~?"

' _...Hmm?_ '

Turning around, Sendai spotted a ball of darkness slowly drifting closer to her…

"Hi!" It greeted her.

"..." Sendai stared into it.

"You smell delicio~us…" The ball of darkness drifted closer.

' _Just some youkai._ '

Reaching into her sleeve, the miko drew a small, bulbous bottle filled with blue liquid.

' _Replicable mana molotovs._ ' Her eyes ran over the mana-generated glass and liquid with vague appreciation, and nostalgia. ' _Just like old times._ '

Before the dark ball could make any more moves, Sendai tossed the pseudo-molotov in.

Crack! It exploded into a small splash of a holy concoction on impact-

"Aa-aaa~h!" The darkness dissipated, holy flames licking the clothes of the young, blonde girl inside. She erratically darted back into the woods, slamming against trees as she does so, stifling some of the flames in the process.

…

Sendai smiled. ' _Didn't Marcus try to use those as seasoning one time? Hmhm. Being alive again… is a unique feeling._ '

…

Stepping forward, she took the time to examine the way the setting sun's rays splay across the path ahead. ' _I feel like I've seen that youkai before. It's just barely eluding me..._ '

...Eventually, she came up to the manor's gate. Her eyes ran along the thick brick walls on either side. ' _How welcoming. Especially the gothic architecture._ ' ...She rubbed the back of her neck. ' _It's a little early to start talking about gothic architecture…_ '

Glancing at the sleeping woman beside the gate, Sendai continued towards it…

"Reimu?" As it turned out, the green-clad woman was not sleeping at all.

Sendai stopped before the gate, turning to face the woman.

' _...They may know my daughter here, it seems…_ '

"You're… not Reimu." The green-clad woman, who also had long, orange hair, began to tense up.

"Observant." Sendai's eyes flicker across the form of the opposite woman, before resting on her eyes.

…

"Who are you?" Parting from her wall, the orange-haired woman stands to face the miko, her posture rigid but not yet aggressive. "I am Hong Meiling, gate guard of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." Her voice was formal.

...Turning to face Meiling, Sendai's own posture betrays rigidity. "I am the Hakurei miko."

Meiling narrowed her eyes. "...Is that so?"

…

"Forgive me, but… there is already a Hakurei miko. You may resemble her, but…" Looking into Sendai's eyes, Meiling refused to drop her fixed posture. "This hasn't been the first time we've been visited by a Reimu knockoff, you know. Doppelgangers like you aren't typically very good at their jobs."

' _Hah. Doppelgangers. She's got a good head on, at least for a guard._ '

Suddenly, Meiling relaxed, giving her a thumbs up. "You're doing a good job so far, though! Just… make yourself a bit shorter, and work on the hair. I guess not talking a lot works… but Reimu's a little more chatty than that."

...Allowing herself to smirk a little, Sendai denied her claim. "...Your sense is good. However, I am not claiming to be Reimu Hakurei."

Meiling rose a brow. "Oo~h? Who're you cosplaying as, then…?"

"I am the miko who came before." Sendai revealed, slightly shifting her posture to be more comfortable.

…

"Is that…" Meiling looked skeptical. "Is that even a thing? I don't really know how the Hakurei work."

' _...Really, now. I somehow doubt this ignorance, especially for such a structure in the middle of what was once a plain. This gate guard is a youkai, too._ '

Equally skeptical, though not showing it, Sendai nodded. "The Hakurei are a bloodline."

...Meiling made an 'o' shape with her mouth. "Oo~h. So that'd make you Reimu's mom, then. In that case, that disguise looks fine. You're gonna have to explain that to people a lot..."

' _For such an organized youkai stronghold, it shouldn't be possible for them to be so unaware of the Hakurei. If random, nameless, unassociated youkai were able to believe they could use what they knew against me, surely an entire manor fortress like this would assume just as much._ '

"I would like to inspect this manor." The miko stepped up to the gate, and put her hand on it. "I do not recognize it."

' _If this youkai stronghold is here to resist my daughter and let the youkai stake an organized foothold against the village…_ '

' _...I'll tear it down with my bare hands._ ' Sendai exhaled.

"Well, that's where I'll have to stop ya." Meiling spoke up, tensing up again. "...Also, take your hand off the gate, please."

Sendai did not.

...Meiling furrowed her brows, beginning to take a hostile stance. "Seriously, you're not getting in. It's not visiting hours, and you're not going in disguised, I can tell you that much. Come back at night, and I'll reconsider."

' _Quite an obvious trap setup. Were it not a trap, those reasons would still be insufficient._ '

…

"I'm afraid I cannot put off this inspection." Looking over the gate, then back at Meiling, the miko's expression remained neutral.

For a moment, the two continued to stare into eachother's eyes levelly.

"...Then, you leave me no choice." Adopting a full-on aggressive stance, Meiling glared at the miko. "How many cards?"

' _Cards?_ '

…

Taking her silence as uncertainty, Meiling decided for her. "Three, I guess, then. Unless you don't have that many."

"Cards?" Sendai vocalized her uncertainty, keeping her expression unrevealing.

Meiling blinked. "...You know, danmaku?"

' _Danmaku…? Again?_ ' Sendai involuntarily grinned. ' _What is this…?_ '

The miko's amusement invoked a dry stare from the gatekeeper. "...What's that face for? Look, we could use danmaku, or I could just remove you the hard way. I'm bein' nice, here."

Her words sparked interest in Sendai's eyes. "...Let's do this the hard way."

...Blinking, Meiling dismissed her surprise at the blunt response. Quietly, she postures herself in preparation against any unexpected retaliation… then she struck, herself.

Fwoom.

In a quick instant, Meiling is next to the miko. A loud smack echoed across the front of the manor.

Meiling's fist was caught in the palm of the miko's free hand.

"Wha…" Her eyes widened. She brought up her own palm-

Fwoom.

Wind spiralled around the two, dissipating once they were still. Meiling caught the miko's fist in her palm, wincing at the pressure.

"What the hell…?" With wide eyes, she searched the miko's posture again. "...Not bad. But it'll take more than that."

Kicking a shoe into the soil, Meiling launched herself away from the miko. Dirt was kicked up in the latter's face, though she didn't acknowledge it.

...Once Meiling landed, she held up a hand, gesturing for the miko to come.

' _She's expecting a frontal assault. I might as well humor her._ '

…

Bringing her feet together, Sendai slowly brought her arms together in a grand motion, before clasping them together.

Meiling furrowed her brows at the motions, taking a defensive stance.

...Gradually, Sendai brought one hand out of the stance, keeping the other flat in the air. With her free hand, she formed a fist.

Meiling watched that hand closely-

 _Bam!_ The miko went from many feet away to directly in front of Meiling in an instant. A dark shockwave spread vertically in the air as a result of her strike.

"Geh!?" Meiling slid back from the strike, the palm she used to block it pushed back to her stomach.

Woosh! Sendai is before her again, giving her no time to recover. However, Meiling had launched herself into the air again to avoid more contact.

' _You're already fighting a losing battle._ '

Meiling searched for the miko below, keeping herself in the air with her flight abilities, but couldn't find her.

What she couldn't see was that the miko was under her, on the ground. Realizing this, Meiling looked down-

 _Bam!_ The miko rocketed up from under Meiling.

"Gekh!?" Receiving an uppercut to the jaw, the gate guard soared further up into the air…

Determined to turn this around, Meiling let the knockback help her execute a backflip, before she performed a kick back towards the ground.

The miko- who was now higher up than her due to her uppercut from earlier- also kicked down towards the ground, intent on surprising Meiling with a similar move.

Thoom! Meiling landed on the floor, crouching. She held her arms over her head-

 _Bam!_ A ring of dark energy bloomed out from where Sendai's kick landed on Meiling's arms. Promptly, the miko leapt away, leaving Meiling's arms bruised from the impact.

' _She's more experienced than I gave her credit for._ '

"You're…" Meiling looked up, watching the miko land thirty feet away. "You're not just some doppelganger, are you?"

"Observant." The miko grinned. "You're not just some youkai, either. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

...Standing fully, Meiling took some heavy breaths. "Let's just say I had a lot of time to practice. I come from the west."

At that, Sendai nodded, interest piqued. "I see. Show me more."

Smirking, Meiling intended to do just that. "Heh. Alright, then…!"

As the miko adopted a defensive stance, the gate keeper moved to engage her.

==== Sendai Hakurei No Miko Mode: _Hong Meiling_ ====

"Ha~h… ha~h…"

Sweat caked the gatekeeper's face and clothing…

"Just… what're you made of…?"

Rather than attack her opponent, the miko who came before decided to take this opportunity to survey the westerner's fighting technique by defending relentlessly.

' _I can't say it's familiar._ ' Gradually ending her defensive stance, she stood up straight. ' _On that note, she's equal with me when it comes to martial arts, I'd guess._ _Only thing is that none of us will actually get anywhere if we strike the right balance of technique and strength at all times..._ '

Sendai sighed. ' _I'm not sure how much she's holding back, either. I don't really want to go all out, myself._ '

Meiling still had an aggressive stance, despite her apparent exhaustion. "...What kind of youkai are you?"

The miko smiled. "I'm a human."

…

Her blunt statement vaguely annoyed Meiling. "No, really… I'm half-dragon, you know. It's not every day even a skilled youkai can keep up with my strength _and_ my skill…"

This caused Sendai to tilt her head. "Oh? Were you… going all out?"

"Well, almost." Tilting her head back and forth, Meiling relaxed slightly, composing herself better. "I could be exerting more power if I wanted… but it doesn't really help my body out. Burns a lot of mana, yeah?"

' _...Oh._ '

A soft wind blew across the gate's front, pushing the girl's hair gently.

"Now, I want you to show me what _you've_ got…" Reinforcing her aggressive stance, Meiling gave her a confident grin. "...I'm getting tuckered out a little, though, so don't blame me if I try to end this, okay?"

' _...She really needs to do more endurance training._ ' Sendai herself had only begun sweating, after Meiling's last series of kicks. Then, she looked at the sky…

The sun had, for all intents and purposes, set. A pink glow sat in the horizon, but most of the land was already dark.

' _...Ah. I wasted more time out here than I thought…_ '

Bam!

Sendai slid back, a rainbow-powered punch from Meiling slamming into her crossed arms.

' _Rainbow energy…?_ ' Eying her arms, Sendai observed the crackling, danmaku energy left in her arms from the punch. ' _That's a new way to use danmaku..._ '

"Eyes on me!" Meiling barked. "That's a rookie mistake! You're better than-"

Ba-bam, bam!

Sendai was on Meiling in an instant. Bringing up both her arms, Meiling blocked the three basic punches.

Taking the initiative, Meiling then began to perform a wide, sweeping kick-

The miko leaped, and kicked Meiling in the face.

"Guh…" Meiling stumbled back, before following up with an aggressive uppercut. It fell blatantly short, which Meiling planned on, using it as a vehicle to get herself into the air instead.

Anticipating her opponent would follow up with something aerial, the miko put her arms up above herself. Dark energy traveled along the length of her limbs…

Bam! Meiling's downward kick did nothing. Following up with her other leg, Meiling tried to go for a facial blow, but the miko's arms shifted to block that as well.

"Tch…" From there, Meiling springboarded away using the miko's arms, landing twenty feet away. She grinned back upon landing. "You just gonna block all day?"

Dark energy whirled around the miko's right arm. "...Maybe."

...At that, Meiling rolled her eyes. "...Not as good as I thought, then. Well…!" Rainbow energy began to run up Meiling's right arm. "Sorry, but this'll be it! It's been nice fighting you, though! We should do this again sometime!"

' _Yeah. Let's._ ' Sendai smiled back at her.

…

The two bolted towards one another-

 _Bam. Bam._

…

Fwoo~sh!

Dark energy pulsed through the air in a perfect disc, perpendicular to Sendai's punch.

Meiling's rainbow energy flared out wildly, the violent magical energy flaring on Sendai's stomach momentarily.

…

Black mist began to dissipate from where Meiling punched.

The gatekeeper lurched over, falling to the ground beside the miko.

' _You should've saved that rainbow energy for your real trump card._ ' Peacefully, Sendai approached the gate, leaving the gatekeeper to recover. ' _Although, you probably didn't think I'd go all out like that. Maybe I'll apologize to her later._ '

She rubbed the spot on her stomach Meiling punched for a moment. ' _...I wonder if she could've guarded with her chi and rainbow magic similarly. She saw me guard with my darkness more than once, too. Hmm._ '

Sendai shook the gate. It was locked.

' _...Really._ '

Dryly, she gave the lock on the front a half-assed chop.

Cra~ck! It broke in two.

' _If I can get past that gatekeeper, I don't think that lock would do much to stop me. It's probably got magic alarms, or something, then._ '

Proceeding with veiled caution, the miko leisurely walked across the front path of the manor, towards the entrance to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

STAGE COMPLETE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

intro and meiling fight

this fic was originally going to be one long oneshot but honestly splitting it into chapters is easier on everyone and allows more articulation

at the time of being split into chapters everything but the remilia fight's pretty much done here and i dunno how much i'm gonna go past the remi fight

experimenting with something that's not just BATSHIT INSANE COMEDY while still being presentable without relying on the excuse of being a bad self-insert story; sendai's technically an OC but i honestly don't consider her that much of one since she's supposed to fit into the setting and all that.

the main thing is that you can be very free with how she's customized since there's literally nothing to go off of other than "there was a hakurei before reimu, reimu set up the danmaku system". like, not even RELATIONSHIP HINTS...

\- w -

also she gets richter belmont's stuff sans the whip 'cause WHY NOT (yes even the stupid salt geyser item crash)

tell me how this is, tell me if it's remotely interesting, tell me if i'm doing the combat coherently / interestingly / in a way that makes sense, and whatever you do yo _don't hold back_ slap me silly yo slap me silly

if you expect this fic to have an overarching plot i dunno it might but my intent going in is that reimu's mom shows up and beats people up and finds a couple people she can't beat up so well alone and does some interesting things and yeah

anyway

this probably isn't the type of fic people expect from me but i plan to expand my horizons a bit yo and do lots and lots of new things (but also some old things with some new polish don't worry)

i try to entice people with every idea but some ideas just in and of themselves won't thematically line up key for key with other ideas, daz just how it is

also, the end-chapter inventory reel will only happen at the end of arcs if this continues and stuff, so you'll see one later but not next chapter, mostly 'cause these chapters are all short and it'd be weird if you saw them every couple thousand words

as always, see you all next ti-

-oh yeah, something to note: if you're expecting _Osana Reimu_ -esque stuff, lolnoep

i have indeed seen that touhou video series and this is not it - w - although that's a fun interpretation of a previous miko and is an emotional roller coaster that should be looked into yo

that series is a sequel to something i still need to watch though at some point so honh

on that note this chapter reminded my proofreader of that video short series _Burning Meiling_ on youtube. it's a fun action thing with meiling - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	2. 1-2 - Timeless Halls

Standing in the middle of the mansion's lobby, Sendai took in the sights.

Beneath her sat a deep red carpet, brown wooden trim connecting it to the room's walls. The walls all had scarlet wallpaper.

' _...How colorful._ '

Dim candles illuminated the lobby; however, their glow was currently overpowered by the sunlight's strength from the open door.

As such, once Sendai took enough steps in, the problem remedied itself...

The door slammed behind her. She took a glance back at it, but brushed the event off.

...

Promptly, she was peered at by a myriad of fairies clad in nearly formal maid outfits, who stood ahead of her in every forward direction.

"O~h…! Look at her hair!"

"She looks kinda like that shrine maiden…"

"Maybe she's her mom!"

"No- she's her _sister_. I saw her before…"

"Look at those _tits!_ "

Sendai stared back dryly. ' _What hell did I just walk into?_ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - Timeless Halls

Ignoring the fairies, the miko took a few steps forward-

"Visiting does not begin for another four hours."

A maid was standing ten feet away from her, whose presence was nowhere to be seen previously. Her costume was noticeably different from the other maids, including an assortment of knives along her thighs.

Sendai blinked.

"I must ask you to leave." The silver-haired maid informed her. "You may come back later, if the mistress is so inclined."

Fairies spoke in hushed whispers, quickly filing out of the lobby to allow the lone, non-fairy maid to have her space.

Nodding slowly, Sendai stared forward somewhat disinterestedly… "Right. And… you are?"

"The chief maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." She informed the miko, giving a curtsy. "Sakuya Izayoi. Unfortunately, I must ask you to leave, since you are currently intruding."

' _...One of those formal types._ '

Waving her hand, Sendai gave a carefree smile. "...You see, I'm here to inspect this place. Your gatekeeper let me in. I'm simply curious as to the nature of this… structure, which has erected itself, here."

Though she faulted at the mention of the gatekeeper, Sakuya quickly regained her composure. "...I will have to speak with our gatekeeper later, then. You may ask the mistress about this 'inspection' business in four hours."

' _I don't have time for that._ '

"Sorry." Ignoring the maid, Sendai began to move around her-

The maid repositioned herself in an instant, holding knives inches from the miko's face. "You do not have a choice in this matter."

…

Sendai's face became neutral, examining the shiny blades. "I know."

…

"Five cards." Intent on a spell card dual, Sakuya floated into the air, away from the miko. "My victory means you leave. You may proceed if you beat me."

This simply baffled Sendai, though… ' _Cards!? Again!? Why does everyone know danmaku!? Further… why do they all treat it as the go-to offense?_ '

...Sakuya's face hardened at Sendai's slowly growing grin. "Of course, if you prove unruly, I can simply punish you like another feral youkai. Perhaps the young mistresses would take a likening to your flavor."

Such language piqued the miko's curiosity. "...Flavor? They eat people?"

Slightly put off by the lack of knowledge her opponent had, Sakuya elaborated. "Vampires. The mistresses are vampires who dine on the blood of humans. Are you shocked?"

Sendai suddenly tensed up.

' _This is a youkai stronghold, through and through, then. And, if it's still standing..._ '

She glared at the maid before her.

' _Reimu must have had trouble here. Damn it… why did I die when I did?_ '

Sakuya allowed herself a subtle smile. "You seem bothered. Does the prospect disturb you? To avoid it only requires you abide by the spell card rules."

' _To hell with whatever these 'spell card rules' are._ '

Stepping forward, towards the maid, Sendai cracked her knuckles.

Sakuya narrowed her eyes, brandishing her knives before her own face. "I see. How unfortunate. I suppose it would do well to inform you that one of the mistresses is a light eater."

...

Before any fighting could commence, the maid paused. "Oh. My sincerest apologies, but I will need a moment." Then, she disappeared.

' _What?_ ' Sendai watched the maid vanish before her very eyes. ' _...Wait, what?_ '

…

Looking around, Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _Why would she want me to wait?_ '

In the next moment, the maid was before her again, hovering in the air. "It is done."

Watching her, Sendai's curiosity was piqued, but she didn't ask the maid anything. ' _I wouldn't get an answer worth listening to, I'm sure._ '

"In any case, I'll have to dispose of you." Sakuya tilted her head back and forth. "Where was I? Oh, right, right. The elder mistress is a light eater."

Reaching into her pocket, the miko slipped out a yin-yang orb… ' _Right._ '

"The other, however…" Intent on getting a rise from the miko, the maid continued with an expression of faux sympathy. "Well. We'll only hope you've enough blood to accent her pastries. She hasn't nearly the level of restraint her sister does."

The yin-yang orb maximized while the maid spoke, the miko holding it in her left hand as it grew to the size of half a person.

Sakuya immediately furrowed her brows, examining it.

' _Got your attention now, did I?_ '

...Then, the miko leapt-

Crack! The wooden floor splintered and broke beneath her sandals.

Soaring into the air, Sendai let go of the orb and smacked it down with her hand. It spiraled to the floor-

Bam! It bounced, cracking the floor.

In the next moment, the maid was behind the miko. "I wouldn't _do that_ , if I were you."

Holding two knives in each hand, Sakuya lunged forward with the intent to grace the miko with superficial cuts, to intimidate.

Woosh. Instead of staying airborne, as Sakuya expected, the miko kicked towards the floor-

Bam! The room's chandelier, vases, and paintings all shook when the miko landed.

Cra~ck! Still bouncing around, the yin-yang orb annihilated a vase.

Sakuya cringed visibly. "Such a mess…"

Sendai smirked. ' _So she doesn't like it when I- hnh!?_ '

Shi-shink! Suddenly, the miko found three knives in her side.

' _Move!_ '

Propelling herself into the air quickly, the miko felt her hakama get pierced by more knives, though they failed to strike flesh.

Dark power flowed up Sendai's head, and one of her arms. Then, she performed an uppercut as she ascended-

Cra-Boom! Uppercutting straight through the chandelier and the ceiling, Sendai landed on her sandals in an unoccupied guest room…

' _That felt weird. I'm surprised the chandelier didn't light me on fire._ '

The room was comfy looking, furnished and lit, if unnatural due to the lack of windows.

Appearing before the room's door after a few seconds, the maid grinned. "What's wrong?" Three more knives flew towards the miko, their movements a blur-

Due to their spread style, Sendai caught two of the three knives, the last one being lodged in her armsleeve.

Noticing the maid was gone again, the miko turned one-eighty degrees on her heel-

The maid was there, her arms crossed and prepared to chuck two waves of knives. Her eyes widened when she noticed the miko's anticipation.

Sendai flung the two knives she obtained-

-and the maid was gone, the knives sticking into the scarlet wall behind where she used to be.

' _I can't read her movements…!_ '

Two knives suddenly were held before the miko's neck, crossing eachother.

"If you give up now," the maid speaks into her left ear, "I can arrange it so that you will only be held for a few months. Simply so that you may break less furniture before your inevitable apprehension."

...Sendai let her legs build up dark energy, glaring daggers at the wall ahead. "Is that so?"

"Very much so." Sakuya began speaking into her right ear. "Truth be told, we've already plenty of blood, and it wouldn't be a big issue to-"

Sendai stomps both legs into the floor.

 _Boom!_

The entire room's floor drops. Sakuya stares down, slack jawed, as the miko and the entire room's furniture drop out under her. "Wh-what!?"

Grinning, Sendai kicks in the air to suspend her falling momentum, just so she can latch onto Sakuya's leg.

Sakuya's eyes widen, and she brings an arm back. "Get _off._ " Knives shoot toward the miko at a fling of her arm.

They barely miss, due to Sendai jerking herself forward with her own legs, causing Sakuya to jerk in the air.

' _She shouldn't be able to-_ '

The maid was gone, leaving the miko in the air clutching nothing.

' _Oh._ '

Bambambam-bam, bam, bam! Wood, shelves, end tables, and a bed all struck the floor and shattered below.

Then-

"Guh!?"

Bam!

Sendai felt herself slam against a wall, five knives powerfully slamming into her back, inflicting high knockback as they slammed into her.

As she fell from the wall, she let herself roll backwards, looking straight up…

She saw the maid behind her, floating leisurely with her arms crossed.

' _If I allow myself to drop a little more…_ '

Falling a little, Sendai pounded her legs against the wall. A dark shockwave spread across it, ripping up the wallpaper-

Fwoom! She rocketed towards the maid.

Not believing she could be grappled by the miko, the maid simply used this moment to draw more daggers-

She was caught by her shoes. Believing she could take this opportunity to stab the miko, she tried to turn-

In one quick, fluid motion, the miko used her arms and momentum to rotate herself and pull on Sakuya's heels at the same time. As a result, she was able to reposition herself above Sakuya, her legs in prime position to kick into her back and send her stomach-first towards the floor.

Wham! "A-ah…!?" Sakuya gasped, as Sendai did just that.

With wide eyes, and an aching body, Sakuya watched the rapidly approaching ground, the miko still positioned atop her back-

Then, the maid was gone.

 _Boom_ …

Touching down, Sendai's impact cracked the lobby floor once again, the scarlet carpet tearing.

' _Her reflexes are too good sometimes to be dropped so foolishly at others. Almost as if they weren't reflexes at all…_ '

Abruptly, as the miko was getting back up, Sakuya was before her. She moved to stab her in the gut, but the miko sidestepped-

Shink. Sakuya was now aside her as if she had approached from a totally different angle, leaving another knife in the miko's side. ' _Really..._ '

Annoyed, the miko threw her arm to the left and back with great force, somewhat hoping but also expecting the maid would be there...

Shink- bam! "Augh!?"

Sakuya was sent rolling, but not without leaving another blade in Sendai's back.

...When the miko turned, to her surprise, the maid was still lying on the floor, on her back.

' _Probably a trap._ ' ...Noticing the previous yin-yang orb had stopped bouncing, somewhere, she pulled out another magically-generated one, maximized it, and gave it a simple serve from where she stood.

It soared into the air, over the maid. As it lowered towards her, the maid appeared next to where it would land, no longer in a position to be crushed.

Bam! A myriad of knives met the orb, but did nothing to stop it from ruining the carpet again.

Sakuya was now glaring at the miko.

...The miko threw her arm outward-

Slapslapslap!

Three talismans met Sakuya's form, making her jump. "Ah…!?"

' _...They're not glowing very brightly._ ' The miko was perplexed. ' _Is she not a youkai?_ '

The maid vanished again. Sendai brought a leg up, and kicked behind herself.

Sakuya leapt out of the way this time, expecting this anticipation. She threw a two-armed barrage of knives down, but the miko simply leapt forward to evade them.

Loudly, the knives clattered against the carpet as they rebounded upward, prompting Sendai to duck to avoid them again.

Sakuya appeared in the air above her, ready to throw straight down-

" _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

Casting her arm above herself, the miko who came before sent eight streams of magical stones from her hand into the air. They went up in a U-shaped cone, drawing a broad shaft in the air above herself.

Cli-cli-clink. They clattered against the ceiling, lines in the air glowing in their wake.

Sakuya paused, glancing at these newly drawn lines. "Hmm?"

Fwaa~sh! Light briefly but fiercely pulsed through the shaft, before it spread and dissipated throughout the whole room.

"Nnh…" A grunt came from above Sendai, prompting her to break her casting pose.

'... _That was satis- ah!?_ '

Sendai cringed, as the maid's body landed on her and rolled down her back, unceremoniously splaying out on the floor behind herself.

…

Bam. The rogue yin-yang orb came to rest in the midst of the central stairs, ruining their pristine condition.

Turning around, examining the maid's body, Sendai met her gaze. White electricity ran up Sakuya's limbs, betraying her current bound status.

"Really, now…" Sendai scowled down at her, knowing she was still conscious. "You were no fun to fight. That teleporting you did was annoying, and those knives…"

Redirecting her darkness to stop the bleeding, she-...

' _What? My darkness…_ '

Examining the blades around one of her sides, Sendai noticed how it interacted with her dark aura…

' _Wait…_ ' She grabbed the handle, and yanked the blade out. Shink! ' _Ow._ '

Once it was out, she was able to force the bleeding to stop with her darkness manipulation, the energy rushing to get in the way of the small wound.

Holding the knife close, Sendai examined it. ' _Silver. The knife is silver. Why? For what reason would a youkai be carrying..._ '

She looked back down at Sakuya. Kneeling next to her, she interrogated her. "Blink once for yes, twice for no. Are you a youkai?"

Sakuya blinked twice.

…

Sendai gazed at her dryly. "...Why did you attack me, then?"

Sakuya blinked rapidly in defiance, since she was given a question she couldn't answer.

' _...Oh, right. Yes or no only._ '

...With that, Sendai stood. "Well, you get to live, then. I'm coming back for you later, though."

Sakuya could do little, her ability to move and act sealed completely, as she watched the miko walk away, leaving her stranded on the lobby floor.

…

Shink. The miko hissed as she tore out another knife, casting it away.

STAGE COMPLETE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY: Assessment in two chapters!

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

sakuya fight

not a lot of stuff inbetween the fighting because i basically didn't set out to do that but i did add that filler section where it's implied sakuya went out to tattle to the whole mansion, probably by leaving a note going like "yo gurlz we gotta reimu-not-reimu lookin' chick all up in here who don't know how the spellcards do".

also something important to note is that action _is_ also in and of itself character; you do watcha do, yeah?

oh yeah, funfact: i had a first draft of this fic in first person but redid it because it made sendai more comedic and brad-ish than i wanted and it contrasted with her fighting

that and she just kinda blew past meiling and i was like "nah man meiling's ripped" so now she actually fights meiling now but it's still in her favor because she's a _FILTHY CHEATER_ *cough* well she's also pretty stupid fit and also a HAKUREI so her genes are like fine as fuck but she does have those dark limb enhancement hacks

although meiling has them too except she _tastes the rainbow_ so maybe fair's fair

oh yeah, that reminds me!

this sendai fan character's base concept comes from the sendai hakurei no miko character created for the M.U.G.E.N fighting engine game thing. basically people wanted a reimu-alike but more suited for punching the fuck outta big burly street fighter dudes, therefore this interpretation of reimu's mom was born

ever since she's blown the fuck up on various fansites, you can google "sendai hakurei no miko" and you'll see some fun stuff

rip me

as always, see you next time!


	3. 1-3 - Shelves of Unseen Tomes

' _Really, she probably could have done far more damage if she felt like it. A blade to the eyes would've been more like it._ '

By the time she'd reached the library doors, Sendai had already gotten all the knives out of herself.

…

Some voice echoed down the empty halls. "Yaa~h!"

Sendai dryly turned, looking behind herself…

A pink-haired fairy sprinted down the hall, a frying pan raised over her head.

...As the fairy neared, however, she slowed, darting back and forth strategically, trying to sneak a smack in.

Playing her game, Sendai darted forward momentarily-

Woosh!

-before skittishly darting back, avoiding the fairy's frying pan. As punishment, she nimbly kicked the fairy in the face.

Pi~chun!

Cla-clank. The frying pan dropped to the floor uselessly.

' _Those stab wounds are going to hurt later._ ' Turning back around, Sendai glared at the door ahead. ' _If there are more enemies like that, I should just start throwing those talisman axes around. Warm up is over; my enemies are serious, so I should be, too._ '

...She thought back to the fact that Sakuya didn't simply stop time and jab knives into her eyes. ' _Mostly serious. Or foolish._ '

Her hand wrapped around the doorknob-

Zap!

"Ah- ngh…" Quickly letting go, she shook the pain from her hand. "Okay…"

' _How stupid of me._ '

...Balling her hand into a fist, dark energy began to engulf it…

…

She tore into the door-

Bam. _Boom!_

The initial punch seemed to do nothing. A second later, the door along with the adjacent walling was blown away. The door's fragments shimmered brightly, before the magic died out.

' _Wards. If only Marcus were here._ ' Shaking her hand, Sendai proceeded through the door frame...

Inside, she gazed at the massive library she'd just stepped into. ' _...Mages. This place has to be absolutely full of mages… or just one really strong one. I didn't think this many books could exist in one place..._ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - Shelves of Unseen Tomes

As she stepped through the first row of shelves, books began to float off of them and open.

Sendai snorted. ' _Killer books. Magical library staple._ '

Walking forward, she noticed how the books slowly jerked backward to keep a set distance from herself…

Fwoom- fwoom- fwoom! From the three red books, three fireballs slowly hurtled towards the miko. She simply sped up her walking and crouched to avoid them.

Standing, she looked at a blue book that had emerged, waiting for it to attack.

Suddenly, she found bubbles rushing up from beneath herself. ' _What…?_ '

Pop-pop-pop-pop!

The bubbles soaked her lower body.

' _...What was the point of that?_ '

Fwoom- fwoom- fwoom!

Cautiously, Sendai jogged backwards to avoid the fireballs once more. ' _Why water?_ _People don't just use silly attacks on you for no reason._ '

...Unable to discover any current ailments, she decides to engage the fire tomes. Paper amulets flowed from her sleeves, congealing around her left hand. Shifting, folding, turning, the amulets formed a shaft. Quickly but procedurally, they transformed into a large, origami axe.

It glowed in the dim light of the library, filled with holy energy.

Fwoom- fwoom- fwoom!

Leaping over the fireballs, the miko raised the axe overhead with both arms, and tossed it. "Ho~h!"

It spiraled through the air, quickly meeting its apex and falling down towards the tomes-

Shi-shink! Two tomes were gruesomely ripped to shreds by simple virtue of being in the way of the amulet axe.

Promptly, two more tomes floated from nowhere in particular to replace the fallen.

' _...I'm not going to be able to fight all of them._ ' She resolved. ' _If I can get the attention of as many as possible, though…_ '

She stomped down-

Bam! Crack! The carpet ripped, and the nearby shelves shook.

-and launched herself into the air, leaving behind a small shockwave of wind.

Touching down on a bookshelf-

Thud- crack! ' _Oh- whoops…_ ' The shelf she landed on shook unsteadily.

Running forward, she launched herself from the top of the collapsing shelf, clearing an aisle to land on the next shelf's top.

Thu-thu-thu-thud. The previous shelf imploded, becoming a pile of wood and books.

' _More fragile than I expected. They looked maintained, too._ '

At least ten more tomes began to fly out from shelves all around her…

' _This is going to be either really satisfying when I group them all together, or really annoying._ '

Running along the shelf's top, Sendai leapt from shelf to shelf with ease, rousing the attention of more tomes…

Fwoom-fwoom-fwoom-fwoom-fwoom…

A constant stream of fireballs marred the top of the shelves right behind her, flickering out as soon as they struck, likely to prevent undue damage to the shelves.

Stomping down- "Hup!" -she made a great leap over one entire shelf.

Zazap! Thunderbolts rained down behind her as she soared through the air.

 _Cra~ck!_ The shelf she planned to land on below was shattered by a large spike of rock, which rose from the floor likely to purposefully obstruct her.

"Hnn." With a simple kick, Sendai gained almost completely horizontal momentum as she soared over the tops of the shelves-

Vrrrr-Vrrrr-Vrrrr~!

Yellow, solid person-width beams shot from huge cyan tomes scattered amongst the library's airspace. One actually aimed forward a little-

' _Ugh…_ ' Sendai's momentum was offset by the beam she soared straight through. From there, she curled up into a ball, anticipating being thrown around like a pinball herein.

…After a moment of hurtling through the library's airspace undisturbed-

Bam! She bounced off the top of a shelf, her lower back striking its edge. With that, her momentum slowed, and she uncurled her body.

Clack. She landed on her sandals in a clearing free of too many shelves. Around her were some basic tables, chairs, and a large desk…

The large desk had a purple-clothed mage seated at it, staring up at Sendai with a bored expression.

' _...I found one mage._ ' Sendai rubbed a new sore spot on her back, dark mist dissipating from it. ' _That's gonna bruise._ '

...Slowly, a cloud of tomes began to hover overhead, of many different sizes and colors, coming from where Sendai had approached the clearing.

The cloud of tomes was growing large enough to eclipse the entire clearing, even if it was only partially covering it due to the imperfect pathfinding of the books.

The purpled haired, eyed, and dressed mage before Sendai simply looked back down into her book, ignoring the coming action.

…

After waiting for the colossal book gathering to amass over herself, the miko leapt towards it, cracking the floor beneath her as she did so.

"Hrrm." The mage looked forward in annoyance as the clearing shook.

In the air, Sendai arched back. " _Thousand Blades!_ "

Ofuda flowed from her sleeves like a river. She stopped at the apex of her jump, allowing the ofuda to gush out into a ring around herself.

This ring began to rapidly form into a whole line of glowing, origami axes, prime with holy energy. The axes all spun around the miko in a slowly accelerating revolving ring.

As the tomes neared, the ring of about ten axes began expanding, and spinning faster.

Innumerable tomes were cleaved in two- like a block of wood to a saw blade- but the larger tomes were only left with gashes. It didn't take long for the axes to get broken down until they were shattered from the sheer number of tomes they were flung into.

' _I didn't think there'd be_ this _many. I'm pretty sure this is a disproportionate amount of books to the ones I aggravated, too._ '

...From above, a rain of small fireballs, large emerald danmaku pellets, and other elemental projectiles began descending on the miko's position.

She quickly dropped to the floor, accelerating her downward momentum-

Bam! The shelves nearby shook as she landed.

"Really…" The mage furrowed her brows.

Instead of dodging, Sendai took a moment to collect her leg strength, before-

 _Boom!_ A dark shockwave ran across the floor from her leap, making nearby shelves shake again.

"That's it…" The mage closed her book, and began floating from her seat…

Meanwhile, the miko soared high above the tomes with her jump, passing the side of their cloud.

The books tried to retreat, only to be halted by the books piling in behind one another, the conflicting momentum resulting in a cluttered gridlock.

Now that she was above the fifty-foot tall cloud, she kicked down, ready to try and duke it out with all of them.

Silently- by comparison to the noise the books were making against one another- she landed atop the sea of shifting tomes. Quickly, she gathered dark energy in her fist, and before she could sink into the books, she punched down.

 _Fwoom!_ A ring of dark energy spread out from where she punched. Books beneath her were turned into a gruel of paper and bindings, the shreds sinking into more shifting tomes.

She punched with her other arm-

 _Fwoom!_ The results were similar to the first punch, if a little mitigated by the soft spread of shredded paper still present.

She punched with her left arm again-

 _Fwoom!_

-and again with her right-

 _Fwoom!_

"Hnnh…!" Like this, she formed a system where she punched into the mass of tomes repeatedly, alternating arms. She bounced up and down, the books rippling as if they were a liquid with every punch.

However, she was gradually lowered into the mass, the books filing out of the way to explicitly avoid being directly beneath her; a simple side effect of their programming to move out of the way of foes and keep a distance.

As this happened, Sendai found herself start to be physically assaulted from the sides by grey-covered tomes.

"Hngh…" She grit her teeth, the books messing with the system she had going with the books beneath her.

By this point, the book mass had seperated so much that she was halfway through, surrounded on all sides by a flowing vortex of tomes. Then, the books filed in over her.

She was now trapped in a large pocket she had made inside the cloud of tomes.

' _They're probably not firing because they're not supposed to shoot at one another. These_ physical _tomes though…_ ' Gritting her teeth, Sendai brought her arms up to push back the grey tomes that were pushing and slamming into her.

One began to slip under her, and she used that opportunity to kick down into it, and propel herself up.

Once again, the miko arched back, and yelled. " _Thousand Blades!_ "

Drifting slightly up from the horrible paper mess she'd created beneath herself, glowing ofuda whirled out from her sleeves, lighting up the dark interior of the tome cloud.

The ofuda folded into origami axes once more, which revolved faster and faster as they spread out from Sendai, cleaving the pesky physical tomes into unintelligible masses of scrap paper and vinyl…

Once again, the ofuda axes dulled and shattered not too far into the walls of tomes around the miko, but they had mitigated the hostile ones enough for the miko's satisfaction.

With that, Sendai punched straight downward again, lunging for the lower tomes.

 _Fwoom!_ _Fwoom! Fwoom! Fwoom-_

Poof! ' _Huh…!?_ '

After repeatedly punching the bottom tomes and just getting her system of punching going again, she cleared the bottom of the mass entirely. After falling a couple feet-

Bam! Her fist loudly connected with the a table, breaking it into shards of wood. Her arm proceeded to embed itself in the floor.

' _Ah. How careless…_ ' She furrowed her brows, and began trying to work her arm from the floor…

All around her, the clearing was littered with dust, musty paper fragments, shattered bindings and ripped up books.

…

Sendai dug her legs into the floor around herself, imbuing them with dark energy-

Crack! She tore her arm from the floor, rending wood in the process as she shielded the skin of her arm with dark energy to keep the fragmented floor from taking her skin with it.

"There…" She flexed the arm, opening and closing her hand, making sure everything worked as intended. "Good."

…

Looking around, she noticed the tomes had all scattered, abandoning the cause.

Before her, the purple mage floated, grimacing down at the miko from up above.

' _...She probably doesn't want me tearing apart more books._ ' Sendai eyed her carefully, recomposing herself. ' _Which is just as good, because I'd probably have gotten tired of fighting every book in this library. I would have to come back every day of the week, and stop for bathroom breaks. There's literally that many._ '

"For _what_ reason…" The mage spoke down towards the Hakurei miko. "...have you barged into my library, demolished my tomes, and interrupted my studies for?"

"Those books attacked _me_." Sendai retorted, raising her voice to reach the mage. "I was let in to inspect."

...Drifting down, only slightly, the purple mage narrowed her eyes. "By whom? Give me a name."

"Sakuya Izayoi."

' _Hoping her name means something here…_ '

...The mage considers this, for a moment. "...No. Were this on her end, she'd have seen to inform me, and bring you to me personally. You likely lie."

' _Ah, damn._ '

"...I know not who you are, but it does not matter. Those who impose upon my sanctum will face my magic." In the purple mage's right hand, a fireball formed. "...Of course, surrender may be arranged so you so choose. Do keep it in mind, however, that your life with be bound to service under this library."

' _Naturally._ ' Sendai was starting to sense a pattern…

Steeling herself, the miko simply gazed up at the mage.

' _I can't see why Reimu wouldn't have done something about these people. This pretty much confirms they're malicious…_ '

One of her hands balled up into a fist.

…

The mage gave a single slow nod. "I see."

A book floated up from the desk behind Sendai, towards the mage. "I am Patchouli Knowledge, the enigmatic source of magic… and you will reimburse me for every broken tome, be it with broken bones, or with a broken soul."

Sendai began taking a deep breath…

"Earth Sign…" The mage's tome began glowing brown, pages rapidly flipping as it whirled open.

Sendai exhaled. ' _Awfully theatric, like most mages…_ '

"Rage Trilithon!"

Bright, yellow orbs of danmaku energy began flowing out from the mage's tome, in a huge, inaccurate spread before herself.

Sendai nearly gaped. ' _Danmaku!?_ '

 _Cra~ck! Crack!_ Along the miko's sides, two huge spikes of stone erupted from the floor.

Dashing forward to distance herself from the stones, Sendai barreled through the danmaku with little regard to it.

' _Hmph. These bullets are far stronger than that fairy's…_ ' She felt her limbs begin to sting from the simple act of dashing through a single curtain of bullets.

 _Kroo~m._ The two jagged crags of earth were joined by a beam that connected the two, forming an arch. Then, they shot back down into the floor.

 _Boom!_ On impact, a splash of golden danmaku was created. The floor was suspiciously unscuffed, though the impact made a lot of earthy dust.

' _So that's what kind of attack it is…_ '

Sendai began running to get out of range of the danmaku-

Thu-thu-thu-thu-thud! Her sandals left marks in the carpet as she dashed through the entire length of an aisle. She stopped on a dime once she reached another, unmolested clearing-

Crack! She damaged the floor the floor with a violent, dual-footed stomp into the carpet.

 _Cra~ck! Crack!_ Two spikes of rock erupted along her sides.

"You cannot run." Patchouli was already over the clearing again, disdainfully looking down upon the miko. "Such strength is meaningless if you cannot hit your opponent."

 _Kroo~m._ Above Sendai, the two spikes of earth were joined again by a beam of rock, planning to crush her.

Once the trilithon began to fall, Sendai jerked herself forward.

Her sandal dug into the carpet before her, the leg filling with black energy…

 _Crack!_ Once again, she ruined the carpentry with strong downward force as she sprung up.

Leaping slightly into the air, Sendai did a backflip, her body rotating precisely around the beam of the trilithon that fell right behind her.

Boo~m! The splash of danmaku afterward shot out directly behind her, gushing up from the floor to descend upon her later. Before it could, she began running towards Patchouli.

"Tch…!" Patchouli splayed her tome before herself again, letting a spray of golden bullets obscure herself. "Were you _mocking me_ , there?"

Patchouli stared into the sea of golden bullets before herself, unable to see the clearing below…

…

Sendai rocketed out from under her, performing a dark uppercut.

Patchouli's eyes widened, realizing she narrowly avoided an uppercut only a moment after Sendai was already above her.

' _Missed._ ' Sendai was disappointed in herself. ' _I can't believe I let that danmaku get in the way that much. When I get out of here, I'll have to train more. Maybe with that one fairy that shot danmaku at me earlier..._ '

Dissipating the danmaku, and cancelling her spell card, Patchouli drifted back with haste.

...Unable to reach the mage from where she was, Sendai let herself fall back down to the clearing. She steeled herself for the landing-

Bam!

She rolled along the floor to distribute her momentum, so she didn't have to rely on the darkness to cushion her entire body from this fall. ' _As useful as magic can be, there's some things it just can't do. Protecting certain parts of my body, sure. Protecting my entire body from gravity at once? Not really possible. Not with just my dark magic, anyway. There's probably a spell for it, but I wouldn't know._ '

"If you are not going to fight fairly," Patchouli waved her arms through the air, casting, "then I suppose I will have to dispose of you. Not without a few experiments, first."

' _Magicians and their experiments._ ' Standing from her roll, Sendai looked up at the purple mage. ' _At some point, they should learn to live with what they know. I guess I would get bored if I lived as long as they do, though._ '

"Water and Fire Sign..." Patchouli's tome glowed bright red and blue. "Phlogistic Rain!"

An evenly distributed spread shot of flaming, teal bubbles roared out from Patchouli. From behind her, two streams of flaming blue liquid rocketed out of nothing, casting a pale blue glow on the library.

Sendai ran to the side to avoid the two streams as they shot straight towards her position.

 _Fwam- Fwam!_ Bright pillars of cyan flame erupted where the water streams struck.

' _Flaming water…?_ ' The prospect intrigued Sendai. ' _It's like the holy water I can generate… except not holy._ '

The flaming bubbles overhead popped, sending a softly falling rain of blue fire down on the clearing.

Sendai's expression steeled. ' _I'm going to have to do a lot of running to avoid that…_ '

Sprinting forward full-force, rending the floor slightly as she did so, Sendai barreled and weaved through the complex grid of shelves throughout the library…

Po-po-pop! Everywhere she turned however, a series of bubbles popped overhead and restricted the airspace with a drifting curtain of flame.

' _I'll need to reach the walls. With any luck, they won't be thick..._ '

Fwam! Fwam! The two streams of flaming liquid began rocketing into ground behind her, tracking her along the floor as she ran.

Every time they nearly caught up with her, she switched to a different aisle of shelves, throwing them off for a good moment before Patchouli manually repositioned them…

Fwam! One of the streams passed through Sendai's upcoming path briefly, leaving a trail of blue flames in its wake as it did so.

"Hup!" Sendai leaped high enough to clear the flames, but not too high so as to clip the rain of fire from the bubbles…

In moments, she reached the far wall, and slammed her fist into it.

 _Bam!_ She punched a person-sized hole in the wall, revealing a bedroom on the other side.

It was a generic guestroom, except the candles were unlit for some curious reason.

"Aaa~h!" Two red-haired fairy maids scrambled to keep the covers over one another, sharing the same bed. "Wh-what…!?"

The fairy maid under the top one flailed her arms, causing her to sink deeper under her partner. "Do-don't hurt Velvet-chan! I'll beat you! Aa~h…!" She ended up halfway under her partner's torso.

...Ignoring them, Sendai ran into the room, and uppercutted upward-

 _Boom!_ Her dark uppercut allowed her to break into the room above.

In this room, there was a pink-haired fairy maid reading a book, seated in a big fluffy chair. She looked up from her book, scanning the miko. "...What."

Ignoring her as well, Sendai unleashed another dark uppercut into the ceiling-

 _Boom!_

She was now outside, having pierced the roof.

' _What…? Now I_ know _that library was bigger than it should have been…_ '

The roof was flat, and the edges had guard rails, hinting that there was supposed to be access here.

…Moving forward, she leapt- "Hup…" -and kicked down into the flat section of roof beneath herself.

Boom! She landed in a dark room. It was unfurnished, and there were no doors into or out of it. In the corner of the room, there was a treasure chest.

Giving it a glance, Sendai ignored it as she leapt- "Hmm…" -and kicked down into the floor again.

Boom!

She found herself falling from the top of the library's air space, far above a cyan sea of shimmering flames and heat waves. She was so high up, she could make out that the ceiling actually had a bunch of scattered chandeliers, amongst other architecture.

' _This is new._ '

...As she fell, she began to drift towards the wall she was near. Below herself, there were numerous overhangs which managed and held books along the library's entire wall.

Bracing herself with dark energy, she landed on one-

Boom!

-only to crash straight through it, her speed halved. ' _Wow. Flimsy…_ '

Crack. She found herself embedded in the following overhang right under it, stuck halfway in the wood with her legs dangling in the air below.

' _If these things can't hold me, how are these shelves even…_ ' Sendai delicately began to crawl up out of the hole in the shelf-laden awning, taking care incase it was even less sturdy than she thought.

...Once she was out, she stood up and walked to the rich, ornate wooden guard rail along the edge of the overhang.

Off the edge, she saw teal flames billowing. Patchouli was floating just above them, encased in a bubble of some sort to protect herself from her own flames.

...Smiling, Sendai reached into her pocket, slipped out a yin-yang orb, and maximized it. Holding it over the edge with both hands, she looked between it and the mage below.

' _Stea~dy…_ '

…

' _If this actually works, I'm almost going to feel bad._ ' Once she was ready, she let go of the yin-yang orb, half-hoping it'd nail Patchouli on its way down.

She watched it plummet downward.

…

Unfortunately, the mage unintentionally drifted out of the way. The orb still tore through her bubble as it passed, destroying it and plummeting right past her face. "Mu-mukyuu~!"

' _Pfft…_ ' Sendai grinned at the noise Patchouli made.

...In moments, the mage had rocketed at a diagonal away from the flames, covering her eyes with her arms.

' _Well. Tracking her down's going to be a pain._ '

"Ooh?" A woman was behind the miko.

...Turning around, Sendai looked at the woman who made a noise…

"I was wondering why Mistress Patchouli flipped out…" A red-haired succubus stood before her, strutting forward with charisma. "Who _wouldn't_ , seeing a big, _strong_ girl like you…?"

Sendai frowned, folding her arms. ' _Oh, good, a succubus._ '

The succubus continued towards her, licking her lips. "...Oo~h, don't be like that." She began undoing her shirt. "A little teasing never-"

 _Woosh!_

"Hehehe~!" The succubus giggled, sliding back on a dime and evading a hook from the miko before her. "Feisty!"

With her left hand, the miko reached into her right arm sleeve, and took out a mana molotov. Reeling her left arm back, she tossed it at the succubus.

The succubus nimbly grabbed the bottle before it made impact, spun around on her heel, and tossed it back.

Woosh! Sendai did a powerful side hop out of the way, to avoid being hurt by the holy flames that would inevitably erupt if she let the molotov shatter on herself. ' _Annoying._ '

Crack. The balcony floor underneath her complained about the side hop.

"Come _here!_ " Revealing her nails to double as long claws as well, the succubus lunged for the miko, drifting into the air briefly only to thrust herself down on her-

 _Bam!_ Sendai promptly gave her a restrained punch to the gut.

"Gufugh!?" The succubus curled around the arm that collided with her…

"Ngh…" A couple seconds later, she awkwardly shifted to her side, and crumpled onto the floor gracelessly.

…

' _That… was easier than I expected. Last time I fought a succubus..._ ' Sendai shivered. ' _Still feel that after being reincarnated. Damn._ '

"Sl-slut…" The succubus spoke up from the floor. "I-I was gonna… I was gonna suck your _boobs_ …"

"Okay." Sendai stepped towards the balcony edge, ready to assess the flame situation…

There were no more flames.

' _Uh oh._ '

"It is quite fortunate my familiar located you."

Patchouli was now in the air over and out from the balcony.

Smiling, Patchouli snapped her fingers. "Good work, Koakuma."

The familiar was promptly lifted by the mage's telekinetic powers, and transported away from the battle to come.

Sendai blinked. ' _Little devil. What a creative and interesting name for your succubus familiar._ '

"Now… let us pick up where we left off." Patchouli's expression fell. "Sun and Water Sign…"

' _Here we go…_ '

"Hydrogenous Prominence!"

Moments after Patchouli yelled, a bright, expanding clump of sun elemental danmaku flared out from herself. They were all huge, translucent red orbs that glowed with great intensity.

' _Great…_ ' Gritting her teeth, Sendai stepped back, expanding a yin-yang orb to toss into the maelstrom.

FWASH

Water elemental danmaku beams appeared from nothing, encompassing the entire airspace around herself in a flood of lasers.

' _Ouch- woah…_ ' Sendai had to adjust herself to get out of a beam that had spawned through her.

Noticing the oncoming storm of sun elemental doom orbs, Sendai crouched and shielded herself with the yin-yang orb.

 _Fwam!_ The brief but dense wave of sun elemental bullets roared past her. One dissipated on the orb before her, while the others simply grazed her.

Once that was over, the water beams and the sun orbs all dissipated.

FWASH

Another web of water lasers generated.

' _Alright- okay…_ ' Still equipped with the maximized yin-yang orb, Sendai decided to bolt away from the constant water and sun spam, dashing through some water beams to get herself away from their effective radius. ' _Ugh… my stomach's numb. At least it's just danmaku._ '

Although, she was confused. ' _Why sun and water? The water only wets me, and the sun just dries me off… and the bullets don't really do good damage, being danmaku and all._ '

Running along the length of the overhang- which spanned the entire rim of the library's airspace- Sendai tried to think of a way to get back at Patchouli…

Fwam! Sun elemental bullets rushed up behind her, but she was at enough distance from the epicenter to avoid being threatened in any way.

' _Wait…_ ' Realization washed over Sendai.

Turning back, she noticed the mage was following behind her at a snail's pace, moving the web of water lasers along with herself. Once the lasers dissipated, she still moved slowly-

FWASH

The lasers reinitialized, once again flourishing with damp energy.

' _That frame of lasers is slowing her down, and it's there even when powered down…_ '

Sun elemental bullets formed around Patchouli, making it appear as though she'd become a tiny sun, before they began flowing out all at once like the two times before.

Sendai tossed the yin-yang orb forward, to consume the danmaku orb coming for her. As it fell to the ground, the web of water lasers began to power down again…

Thud. The orb hit the floor, embedding itself in it.

The miko's muscles flared, and she sprung forward-

Crack! The floor she sprung from shattered, making a hole in the balcony.

Patchouli's eyes widened. The web of water lasers flashed to life, blinding both party's eyes with blue, magic light.

...After a few seconds of staring into the blinding light, Patchouli relaxed, blinking numbly. "...Hmph. How child-"

 _Bam_. A fist struck her in the stomach.

…

Thu-thud. Both women fell to the floor softly, the danmaku all being dispelled.

"Kaugh- kauf- kaugh…" Patchouli had a coughing fit, clutching her chest. "Ah-aah…"

Sendai looked up at her, her entire body numb from the danmaku.

' _Damn, this danmaku is more effective than I thought it would be. I never thought actual mages would power it up like this..._ '

…

' _Again, I probably would've been in trouble if she'd been using more actual magic. What happened to those flaming water beams? Nnh..._ '

"Uh-uagh…" Patchouli made unhealthy noises, but seemed to be fine. "Kaugh- ugh… Ko-Koakuma~..."

…

"Koa~." Patchouli monotoned out again.

"...Wow." The succubus drifted down from above. "She gave you some shit, didn't she?"

"Ju-just get me a first aid- kaugh- kit…" Patchouli glared up at her from the floor.

...Koakuma strutted over to Sendai. "But fi~rst… I wanna make good on something."

Using her heel, she rolled the miko's body over. Stepping over her, she sat down on the miko's stomach.

"Hehehe~!" Her hands reached past Sendai's cloth tunic, and began groping her chest. "So bi~g… how'd you get them so-"

 _Bam!_ A fist hit Koakuma in the face.

Thud. The succubus fell backwards, out cold.

' _Idiot._ ' Sendai let her numb arm fall back to the floor. ' _...I think I'll just lie here for awhile._ '

"Ko-Koa~..." Patchouli breathed out. "You _idiot…_ "

Like this, the three girls lied on the floor peacefully.

==== Sendai Hakurei No Miko Mode ====

"Alri~ght…" Sendai stretched her semi-numb arm, holding onto her shoulder with her other arm. "Good enough."

Patchouli was now in a wooden chair nearby, clutching her stomach where Sendai gave her a non-enchanted punch.

...Sendai turned to her. "Are you the head of this place?"

"No." Dryly, Patchouli shook her head. "Who are you?"

"The Hakurei miko." Sendai provided. "Who owns this stronghold?"

"...Remilia Scarlet." Patchouli smiled. "As you _bleed_ , it sets her heart _aflame_."

…

After no response from the miko, her expression fell. "Genuinely, you've little chance of beating her."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Sendai folded her arms, looking the mage over. "So, what is this place?"

Patchouli snorted. "You came in here without knowing where you were even smashing? You make a better Hakurei than I give you credit for."

...Sendai sighed. ' _What is this skepticism…?_ '

"Speaking of, I hold great doubt that you are a Hakurei." Patchouli continues. "Dark enchantments and affinity. Improper use of the yin-yang orb. Physical combat. You're undoubtedly some sort of sophisticated doppelganger, or perhaps a lesser oni of some kind."

' _Mages talk too much._ ' Sendai just stares at her.

"...Or, perhaps, you're a new kind of youkai born from how many youkai fear the Hakurei miko." Patchouli smirked. "That would be an amusing incident, indeed."

This caught Sendai's attention. "...Who are you referring to? When you say 'Hakurei miko'."

...Patchouli gave her a dry stare. "I'm unsure if you're joking. Reimu Hakurei."

…

' _So she's feared… but didn't take this stronghold down._ ' Sendai was somewhat confused.

"So~..." Trying to connect the dots, she asked more questions. "What is this stronghold's purpose?"

Patchouli's expression was still dry. "It's a mansion. People live here."

' _Yeah, I guess she wouldn't just tell me..._ '

"Well…" Confirming her arms and legs were in good order, Sendai began to walk away. "I'm off to find your friend. Stay here and I won't punch you."

A smirk creeped up Patchouli's lips. "Heh. As you _wish_."

...Sendai turned back, taking an aggressive stance. "I _mean it_."

"Yes, yes," the mage's face fell, "just go."

…

After a moment's hesitation, Sendai turned away and began sprinting-

Boom!

She stomped too hard, and dropped through the flimsy balcony floor.

"Pfft…!" Patchouli stopped herself from laughing aloud.

==== Sendai Hakurei No Miko Mode ====

"Huah!" Sendai leapt over the entire collapsing segment of floor.

Clack. Her sandals echoed through the dim, scarlet hallway as she touched down on the far side. The floor ceased crumbling behind her, her suspicions of the carpet's irregularity confirmed.

' _Suddenly, it's like the mansion itself is out to get me._ ' Eyes narrow, Sendai marches forward-

Bam! A door slams open, and a navy-haired fairy maid walks out with live power cords tied to her arms. "Hehahaha~! Lightning bolt, _lightning bolt!_ "

Swiftly, Sendai reached into her pocket, drew a magic molotov, and chucked it forward.

Crack! The holy molotov shattered, splashing liquid onto the fairy.

"H _eyaa~h!_ " She began burning, holy blue flames running up her form-

Pi~chun! A blast of mana replaced the fairy. Her power cords dropped to the floor, sparks dancing off of their tips and onto the carpet. As they laid still on the floor, the sparks seemingly became more benign…

Sendai was already power walking down the hall again. ' _So many fairies… and it looks like they work here, for some reason._ '

"Hehehe!"

Looking behind herself, Sendai saw a yellow-haired fairy maid hovering in the air. She was pointing at the miko and giggling. "Hehehe!"

' _...I think that fairy's laughing at me._ '

Sendai turned away, ignoring her.

Ahead of the miko, two blue-haired maids froze, midway out of a side door. They each held a blue diamond of some description…

"Hahaha!" Laughing abruptly, one of them spun around into the hallway's midst, and tossed the blue diamond at the miko.

She darted to the side to avoid it-

Fwash! Ice crystals generated in the air as the crystal passed by Sendai. Once initialized, they fell to the floor and cracked.

"Freeze!" The other fairy tossed her diamond at the miko from the doorway.

Sendai dropped to the floor, sliding on her back to avoid the ice projectile as it flew over her-

Fwash! The crystals spawned in the air behind the miko. Pressing her hands into the carpet as she slid, Sendai kicked up into the air-

Pi~chun! She kicked through the blue-haired maid in the doorway, returning her to the ambient mana of the manor's air.

The momentum from the kick let her land in a standing position, inside the side room. It was a generic guest bedroom, fit with beds, a closet, a dresser, and some decorative chairs.

'... _Good room. I can't really do anything in here, though._ '

...Quickly, she bolted back into the hallway.

The fairies were grinning at her, but keeping safe- spacious- distances from the miko.

' _If they don't attack or harass, this should be fine._ '

Vrrrr~! The yellow fairy trailing behind Sendai shot out a tiny, yellow danmaku beam. It pierced the miko, causing her to sprint forward in alarm, for only a moment.

' _I blame myself for tempting fate. At least it's just danmaku..._ ' Working off the stunning sensation, Sendai dashed down the scarlet hall. Ahead of her, the remaining blue-haired maid tried to annoy her by twirling into her way. "Hey- hey! Stupid! Why don't you-"

She abruptly ceases her fluent spins, and dashes into the miko's way, attempting to slap her-

Pi~chun! Sendai simply ran into her really hard, shattering the fairy into mana.

' _Good job._ '

Vrrr~! Another thin, yellow danmaku beam generates behind Sendai. This time, however, it misses by about a foot.

Ignoring that, Sendai continued to run forward…

"Alright, alright, look…" A tall, black-haired fairy maid with a cynical expression walked out from a deviating hallway, holding her arms up. Two fairy maids followed along behind her. One was short, with orange hair and puffy twin pigtails; the other was slightly taller, but far more slender with short, blue hair.

Coming up to them, Sendai skidded to a halt...

"You may've gotten this far," the black-haired fairy maid smirked at Sendai, "but by the end of today, I'll have you licking my stockings _clean_."

Her orange-haired friend squeezed the air repeatedly. "Sh-she's… so _big!_ "

"We-we're screwed…" The blue-haired fairy maid sat down, giving up in advance. "I'm sorry…"

The black-haired maid turned to her. "Oh, come on, what the hell. You at least break down and cry before giving up, so we know. Can't you just like, flail your arms at her windmill style like you usually do?"

Her orange-haired friend piped up. "Yeah! That, um… works!"

Smiling at their antics, Sendai stepped forward, intent on ignoring them…

"Hey, hey…" The black-haired maid backed up. "Easy. We'll give you a chance to-"

" _Hoh!_ " Sendai slid forward, her form flickering out for a moment.

…

The black-haired maid looked around the hallway ahead. "What the fuck. Where'd she _go!?_ "

Sitting down next to the blue-haired maid, the orange-haired one giggled. "Wo~w. We _really_ blew it this time. Didn't even get in the way. We might as well have stood in the closet and blew into our hands."

Behind them, Sendai seemingly flickered back into existence, walking past them quietly…

' _Flash step is almost never useful, because most opponents I'd want to use it on, it lets them trace my movements. Not only that, but it leaves me open… it's like that one maid's teleportation, except worse and with very limited range._ '

She takes a glance back at the fairies, before continuing on her way. ' _It's fun to use on idiots and the low-tier youkai, though. Sometimes on heavy projectiles, too..._ '

STAGE COMPLETE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY: Assessment in one chapter!

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

patchouli fight

M.U.G.E.N. sendai didn't have richter belmont's shit though, that's just a me thing. i really like castlevania, despite only playing it like 1-2 years ago.

oh yeah this chapter was like 6 k words while meiling's was 3 k and mostly not meiling and sakuya's was just like 2.3 k

not sure if good or bad thing

i think patchy's fight was varied enough to not be annoying, and there were a myriad of fun segments inbetween the combat that should be interesting

also sendai gets fucked up a little - w - so that should alleviate some of the looming mary sue factor that i wanna keep down

remilia's fight should be a FUN ONE as a whole

pls review and tell me if this fight went on too long - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	4. 1-4 - Scarlet Bloodlines

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

FINAL STAGE - Scarlet Bloodlines

Walking down the long hallway, Sendai Hakurei no Miko looked around at the more ornate candles that began to sit on the adjacent walls…

...Pausing, she turned to a crooked one. ' _Nice interior design._ '

Moving up to the candle, she grabbed it to see if she could re-adjust it-

Crack! It snapped off like fragile glass, the dim flame on the wick extinguishing immediately.

Cli-clink. A bright, blue and white metallic cross fell out of the candle, lying at the miko's sandals.

...She gave it a stare, before tossing the broken candle aside. Then, she continued moving down the large hall, ignoring the cross. ' _I don't exactly know what that is. Probably some kind of jewelry… and considering where it's hidden, it's probably a trap._ '

The hall she was heading down now was far taller than the previous hall she was in, the ceiling of it reaching many more feet up.

To her left as she continued, her gaze hung on a huge set of double doors…

' _I believe I know where to go._ '

Running up to the door, she contemplated three possible methods of entry…

' _Slide-kick it open, punch it open… or uppercut the ceiling, move over the room, and drop down from above._ '

…

She sighed, not agreeing with any of the three ideas she came up with. ' _I've been in here awhile, though. Perhaps I'll enter the normal way._ '

Reaching for the door's ornate handle, she paused.

' _Might be warded, however._ '

Bam! She gives the handle a half-hearted punch, causing the door to slightly vibrate.

' _Hmm. Not on the handle this time…_ '

Allowing darkness to travel up her arm, Sendai reached for the handle…

…

Clutching it powerfully, she tugged it with force-

Crack! She broke the locking mechanism by accident, parts and splintered wood dropping and clattering in the midst of the doorway as the door itself swung open.

'... _I should've just punched through it._ '

On the inside, upon a gold and scarlet throne, a small girl sat. She held a red glass of wine in her right hand, leaning on her free arm…

Walking inside, Sendai moved past the unopened other half of the door, and began walking into the middle of the throne room.

"Oh?" The girl was staring at the door the entire time, waiting for the miko to enter. "Well, what do we have here?

"Hello." Sendai greeted her respectfully. "Do you know where I might find the mistress of this manor?"

...The scarlet-clothed girl smiled. "Fufufu~... I'll have you know that you have the pleasure of speaking with her."

Looking around the throne room, the miko eventually looked at her again and nodded… "You _are_ a vampire, that is true. I was just… expecting someone taller."

The mistress' brow twitched. "Right. That is unfortunate. Before we dance, I would like some context…"

Sendai's brow raised, watching the vampire casually. "Yes?"

"Why have you invaded my manor, and incapacitated my servants?" The vampire inquired, gazing into Sendai's eyes with a neutral expression. "I'll have you know, the price for such misconduct is _steep_."

"I've come to put an end to this." Sendai made her intent clear right away. "The people of Gensokyo suffer at your luxury, and the deaths of those you've bled out is immeasurable."

The vampire blinked. "...Who told you of this?"

"I was told you feed off of humans." Taking a strong stance, Sendai stared back into the vampire mistress' eyes with equal neutrality. "I've no doubt you also enslave, where permissible."

...At this stare off, the vampire girl giggled. "Fufufu~! You seem to be getting quite worked up, over this. Am I wrong?"

' _...I find it disappointing and dismal, yes, but not something to panic over._ ' The miko did not audibly reply.

At her nonresponse, the vampire switched topics. "Further… you bear an uncanny style. You seem to wish to be taken as a Hakurei miko, am I wrong?"

Sendai sighed. "That might be because I _am_ a Hakurei."

"Hah!" The vampire immediately gave a harsh laugh back. "Don't make me _laugh_. Your power is incomparable to that of the red-white. Especially when, unlike her, you fight with _dark_ magic, unbefitting of any supposed holy figure, let alone a _Hakurei_."

' _How does she know her…?_ ' Sendai's expression steeled.

"Do you know… who the current Hakurei miko is?" Sendai relented from revealing it was her daughter.

...The vampire stared back dryly. "Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden, and one of few who dared to face me in my abode and survive. Surely you know her name?"

"Survived?" Sendai immediately caught onto that. "What do you mean by 'survived'?"

Smirking, the vampire elaborated. "So you _don't_ know the tale. Oh, she gave me trouble, indeed. In the end, however, I simply let her go with a warning. The next time she tries something so audacious, I have a right mind to make her my thrall. Or, perhaps, an errand girl. That would be most befitting of someone so lazy..."

...Sendai clenched her fists, darkness whirling up her arms.

Sensing that this topic was getting a rise from her guest, the vampire continued. "Oh, how I _long_ to taste her blood. Perhaps I should pay her shrine a visit one of these days, and reassert my domin-"

 _Bam!_

In that instance, Sendai stood over the throne, her fist embedded in the back of the seat, the entire upper half of the gold and scarlet velvet throne shattered.

The vampire was now behind her, standing where she once was. " _Genuinely_ … you could at _least_ let me finish my sentence, brute."

...Turning from the throne, Sendai stepped forward towards the vampire.

"I am the Scarlet Devil, Remilia Scarlet." Remilia introduced herself proper, letting her wings flourish from her back.

Sendai took an offensive martial arts stance.

"Tonight…" Remilia smiled at her, with deep scarlet eyes.

The miko has her rightmost, forward-oriented arm in a fist, the other a palm.

Remilia's smile became a gleeful expression, her wings fully outstretched. "The moon is so red, tonight. I will end your life."

…

The vampire's laugh echoes throughout the room. "Fufufu~...!"

A pillar of light flashes from the floor beneath Remilia. After a few moments, the vampire herself is gone, and the pillar closes.

' _Where is she going…?_ ' Dashing into the center of the room, Sendai looked around...

" _Hellfire!_ "

Hearing the voice from behind herself, and the prompt roaring of flames, Sendai jumped into the air, executing a backflip prior to the apex of her jump.

Woosh! Three fireballs in a vertical line roared past her from beneath, barely missing her long hair.

' _...I probably could have moved to the side to avoid that._ ' Sendai noted the unfortunate horizontal range of that attack. ' _I was expecting a jet of flames, not fireballs._ '

"Fufufu~...!" Remilia's laugh echoed through the room again, as she teleported with a pillar of light again.

' _This is going to be annoying._ ' Steadily, she marched towards where the vampire teleported away from…

Looking around procedurally, she eventually found Remilia appearing behind her once again. This time, she proactively dashed towards the vampire as she appeared…

" _Hah!_ " Remilia spread a wing out, three fireballs whirling outward from her form.

Sendai easily cleared them with an unaccented leap-

 _Thud_. Her sandals kicked dust up from the carpet as she landed, crouched, and punched forward-

 _Bam!_ Her fist connected with Remilia's cheek, a dark ring expanding outward in the air from where she struck.

"Gnh…!?" Remilia flew back-

Bam! She quickly came to a stop halfway through one of the side walls.

…

' _Was that-_ '

In the next instance, Remilia was before her, moving faster than the human eye. "So, you're not as weak as I thought." She sported a new, grave looking bruise on her right cheek.

After a few moments, however, this bruise reversed itself, her skin returning to perfection.

"I hope you have more tricks than just that." Remilia floated into the air, smiling serenely… "This is going to be a fun night."

Sendai sighed. ' _This is going to be a long night. Wait- it's night already? I've been in this mansion longer than I realized..._ '

From here, the two stared each other down. Scarlet energy began to travel up the vampire's form…

No longer did she teleport with a predictable laugh and a beam of light. In the next instance, Remilia was standing on the floor again, a wing outstretched as she was to the miko's right this time.

" _Hellfire!_ "

This time, instead of three fireballs, she sent out an open stream of flame, comprised of many of the small fireballs from before.

Dashing out of the way, Sendai ran along the side. When she reached where Remilia was, she reeled her fist back-

Woosh. Upon unleashing her fist, the vampire was gone. ' _Ah!?_ '

" _Dark Inferno!_ "

Whirling around, the miko found the vampire well behind her once more. Thick, ashen and amber orbs of magma rolled through the air towards the miko, prompting her to duck and leap to avoid them. They traveled to her in an alternating pattern, allowing her to duck and jump systematically.

Once she was past the eighth and final orb, Remilia vanished entirely.

' _...That attack was more annoying than threatening._ ' Idly, Sendai looked over at where the magma balls traveled, only to see they apparently exploded into flames while simultaneously flickering out of existence against the back wall. ' _Good magic. Apparently she's holding back so as to not damage the room._ '

Remilia appeared next to Sendai, and held out her arms. " _Bat Moon!_ "

Suddenly, a flourish of bats whirled out from Remilia's form, and began slamming into the miko. "Gh…!?"

' _Nevermind-_ this _is annoying._ '

...After being slightly pushed back by the bats, for a moment, Sendai imbued her legs with dark energy and began running, plowing through them.

Getting to the vampire again, she unleashed another brutal blow with her left arm, charging it with darkness as she did so-

 _Bam!_

"Ngah!?" Remilia flew back off of the floor, stopping herself in the air. Her face was bloodied, nose bent awkwardly. "Ghn~... yooh dohn' know 'ow to 'ahve fuhn…" She spoke awkwardly too, as her nose slowly shifted back into place…

"What?" Sendai couldn't make out what she said.

"I said you're no fun." Remilia reiterated, nursing her nose with both hands. "Very well. If you wish to fight such an uphill battle…"

The vampire was gone in the next moment.

...Sendai began looking-

 _Swish-swish!_

"Gah…?" Jerking to the side immediately, Sendai brought her arm to her flank…

After brushing herself, she brought her hand to her face, only to find it was smeared with blood.

' _Here we go…_ ' Grimacing, she began allocating her darkness to put pressure on the new superficial wounds.

Remilia stood ten feet away, her long ruby nails now coated with dashes of crimson. "Oo~h, you're a bleeder, are you? Fufufu~!"

She vanished in a pillar of light once again.

Sendai jumped-

She felt the vampire grab onto her ankle, appearing from nowhere. " _Denie-_ "

Whack! Sendai jerked her other leg down into the vampire's face, refusing to waste time charging it with darkness. She knew the vampire had a huge edge over her in reflexes and agility.

"Hey…" Remilia was persuaded to let go, but wasn't really injured by such a half-hearted attack. "Was it just me… or are you _weaker_ than I anticipated?"

The kick allowed Sendai to distance herself a little. Reaching into her pocket, she drew a mana molotov…

In the next moment, it was gone from her hand with a blur and gust of wind. She looked ahead, and saw Remilia had stolen it from her, now standing a little closer.

"A~hehehe!" She seemed delighted by the holy water. "Ho~ly water? Awwh, you really believed the superstitions about vampires?"

Uncorking the top, she turned it upside down and started spilling the holy water on the floor. "The~re it goes. _Holy_ water… pfft-hehehe-"

Crack!

...Remilia darted to the side to avoid a second molotov. On its impact with the carpet, the holy liquid that splashed out lit into blue flames, before fizzling a moment later.

' _Damn, she noticed._ '

Remilia had a brow raised. "...Okay, so you have an indefinite amount of these." Taking the vial she was spilling before, she tossed it to the side nonchalantly, allowing it to break somewhere behind herself. "Such toys mean nothing to me."

Sendai threw another one forward as a distraction, as she reached into her pockets for a different utility…

Crack! Remilia dodged it at the last second, showing off her agility. "How pitiful. Wha~t, do your fists not work? Maybe you should've… _invested_ in some holy spells. Oh, right! You're not a Hakurei!"

Taking a bundle of jewels from her pocket, Sendai threw them forward. They were the stones she used to created the Evil Sealing Circle she sealed Sakuya with.

Remilia easily moved out of the way of the slow moving stones. "Please. You're going to make me cry from how desperate this is…"

Cli-cli-clink. The bundle of three stones rebounded off the wall behind Remilia, bouncing back at different angles.

Cli-cli-clink. Rebounding again off of the floor and ceiling, the stones came down in the vague area where Remilia was.

She stepped out of the way, no longer paying attention to the miko as she watched the stones bounce. "...O~kay. Did you think these were going to hit me?"

 _Crack!_

Remilia suddenly turned around, noticing a large yin-yang orb bouncing towards her, thrown by Sendai when she wasn't looking. With each bounce, it cracked the floor.

 _Crack!_ Cli-cli-clink. The projectiles made noise as they moved about the room...

Crack! A molotov thrown by Sendai broke somewhere totally away from where Remilia even was.

"Wh-what is this crap!?" Smiling incredulously, Remilia was taken aback by the amount of useless tools that now cluttered the throne room. "Are- are you-"

She looked back at Sendai, mirthful from the clutter-

Sendai's darkness imbued fist connected with the underside of her chin. With the uppercut, the two were propelled upward-

 _Boom!_

-and through the ceiling.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The two women are now outside the manor, the ceiling having lead directly to the roof.

Above the manor, an immense scarlet moon rests in the night sky, swirling violently in the background.

...Remilia does a backflip to break from the miko's uppercut.

"Hmph…" In the air, the vampire dusts off her clothes, and folds her arms. "Annoying, annoying."

 _Thoom_. Sendai lands on the dark roof, cracking the wood planks she lands upon. ' _Now that we're outside, my water spell should work well enough. The only problem is that it's not exactly water… so I'm not sure if I'll have to use it more than once. I can't use it more than two or three times without running my mana dry._ '

…

"I'll let you have the first move." Remilia smiled down at the miko, hovering thirty feet in the air. "Come and have a go."

' _I'll hold off on big spells, for now. I'd rather not burn so much mana all at once._ ' Sendai restrained herself from casting one of her heavier attacks right away. ' _If it gets to be too much, I'll just use one and see what happens..._ '

Allowing ofuda to flow from her left sleeve, Sendai began to raise the slowly constructing form of an origami amulet axe. Leaping a few feet, she tosses it in an arc towards the vampire. "Huah!"

It spun up and forward, nearing Remilia-

Becoming a flock of bats, the vampire's miniature selves nimbly navigated around the axe and whirled towards the floor before the miko-

 _Fwoom!_ Remilia flourished out from the bat swarm once they created a solid mass. Behind her, two massive wings of scarlet energy stretched outward, illuminating the rooftop.

" _Scarlet Hellfire!_ " Remilia stretched an arm outward, drifting backward-

 _Fwam- fwam- fwam!_ A large spread shot of scarlet danmaku orbs roared out from her form, leaving a trail of red bullets in their wake.

' _She uses danmaku too!?_ ' At this point, Sendai was bewildered…

Backpedaling to avoid the scarlet spread shot- and jumping over the one orb that was horizontally aligned with her- Sendai glared ahead at the vampire.

' _This isn't my preferred method of attack, but…_ ' Swinging her arm quickly, Sendai threw three talismans straight forward at the vampire-

 _Fwoom!_ Three magma orbs flew out from Remilia's form in a shotgun spread, incinerating the ofuda.

Sendai darted to the side to avoid the slow moving orbs. She slipped a hand into her sleeve, readying more ofuda...

Woosh! They whirled through the air-

Slap-slap-slap! They meet Remilia's form, flaring up with holy magic.

"Ngh…" Remilia grimaced, before smiling again.

Promptly, her form dissipated into scarlet mist, the ofuda drifting in the air uselessly.

' _What…?_ ' Sendai blinked at this. ' _Vampires always seem to have a new trick up their sleeve..._ '

The scarlet mist regathered in the air over the ofuda, Remilia's form remade. "Fufufu~! Sealing me won't be as easy as _that!_ "

Sendai ran towards her at a moderate pace, causing the vampire's brow to raise-

" _Hyah!_ " Bolting forward with unexpected force, Sendai held her arms outstretched at her sides, person-sized wind discs generating to propel her forward.

"Hnh…" Remilia's arm was clipped by one as she dodged, creating a large, bloody gash in it.

"Fufufu~..." She became a flock of bats again, moving farther away from the miko, and into the air.

' _Hitting her still doesn't seem to do anything worthwhile._ ' Her dash ending and wind blades dissipating, Sendai whirled around and stared at the bat company with a furrowed brow. ' _Infact, it's almost like she's_ letting _me hit her._ '

When Remilia reformed in the air, her arm was fully healed again.

Grinning widely, she reeled her arm back. "Now, here's _power!_ Divine Spear…!"

In her arm, an immense, crackling spear of scarlet began generating, stretching further and further out as it initialized…

' _If there was ever a time to flash step…!_ ' Steeling herself, the miko anticipated the huge projectile.

" _Spear the Gungnir!_ " Remilia tossed the immense spear of scarlet light forward.

As it moved towards the miko, it became a streak of light in the air-

Sendai's form flickered out-

 _Thwash!_ It pierced the mansion's roof, leaving a violent splash of danmaku in its wake that roared back out towards Remilia.

...Sendai's form flickered back into a fully material state a moment later, ten feet ahead of where she was previously

...Remilia frowned, folding her arms as she idly waded through her own danmaku. "I saw that. You didn't even _dodge_ it, you just phased out or something and went _through_ it. What even was that?"

Not responding, the Hakurei miko began running towards the vampire again.

Dissatisfied with the non-response, Remilia drew her wings around herself, and spread them out-

 _Fwash!_ A complex pentagram of mysterious lines appeared in the air all around the rooftop, some of the lines intersecting Sendai-

FWASH

At once, all the lines turned into a web of lasers.

"Guwah!?" Sendai was launched by the one she was standing in, sending her rolling onto her back.

' _These do some serious damage for danmaku lasers…!_ '

The lasers dissipated a moment later.

...Sitting up, the miko saw that Remilia was gone.

' _Ugh…_ ' Springing onto her feet, Sendai waited, reinforcing her posture. Her torso was crackling with red danmaku energy from a single blow, blood running down her side from the claw wound the vampire previously left on her. ' _Danmaku seems to make my defensive darkness useless…_ '

Bats flocked into one central position above the roof, all rushing from different corners of the roof to assemble in the air.

Remilia promptly reformed from them, and immediately sent a swirling wave of thick, bright scarlet bullets outwards indiscriminately.

' _More…?_ ' Leaping into the air a few feet again, Sendai dug through her armsleeve…

She pulled out a copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, generated fresh from magical replication.

' _Thank you again Hieda…_ ' Reeling her arm back at the apex of her jump, Sendai tossed it.

Fluttering through the air, the chronicle began to flail wildly, pages of it lagging out behind itself and following suit. Its flailing caused it to go in a spiral pattern around where Sendai chucked it.

The pages of the tome intercepted the orbs that slowly gravitated in on Sendai's position, dissipating them.

"Hn~gh…" Remilia was irritated by these diversion tactics. Casting her arms forward, she sent another magma orb surge at the miko, six of them whirling forward this time.

"Hoh…" Moving towards them, Sendai flash stepped through them, bypassing them as they obliterated the whirling pages of the chronicle behind herself.

Remilia scowled at her. "You may not be a Hakurei, but you're just as _annoying_."

' _Is that all?_ ' Sendai allowed herself a cocky smirk. ' _...I'm still not sure how I'm going to damage her. My only hope is something like the magic molotov. Maybe I'll just pop that spell right now..._ '

"No matter." Remilia smiled back, meeting Sendai's smirk. "We'll simply dance for eternity. You can do that, can't you, _human?_ Fufufu~!"

Drawing another mana molotov, taking a moment to focus on it, Sendai chucked it straight up.

It whirled into the dark sky above. Remilia watched it accelerate up, intrigued by its sudden velocity.

" _Hydro Storm!_ " Sendai yelled, striking a pose.

With a flash of light, the molotov was gone.

...Remilia rose a brow at the performance. "Hmm? Have you taken the part of a jester?"

In the next moment, it began to rain fiercely, drops thundering against the rooftop.

"What…!?" Remilia's wings flared up, and her eyes widened, glowing brighter than Sendai had seen before in this fight. "Ho-how…!?"

' _It's working. I was starting to get worried, for a moment, there…_ ' Still tense, Sendai began to crack her knuckles. ' _What was that about holy water not working, again?_ '

...After a moment- in which Remilia shielded herself with her wings, and pulled her mob cap over her head- the vampire began to giggle. "...Fufufu~..."

' _...I better not have screwed myself._ ' Sendai watched the vampire with bated breath.

"Hahahaha~!" Remilia laughs loudly, allowing herself to look up, while still shielding herself. " _Holy_ water! _Holy_ water! Yo-you used…!"

Within these moments, the rain begins to end naturally. Sendai exhales... ' _I can't use many more spells like that, from here. That one always costs more than I expect._ '

Once Remilia composes herself, she continues. "Th-that water of yours… let me be honest, you would have been immensely better off casting a standard rain spell. In fact, allow me to be even more honest. I _am_ vulnerable to holy magic. However…"

Unfurling her wings now that the rain spell had run out, Remilia flapped them lazily. "I am more vulnerable to water magic. As such, if you give a spell like that water _and_ holy properties…"

...She curls her wings around herself again, shivering. "It-it's not as effective as _just_ water. Yes."

' _If I was a mage, what she just said would have been incredibly stupid. Since I'm not, she's going to get away with boasting her weaknesses._ ' Sendai began to walk towards her. ' _...I can feel insulted about this later. I can't afford to mess up now._ '

Noticing the miko approaching below, Remilia gave her a tired grin. "O~h, don't think I'm done yet, however…"

Sendai felt her adrenaline beginning to wane slightly. ' _I should've taken another break earlier. I'm incredibly out of practice..._ '

"Why don't we wrap this up?" Remilia proposed, drifting down towards the miko... "I can tell you bore of this. Do realize that I don't plan to _concede_ to someone as arrogant and brutish as yourself, mind you. In all honesty, you've displayed enough skill to impress me."

Reaching a hand out from her protective wing blanket, Remilia offered a handshake. "How would you like to be my _maid?_ "

...Sendai stepped closer to Remilia.

The stout vampire began to grin. "I promise you power beyond imagination, human. It is your reward for dancing well."

She reached out for Remilia's hand-

-only to reel it back and move to punch Remilia in the face.

Whack!

...The punch was unaccented with dark magic or anything, it was just a mean jab.

Remilia nose was broken again anyway, though. "...Goohd. In rehtrohshpecth, I shoold've eshpected thah..." She stared at Sendai through squinted eyes, as her nose slowly shifted back into shape. "...Mngh- there we go."

"I refuse." Sendai made her intent clear.

"Yes, yes, I happen to have realized…" Remilia hastily spoke, her annoyance leaking. "I'm afraid I wasn't giving you a _suggestion_."

...Sensing intent from the vampire, Sendai raised her fists.

Smirking, Remilia wrapped her wings around herself ever tighter, now conforming her to a sort of cone shape. "Come! _Power!_ "

...Slowly, the mansion's roof began to vibrate.

" _ **Hoaa~h!**_ " Remilia's voice echoed as she yelled, her form beginning to glow brightly and her eyes flaring up again. She didn't move, simply remaining in place as her energy charged...

' _Let's not._ ' Sendai bolted forward to stop this-

Whack…

Before she could reach Remilia, a flock of bats came out from behind the vampire and love-tapped her aside.

"Oof…" Sendai slowly landed on her rear a few feet away.

The mansion began to vibrate faster, and with more intensity…

Gritting her teeth, Sendai pushed herself to get back up, and bolt towards Remilia again-

 _Bam!_ This time, she delivered a darkness-imbued punch into the center of the flock of bats that came after her, blasting them all away.

 _Bam!_ She was forced to do the same to a similar bat mass that came from Remilia's other side.

Now that Remilia was unassisted, Sendai got down to business delivering repeated jabs into her face.

 _Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!_ Each punch left an expanding dark ring in the air, Sendai putting her all into each punch.

-Woosh! Sendai's fifth missed, by virtue of the vampire turning into a flock of bats and relocating.

In this one moment, the rumbling and the vibrating stopped, the mansion seemingly returning to normal.

The moon- which was becoming more and more neon red as the fight went on- returned to a pale scarlet.

…

Sendai moved towards the bats on the other side of the roof. ' _Did I-_ '

They reformed, Remilia still in her cone shape, and her face surprisingly fine looking despite taking four dark punches to the nose again.

" _ **Hooaa~h!**_ " She resumed her charging where it left off.

The mansion vibrated again, picking up from the exact intensity where it left off, and the moon became neon red again as if someone turned the lights back on.

' _What is this…!?_ ' Frantically, Sendai pounded across the rooftop to reach the vampire again.

As she neared, bats came out from behind Remilia again to shield her, only for Sendai to create discs of wind with her arms and dash through them.

"Alright…" Stopping before the vampire and reaching into her pocket, Sendai took out a mana molotov.

With a swing of her arm, she cast it into Remilia's face-

 _Crack!_

Remilia shut her eyes, her face burning from the holy flames.

 _Bam! Bam!_ Following up, Sendai delivered two dark punches.

Stepping back, the miko pulled out a yin yang orb and maximized it. She proceeded to punch it towards Remilia-

 _Whack!_ It bounced off of Remilia's head…

"Agh…" Remilia's cone-shaped form tipped over, and she flopped onto the roof, her wings returning to normal.

Like before, the rumbling stopped, but the moon was still neon red, and spinning like a record.

…

Sendai looked between the ballistic moon, and the idle vampire on the floor.

' _Is the moon going to crash…?_ ' The miko couldn't believe how close it looked.

FWOOM

Scarlet mist poured out from Remilia.

' _What…!?_ ' Sendai shielded herself with her arms, but the mist consumed her.

==== Sendai Hakurei No Miko Mode ====

…

' _Where…?_ '

Looking around, Sendai found herself somewhere in the night sky, the immense moon before her in its full glory.

' _...This does not answer my question._ ' Sendai tries looking around more, but there was nothing other than scarlet clouds and stars in the sky above.

Eventually, her gaze met the form of Remilia as it faded in. She was seemingly sitting on the air, her legs crossed and head propped upon her resting arm.

"It's been a long, long time since I've decided to get a little more serious…" Remilia admitted. Her form was almost a silhouette against the light of the whirling, neon red moon. "I suppose I've been a little impatient, but can I be blamed? There's only been one other human to genuinely push me this far… and as such, I've been a little eager to break it out again. Dust off the cobwebs and such, you know?"

"Was the human Reimu?" Sendai took a guess, feeling her stomach sink again.

"...No, actually." Remilia revealed, smiling in reminisce. "She pushed me, indeed, though we only played danmaku. No, there was another human, and I'm sure you've met her on the way here."

...Sendai watched the vampire curiously. ' _...I'm not sure who she's referring to. Wait- she and Reimu only_ played _danmaku? What?_ '

"That fight lasted all evening." Remilia stared into space. "She actually nearly brought me to my knees, even. Her skill was _astounding_. Even then, it wasn't quite enough. Vampire hunters, pftah..."

...Relaxing her posture, Sendai performed some simple stretches... ' _Is she just going to keep reminiscing?_ '

Shaking her head, Remilia returned to the fight, her smile becoming a knowing smirk. "Today, she is my maid. Now, it is time for you to put _aside_ your weak, human side, and join _me_ in maintaining this manor!"

Sendai cracked her knuckles. "I know that water weakened you. This fight is almost over."

"Hahaha!" Remilia laughed rudely at her claim.

" _Behold_ my true form, and _despair!_ "

Remilia's throne was revealed.

She sat upon a grey chair with red velvet, a swirling pentagram lighting alive behind her.

Around her was a wreath of black flesh, six huge feathered bat wings flourishing out from its surface.

 _Fwo-fwo-fwoom!_ Before the front face of the wreath, three yellow eyes initialize, complex victorian metal arches fading into existence around them. These three eyes revolved in alignment with the wreath behind them.

Two large, four-clawed hands floated out from behind the floating mass, the wrist-esque segments of them tapering off into foggy shadows.

At the base of Remilia's throne was a mound of skull-esque shapes. While not exactly skulls, they were certainly made of bone. The black, bat wing-esque flesh of the entire wreath was arbitrarily dotted with bright, shiny ruby orbs...

' _This is a little much for not having a party to back me up..._ ' Sendai didn't bargain for a generic overworld vampire to be _this_ well-prepared. ' _I should've ignored a mansion the size of the village, but there's no going back now._ '

" _Fufufu~!_ " Remilia swung a foot about leisurely, leaning back in her chair.

Lines began to initialize around the open space, in a complex, rigid pattern spreading out from Remilia's form…

Sendai got into a space free of these lines. ' _More lasers incoming-_ '

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ The laser web initialized-

Before the lasers were all gone, another web with mirrored orientation generated.

Looking around, Sendai noted that shotgun spreads of scarlet bullets of all sizes were coming out of the two claw-like appendages in waves, aimed at her.

Leaping high up- avoiding the two danmaku spreads below her- Sendai looked for solid ground that was potentially free of laser mayhem…

' _I can't judge how far I'll fall. The ground being an invisible plane in the sky doesn't help._ ' Sendai looks down at the laser web…

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ As the previous laser web blinks back into inactive lines, the second laser web activates in a wave.

"Aah!" Narrowly avoiding one of the lasers by falling into the space a laser from the previous set occupied, Sendai still fell into a thick scarlet bullet. ' _Ouch. Everything stings, but that's alright for now..._ '

The second web of lasers flicker out, leaving nothing behind-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ The first web of lasers re-initialized.

Sendai kicked towards the floor, to her previous hiding spot in the midst of the lasers before they'd all initialized.

The vampire's smug, echoing voice was heard as the lasers all finally dissipated. " _How was that?_ "

...Sendai looked to the right, at one of the claw-like appendages.

Its palm began to glow, before firing another shotgun spread of randomly shaped bullets at her.

Leaping into the air and strafing to the side, Sendai avoided not only that spread, but a spread fired from the opposite appendage behind her.

The two hands shot at her new aerial position uselessly, allowing her to simply fall down and out of the way.

Running towards the claw hand, Sendai drew a yin-yang orb and maximized it…

She leapt over it pre-emptively-

The claw fired at her offbeat as she neared, although it failed to strike her due to her momentum and proximity.

Passing over it, Sendai drops the orb onto it-

 _Thunk!_ The hand twitches, dipping down into the 'floor' slightly…

Landing behind it, Sendai lunged for it, her arms flaring up with dark energy-

 _Bam! Bam!_

 _Fwoa~m!_ Her two punches caused the dark appendage to explode, the black smog returning to the seated vampire.

" _That's some strength…_ " Remilia commentates on the action, grinning. " _How intriguing._ "

Sendai began distancing herself from the vampire's construct by power-backpedalling… ' _I get that a lot._ '

Remilia held up an arm. " _This is real strength!_ Scarlet Sign! Scarlet Meister!"

Sendai steeled her posture again…

Remilia's form began glowing brighter-

Ti-ti-tick-FWAM- _FWAM_

With the utmost minimum warning, Remilia fired a thick, alarmingly fast, concentrated stream of immense scarlet bullets.

Sendai threw herself out of the way, nearly falling over as the bullets grazed her left arm. ' _So this is why they use danmaku…!_ '

Almost immediately, the thick sphere stream becomes incredibly unfocused, Remilia whipping the stream around herself three-sixty degrees. The final few shots splashed out across where the initial stream had crossed, all of the unaimed bullets moving just as fast as the focused ones.

In addition, there were an amazingly dense myriad of tinier bullets in the wake of these huge ones. ' _Eating those is better than eating the big ones-_ '

"Agh…" Sendai briefly skids on her knees as she moves forward and to the left to escape an incoming orb. Each great orb was the size of at least three people. ' _Ma-made it…_ '

...Crackling with danmaku energy, Sendai stands up-

Ti-ti-tick-FWAM- _FWAM_

Remilia fired another concentrated stream at her.

' _Okay- that's nice...!_ ' A burning sensation ran up her legs as she leapt high into the air, darkness accenting her legs and allowing her to clear the insane concentration of super bullets.

Again, Remilia began to unfocus her spread, huge bullets going in a three-sixty around her until they'd return to the point of the original, focused shot.

' _I can't keep going like this…!_ ' Another curtain of medium and small bullets, and Sendai was sure she'd become too impaired to do anything about subsequent attacks.

With little other choice, she focused for a moment...

" _Fantasy Nature!_ " Sendai arced back in the air, spreading her arms and legs out.

 _Fwoa~m…_

Dark energy quickly flowed outward from her core, spreading across all her limbs and covering her completely.

The dark miko fell into the sea of bullets below, contorting its body to avoid the bright bullets. As one of the huge bullets neared, it flailed its limbs to get out of the way, before dropping to a belly slide to get away.

' _so bright_ '

Once it was out of the way, the dark being sprinted towards the vampire's construct on all fours, its long nails scraping against the invisible surface Remilia had created for the battle.

Ti-ti-tick-FWAM- _FWAM_

Remilia repeated her devastating stream, smirking at the miko as it ran straight towards it-

 _Woosh!_ Awkwardly, the being sprung up and sailed through the air perpendicular to the concentrated bullet clump. Then, she rotated ninety degrees and sailed towards Remilia.

The bullet stream began to rotate three-sixty degrees again, although the miko's proximity was awkwardly close enough for the larger bullets to miss it completely.

Though she clipped a few smaller bullets, the miko's erratic movements allowed it to get close-

' _found her_ '

 _fwam-fwam-fwam_. Swinging its claws, the feral miko tore through Remilia's immediate clothes and flesh, rending surprisingly little of it and creating minimal bleeding.

Every dark claw mark she left on Remilia's form pulsed and glowed with dark energy. However, due to Remilia's dark affinity, they didn't actually do much more than look pretty.

 _fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwam_. Spinning around, the miko's claws mauled Remilia at inhuman speed, though the vampire was able to make out the erratic, impossible movements that went into such a maneuver.

 _fwa-fwa-fwam_. It darted through Remilia's form, taking gratuitous swipes of her flesh.

 _Fwoosh!_ Arcing back in the air again, it unleashed an expanding sphere of claw slashes, digging into Remilia's flesh.

" _Ah…!_ " Remilia uncomfortably felt at her flesh, slightly offput by the sensations bombarding her, but not truly hurt.

 _Bam!_ One of the yellow-eyed metal arcs was caught in the crossfire, and fell apart from the attack's damage, dropping through the invisible floor and into the clouds below.

' _running out_ '

The remaining danmaku dissipated, Remilia's spell card broken.

Leaping back, the miko landed on her legs, before doing a backflip to launch herself further away…

A good hundred feet away, it crouched down on all fours-

 _Fwoam_. The darkness returned to the core of Sendai's being, returning her to her senses.

' _A-ah…_ ' She felt pretty empty afterward, too. ' _Talk about burning the midnight oil…_ ' Rigidly, she rose back to a standing position, before correcting her posture. The whipping wind from the battlefield's altitude reminded her of the sweat she was doused in...

' _Let's see, what did I do…_ ' Looking over the vampire's construction, she noticed one of the yellow-eyed arches was gone, and there was no longer an impossible to dodge spread of scarlet bullets. ' _Good enough, apparently…_ '

The remaining claw-like appendage held its palm open, which began glowing…

A single line extended from it, intersecting Sendai's position.

' _No._ ' Moving out of the way, Sendai reached into her sleeve for another maximizable orb and sprinted towards the hand…

 _FwiChoo~m!_ The hand shot a single, small scarlet beam.

Closing the distance with the hand quickly, Sendai held the maximized, bowling ball-sized orb up and punched it-

 _Bam!_ It flew into the hand-

 _Thunk!_ The clawed appendage bent back at an awkward angle.

Leaping towards it, Sendai kicked at its palm.

It attempted to close around Sendai-

 _Fwoom!_ Her kick pierced its form, reducing it to black smog which returned towards Remilia's body…

" _Very interesting indeed!_ " Remilia beamed at the miko, her flesh mostly healed from the vigorous gouging it had received earlier, most of the dark miasma that coated her now in her mana pool. " _Perhaps you'll be a challenge yet..._ "

Sendai moved forward to try and engage the vampire-

 _Ti-ti~ng!_

The two remaining yellow-eyed metal arcs generated non-elemental lasers of light that stopped just shy of Sendai's position, guarding Remilia's form.

' _Hmm… I'll have to find a way to either destroy those eyes, or hit her from here. It seems to be possible, if I did it under the influence of Fantasy Nature..._ '

Stepping forward, Sendai's form flickered out, becoming seemingly invisible.

Remilia's throne-esque construct began to turn around at a moderate pace, towards where Sendai would reappear…

As Remilia expected, Sendai reappeared behind her-

 _Crack!_ A mana molotov flew into Remilia's face, holy fire and a splash of holy water dousing her. " _Ahn!_ " The entire construct jerks back, distancing itself a good twenty feet from Sendai in one moment.

' _There we go._ ' Running towards the construct again, Sendai felt her adrenaline flare back up. ' _That's something I can use. I should have enough mana for one more Hydro Storm if it comes down to it..._ '

" _Fufufu~..._ " Giggling again, Remilia held her arm up once again. "Scarlet Sign! Scarlet Shoot!"

' _That's… not good._ ' Sendai rapidly backpedalled, strafing to the side as she did so-

FWASH

Remilia sent out a spread of five immense scarlet orbs, which left lingering bullets of varied sizes in their wake.

Of these five bullets, only one was actually aimed directly at Sendai, the two others at mirrored forty five degree angles, and the last two at mirrored ninety degree angles.

FWASH

Sendai was able to avoid these fast bullet spreads by strafing. This time, she was also more mindful of the lingering bullets left behind by the more intimidating orbs, careful not to eat too many of them…

' _I'm glad the sky's so dark. These bullets are pretty bright…_ '

Remilia spoke before her next volley, her voice unnaturally louder than the danmaku. " _What is it you_ truly _desire from this, child? Is it eternal life you seek? A place at my side?_ "

 _FWASH_

A wall of five huge bullets was ejected towards Sendai at once, all next to one another and slightly intersecting instead of a huge vaguely-aimed spread.

Sendai leapt with as much horizontal momentum as she could muster, rolling against the ground as she landed-

She felt the heat of the leftmost bullet of the volley graze her as she rolled onto her feet.

' _Dirty trick…_ ' Scoffing at the sudden consistency of the bullets, Sendai began moving towards the vampire's throne construct again, strafing as she did so-

FWASH

Another volley that was more aesthetic than intimidating was fired, the one aimed sphere moving for Sendai, which she readily ran past.

FWASH

Weaving past the proceeding immense scarlet sphere, Sendai drew a mana molotov from her sleeve, and chucked it forward-

 _Crack!_ It broke against Remilia's torso, lighting her form up in holy flames again.

" _Aguh…!_ " Remilia's construct jerked back once more, distancing itself from Sendai readily.

 _FWASH_

Filling her legs with dark energy, Sendai leaped up high, with intent to clear the condensed bullet cluster…

As she cleared the bullets with a little leeway, she looked down at the sea of lingering danmaku residue below. ' _This was a mistake._ '

Looking to the side, she rotated-

"Hoh!" With a horizontal kick, she diverted her momentum to the floor diagonally. Bringing her legs back into a more neutral position, she met the floor-

"Hnh…" It took Sendai a good few seconds of rolling before she could stop. ' _Ow. Well, it works..._ '

Once she was stopped, she broke from her rolling posture-

"Ah…" -and splayed out, lying on her back.

' _Quickly!_ ' Thrusting her legs up, she pushed her arms back on the invisible floor and sprung to her feet.

From here, she bolted towards the black mass Remilia was seated upon again…

Remilia smiled at her, her head resting upon her arm again.

FWASH

Another wave of danmaku began, with another spread shot firing vaguely at Sendai.

Darting out of the way with one good kick of a leg against the floor, Sendai slipped out another mana molotov, and chucked it at the vampire.

It swung through the air as Sendai darted back-

 _Crack!_ The molotov shattered upon Remilia's form again, lighting her up with holy fire a third time.

" _Augh!_ " Remilia's throne jerked back in the air once again.

The danmaku she shot dissipated, her spell card finally broken.

' _I seem to have a free-enough moment..._ ' Sendai took a deep breath, pacing towards the devil's creation.

"Again, I ask…" Remilia's voice dropped its echo effect for a moment, as the holy flames died out on her body. " _What do you gain from this?_ "

"By my hands, this land shall be protected." Again, Sendai inhales deeply… "I'm duty bound to heed my family's call."

Holding her arm up, ofuda flow out of the miko's sleeves like a river.

...Remilia simply stared at her response with furrowed brows and a dry expression. " _Duty? Hmph. Fine for my maids, I suppose._ "

In Sendai's arms, an origami axe made from folded ofuda formed. With her new weapon, she gazed at the rotating, yellow-eyed arches, preparing to throw her axe when an opportunity arose…

"Hup!" Sendai leapt, and tossed the axe.

It spun through the air, falling in an arc towards one of the eye arches.

Its blade slams down on the top of one-

Fwoof! Upon strike, the axe exploded into ofuda, the arch below it vibrating violently-

Bam! Promptly, the arch fell out of place, falling forward and phasing through the invisible floor below, hurtling into the clouds…

Now on the ground, Sendai smiled. "To banish youkai, for their cruelty. By my hand, you will fall, immortal."

...Remilia's throne's wings flapped idly as the vampire herself gazed at Sendai with a hard expression, for a moment.

…

Then, Remilia began laughing, her echo dropping off again. "Heh, hah hah hah! I'm feeling nostalgic already, you know. And, if my intuition is correct… your stamina is wearing thin, is it not?"

' _I don't think it took intuition or vampire powers to figure that one out._ ' Sendai was still caked in sweat, and her limbs shook and stung from the overexertion she'd been putting on them.

"However…" Remilia stopped to examine her nails for a moment. Her voice began to echo again. " _Our dance has only just begun. As such, I suspect you'll be able to keep up?_ "

' _Hydro Storm, or laser…_ ' Sendai considered her options, slowly reinforcing her posture. ' _...She's weaker to water than holy, so Hydro Storm again should do._ '

"God Art…" Remilia began to wave her hand through the air. "Va-"

" _Hydro Storm!_ " Sendai struck a pose as she tossed a mana molotov into the air…

Remilia's face faulted in disbelief. " _Again?_ "

The molotov vanished as it accelerated into the sky.

Immediately, it began pouring despite the battle's altitude.

"Guh…" Remilia wrapped her wings around herself again, scrunching up her face as she began to get soaked anew. "How _annoying_. The one _good_ fight I have in over a decade, and-"

Leaping, Sendai tosses another mana molotov forward at the remaining metal arch-

 _Crack!_ It shatters into a small holy inferno-

 _Bam!_ The eye on the metal arch closed, as it detached and dropped off of Remilia's throne-esque abomination.

Now, the throne only had the bat flesh wreath, where Remilia's throne was stationed.

Running towards the vampire, Sendai sprung herself into the air with both legs once she neared…

The vampire narrowed her eyes. "Insolent…!"

Instead of what Remilia had expected- a projectile or a gradual descent-to-punch combo, Sendai kicked straight down-

 _Whack!_ She sprung off of Remilia's head with one leg, a dark ring expanding in the air on impact As she flew back, she pivoted in the air and slipped a hand into her sleeve...

"Ga~h…!" Remilia clutched her head. "You mortal-"

A mana molotov fell in Sendai's wake, arcing towards Remilia-

 _Crack!_ It exploded into a holy inferno on Remilia again, now accenting the holy water already raining from the sky.

" _Aaa~h!_ " Remilia screams, her body burning bright blue from the holy and water magic. "Hrr~gh…!"

Landing behind the construct, Sendai leaps into the air again, intent on repeating this process.

She comes down on the back of Remilia's head with another diagonal kick aided by gravity-

 _Thwack!_ She bounces off Remilia's head again-

" _Aauu~gh!_ "

BOOM

The floating throne construct split down the middle, into two parts.

Remilia floated into the air, her wings spreading out around her as the rain ended.

Each part of the flesh wreath fell from above, hurtling to the ground below.

' _Trouble Gensokyo no more!_ '

...Sendai landed against the air before Remilia. Stumbling around, she held her head, her mana deprivation causing her to momentarily lose focus. ' _Surprising that this floor is active, despite-_ '

Remilia fell through the invisible floor, prompting Sendai to drop, too.

' _Woah!_ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Despite her surprise, her body didn't react to the sensation much, already battered to the point of aching overriding other sensations.

Thrusting her knee into the air, Sendai propelled herself closer to the limp, falling body of Remilia as they descended…

As they fell, the sky's tint became blue and black, the moon revealing itself to be a crescent instead of full.

Sendai grabbed onto Remilia's body as they fell.

…

' _So…_ ' Looking around, the miko tried to focus her eyes. ' _Where's the ground?_ '

…

Eventually, she noticed the ground below. They were over the mansion, which was small enough for Sendai to fit into the palm of her hand from this height.

' _Oh._ ' She took a deep breath. ' _That's… hmm. This shouldn't be_ too _bad._ '

...With Remilia's body in her arms, Sendai kicked downward, accelerating their momentum.

Wind whipped past the miko, her hair billowing in the air above her as she rocketed towards the ever enlarging mansion below…

Woosh! Kicking downward with her other leg, Sendai felt tingles run up her body from the speed which she fell.

' _Maybe this is a little fast…!_ '

...One she got close enough to the manor- at about around one hundred feet above it- she uppercutted the air, her arm becoming encased in darkness.

 _Fwam!_ The air protested at this action, but it only marginally slowed the miko down.

' _Oh shit._ ' Her eyes widened. ' _Too fast too fast-_ ' She upper cutted again-

 _Fwam!_

The ground was under fifty feet away now.

Positioning Remilia beneath herself, Sendai bared her teeth. ' _Sorry about this, if you're still alive. Uhm…_ '

The ground was under ten feet away-

 _Boom!_ Sendai springboarded off of Remilia's back, transferring her momentum to the vampire-

 _Boom-boom-boom!_ Remilia's body plowed straight through the roof, into the mansion interior and through other floors below.

… _Thoom_. Sendai landed on her legs, right beside the hole. Since she didn't reinforce her legs with darkness after her previous stunt, the simple ten foot drop caused her knees to buckle, and she fell onto her stomach. "A-aah…"

' _Ouch- ouch, ouch…_ '

…

…

' _I can't stop… here…_ '

After a long moment of stillness, she got onto her knees and elbows. Looking around, the miko crawled on all four limbs towards one of the white, white, metal tea tables scattered about the rooftop.

Upon reaching it, she clambered onto a chair, using her dark limb imbuements to simply orient herself into it in a proper sitting position. Like this, she pulled up to the table, and flopped over onto it, spreading her arms out as she rested her cheek against the surface…

' _The~re…_ '

…

…

Like this, the miko sat undisturbed into the evening-

" _Lifesteal!_ "

"Hmm!?" Tensing up, Sendai began to raise her head-

Arms wrapped around her upper torso- slightly impeded by the bust there- and breath flowed across her open neck. "I-if you want to pretend so bad… let _me_ be the judge of your blood..."

Eyes widening, Sendai raised her arms only for Remilia's wings to close in around the two of them.

' _Come on!_ ' Her arms began to fill with dark energy-

She feels the vampire's teeth sink into her neck. "Aa-aaa~h…"

' _Damn it- damn it…!_ '

…

In a few seconds, Remilia parted from her, drifting backward. Woozily, Sendai's arms slammed into the table top again.

' _Did… the darkness I sent to my neck help…?_ ' She felt a little lightheaded. ' _Why would she stop?_ '

Circling around, Remilia searched for the seat opposite of the miko. Lazily flopping into her own chair- her torso full of holes and part of her face burnt off, searing with holy energy- Remilia stared across the table

...After a moment, Remilia wiped her mouth. "Your taste is _indeed_ familiar. Eerily familiar. Infact…" She smiles at the miko. "I didn't even know Reimu _had_ a mother."

STAGE COMPLETE

ARC COMPLETED - Scarlet Bloodlines

…

Sendai grit her teeth. ' _How… why isn't she dead? Even a vampire couldn't survive that..._ '

Then, Sendai lowered her gaze at the table. ' _Then again… most vampires don't have quite as much stamina, regeneration, or as flashy finales…_ '

...Adopting similar posture, Remilia slumped in her chair. "You gave me one _hell_ of a beating. A shame you weren't educated enough to finish the job…"

' _Screw you._ ' Sendai glared up at her.

"...Oh, don't look so peeved." Remilia rolled her eyes. "If it's any consolation, your blood's pretty bland, so I definitely won't be drinking from _you_ again. Though, that's a step up from your daughter. Her blood makes me _burn_ , which is a little inconvenient."

Weakly, Sendai slammed her arms on the tea table. "Wh-what did you do with Reimu…!?"

…

Remilia laughed. "Fufufufu~! Is-... is that what this was about!?"

Sendai began to stand, her legs almost giving way. ' _This damned vampire…! I-_ '

"Alright, just what's going on over here!?"

A new voice caused Sendai to pause. ' _...Who?_ '

Remilia rolled her eyes.

Turning, the miko looked in the direction of the voice.

Reimu Hakurei, this generation's current shrine maiden, drifted onto the scene. "Remilia, why are you throwing around magic nukes in the middle of the night? Some of us are trying to _sleep_. One of your spreads nailed my shrine and broke a few shingles..."

' _Reimu!?_ ' Sendai blinked owlishly at the last person she'd expected to see so suddenly.

...Reimu ran her eyes over Sendai idly. "And, who's…"

…

"Re-Reimu?" Sendai breathed.

...Mouth slowly opening, Reimu looked over at Remilia. "...Mind explaining… what's going on here?"

Remilia shrugged. "Hell if I know. This woman came into my manor, beat everyone up, and planned to leave. She also has blood like yours, so take what you will of that." Leaning on the table, Remilia held an arm up and snapped her fingers. "Sakuya~."

…

"Oh, right." Remilia sighed. "You probably knocked her out, or something. Ugh…"

Sendai stumbled towards Reimu, arms outstretched-

Reimu held a gohei forward, stopping her movement. "Hold on- okay…"

' _Reimu?_ ' Sendai tilted her head, confused.

"You look like my mom." Prefacing the conversation, Reimu stared at the previous miko dryly. "...I've also met a lot of youkai who've _looked_ like my mom over the years."

At this, Sendai smirked. "Heh…"

...Reimu blinked at her dryly. "Forgive me for being a little skeptical, but I can't know for certain whether you're who you look like. For all I know, this is Remilia trying to scam me out of my soul or something."

Remilia huffed. "If I wanted your soul, Hakurei, I'd pry it from your _unbeating heart_. Be thankful that I'm so _kempt_ as to not cleave my hand through your torso in the middle of the night."

Reimu ignored Remilia's threat, gazing at the miko before her.

...Sendai smiled at her. "I remember…"

Reimu dryly continued after Sendai's pause. "What, that time you saved me from generic wolfmen or something? How about that time you somehow saved Nitori- who I don't think was even _around_ when you were alive- from that one nonexistent youkai breed?"

Sendai's brows furrowed. "I remember the time you wet your futon because you thought Rumia had broken into the shrine. It was because I was talking about her before, and didn't tell you I was going to be doing things around the shrine that evening..."

' _...Rumia was that one darkness youkai I threw a molotov at!_ ' The memory came back to Sendai. ' _Aa~h… no wonder I felt something when I saw her. She's cute._ '

Reimu snorted. "Yeah, never happened. I-"

"We had to wash that weird doll thing you used to have in your futon." Sendai nodded warmly. "I forget what it was even supposed to be, but you really liked it."

Reimu furrowed her brows. "...Were you in the shrine, earlier?"

"You kept telling me the blankets were wet when you got there." Continuing, Sendai kept her eyes on Reimu's the whole time. "I promised you that I wouldn't tell your friends anything."

Reimu looked away, scratching the back of her head. "...You know, uh-"

"What _did_ you call that doll?" Sendai resisted the urge to look into the air as she searched her memory. "...Something-kun, obviously. Maybe you just called it doll-kun."

...Folding her arms, Reimu prepped herself for debate. "Okay, I _had_ a doll." She admitted. "Good guess. But-"

"Was it _boy_ -kun?" Sendai grinned at Reimu.

" _No~._ " Furrowing her brows, Reimu protested. "Look, it was called-"

"Yume-chan." Sendai exhaled, closing her eyes. "That was it."

' _My memory's pretty… weird, at the moment. Even so, things are coming back. Why am I alive right now?_ '

The answer caught Reimu off guard. "...How?"

"I'm your mother." Sendai slowly stood up straighter, her body cooling down after the previous fight.

…

Reimu narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, but… while you got that right, it's just-..."

Then, Reimu raised her gohei again, pointing it at Sendai. "Why don't we fight?"

Closing her eyes, Sendai smiled. "I'm afraid, at the moment, I'm in little condition to do that."

...Reimu sighed. Then, she glared at Remilia. "I'll remember this."

"I'll remember that you wet yourself and had a doll named boy-kun." Remilia retorted with a straight face.

...Shutting her eyes, Reimu shook her head. Turning around, she began floating away…

' _Tomorrow…_ ' Sendai smirked to herself. ' _I'm walking up to that shrine and setting her straight._ '

...

' _That is…_ ' Turning around, Sendai looked at Remilia.

Remilia had her arms folded. Most of her face had regenerated, by this point. "That went harsher than I had anticipated. Existence denied by your own daughter, how tragic."

' _It's also the middle of the night, so I wouldn't blame her for not thinking straight._ ' Sendai shrugged it off. ' _I'm just glad she's okay._ '

…

"You're letting me go, right?" Sendai glared at the vampire.

"Yeah, yeah." Remilia waved her off. "If I tried to keep you here without enslaving you, you'd just throw your wimpy vials of water at me and make it rain again. Your blood is worthless- in taste, anyway- and I'm sure _someone_ would give me a sound thrashing if I dominated a Hakurei family member. Honestly, I just want you gone. Go."

…

Taking a moment, Sendai took a seat across from her again.

"And _now_ you're staying." Remilia was vaguely displeased as she looked around at the night sky. "Superb."

The miko snorted. "Mind if I spend the night?"

"...If it will keep you from coming back here, fine." Still examining the sky, Remilia waved the request off. "Pick anywhere."

Leaning forward, the miko propped her arms on the tea table again…

Remilia looked at the miko expectantly, sensing another request coming.

The miko gave a lopsided smile. "Say… I suppose I _do_ have a request."

Remilia rolled her eyes. "If it's eternal life or servitude, you can forget it."

"Could you teach me how to do that… teleport thing?" Sendai rose a brow to accent her own request. "That beam of light before you shot those fireballs."

...Remilia chuckled to herself, shaking her head. " _That's_ what you wanted? To be frank, I-..."

Trailing off, the vampire considered the notion. "You _do_ have dark affinity. Hmm. Hmm hmm hmm." After a moment, the vampire agreed. "Why not? I doubt I'd be able to pass a vampiric skill onto you. It could make for some fun to pass the time."

...Giving the vampire a nod, Sendai got up. "Al~right…"

Gazing into the distance, she saw the sun begin to rise. ' _...If I didn't feel like I got run over by an oni, I'd love seeing this beautiful sight._ '

Remilia got up, too. "I'm off to bed. Good night." Promptly, Remilia broke the floor by floating down into it.

' _Pfft…_ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

remi-dracula fight, remi fight

now THIS i REALLY wanna know if i made it drag on too long

there were a few places it coulda ended but i like the idea of remilia having a million final forms

she never really gets down and dirty with sendai like she might with flan, mostly because sendai really couldn't consistently damage her in a meaningful way, and didn't regenerate as fast

remilia's all about fighting with novel experiences in mind, really; at this point in her life she finds just jabbing her claws into someone's torso and ripping out their still-beating heart rather boring

also she was real thirsty to do her whole boss routine on someone with good not-dying skills so this was a fun chance for her to do that

had reimu doubt sendai for now so that she can do more asskicking escapades - w - that and have a fun reimu vs sendai fight… although on that note it took long enough for this fic to have a driving conflict didn't it

although the original premise was like "sendai kicks the SDM's ass and leaves" but i like how this panned out - w -

i mean we're following a hakurei so power's just kinda part of the package although with it you get really long fight scenes . w . although this has been fun experimentation

i feel as though more authors need to do big combat reminiscent of JRPGs and stuff but at the same time need to be able to apply good context to every action and uniqueness so that it's not as cut-and-paste as typical JRPG battles

though i can tell you right now from a writer's standpoint you definitely feel the whole 'oh god not another battle i just want to progress' thing in mook areas tenfold XD although in this fic it wasn't there so much since 90% of the time was touhou bashing; hell i wanted to add MORE mook fights here or there (which i might do in revision to pad out the more lacking chapter segments a bit)

if i do have sendai kick more biome's asses i'd probably keep those chapters short, too

this chapter's an exception kinda 'cause REMILIA HAS A LOT OF FORMS and she DOESN'T RUN OUT OF HP READILY

probably seeing you next time depending on personal interest, reception, time, circumstance, and/or balancing out other works!

chapters might become more consistent in length if i actually write this fic since it now has the intent of being a published fic

i've got a myriad of other free writes i wish to start at some point too but maybe that can wait until this is done… if i continue it we'll see yo

reviews = power, feed me

be as harsh as you can fairly be! i mean you can be harsher but i can only use stuff rooted in reality - w - so be as harsh as feasibly possible while still criticizing please and thank you

 _REVIEW_

i should do that thing my math teacher did on that bloody college math exam i took

Show All Work & "Use Good Form" / Show All Steps!

okay maybe not that obtusely but XD YAKNOW WHAT I MEAN YO

so yeah maybe seeing you next time but don't count on consistent updates for this yet…!


	5. INT - Scarlet Afternoons

The clock struck twelve at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

' _Ninety-eight…_ ' Sendai had awoken recently, and had promptly began a set of one hundred pushups. ' _Ninety-nine…_ '

"One hundre~d…" Finished with her set, she stared down at the floor, still in push-up posture.

...

"One hundred one." She did an extra one just to make sure, before starting to get back up.

"Do you do this every morning?"

' _Ah- who?_ ' Tensing up, Sendai looked at the doorway.

Sakuya- the human maid from the previous day- was standing there, leaning on the doorframe.

"...Pretty much." Sendai admitted. "Normally not until after breakfast, but I've been out of practice, recently. Need to get my endurance back up to what it used to be."

Sakuya snorted. "...If you say so. Lunch is ready in the cafeteria, if you'd like me to lead you there."

' _Lead me there?_ ' Sendai rose a brow. ' _...These hallways_ are _confusing._ '

Sakuya began walking out of the room, and the Hakurei miko moved to follow her out…

' _This place has some good beds, though. They didn't skimp on the generic rooms._ ' Sendai reflected on her sleeping quality as she moved behind the maid. ' _...I also slept in a little, apparently. Then again, I fell asleep at the time I normally wake up, so that's to be expected…_ '

Then, realization set in. ' _That's right. I've got to go meet up with Reimu._ '

…

A second realization set in. ' _Reimu can fly!?_ ' Normally, Sendai only achieved delayed falling with some of her various spell casts and items. Free flight, however, was something Sendai only saw youkai and human mages achieve.

"We're here." Sakuya stopped at a large, open archway. "Take a seat. Your meal will be ready shortly."

"What…?" Sendai was snapped from her thoughts-

The maid was gone.

' _That was faster than I expected. I must've lucked out when I picked the room I did._ ' Idly, the miko proceeded into the dining room ahead…

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

INTERMISSION - Scarlet Afternoons

Inside, a myriad of individuals were seated, including some fairies, the vampire, that one purple mage, and the gate keeper.

' _I'm willing to bet my worldly possessions that this is some kind of trap._ ' Despite last night, Sendai couldn't help but feel the vampire would pull a fast one on her. ' _Youkai don't just let losing go like that…_ '

…

After a moment, she picked a seat that was respectably close to the people she beat the crap out of yesterday.

"He~y! You're up!" Meiling instantly broke the ice, eagerly waving at the miko. "How ya sleep?"

...Sendai blinked. "Well enough. I slept in a little."

Meiling tilted her head. "Whah? Didn't you fall asleep at… five or six in the morning? You only got like six hours."

' _...Oh._ ' Sendai hadn't put that much thought into it. ' _I suppose she's right._ ' She shrugged it off.

Sakuya appeared, suddenly beside Meiling. "If only _you'd_ show such sleeping ethic."

"He~y…" Meiling slowly turned towards Sakuya, only for the maid to vanish. Even so, she continued. "I'd like to see _you_ have a fair fist fight with her! She'll screw you up!"

Sakuya appeared again- "Such is why I don't fist fight." -before promptly vanishing once more.

...At that, Meiling simply slouched. "Aha~h…"

' _They seem uncharacteristically relaxed, here. It might just be a low-rank thing._ '

...Looking over at Patchouli, Sendai watched her read her book.

...After a moment, Patchouli looked up at her. "It's impolite to stare."

Indifferently, Sendai looked over at Remilia, as the vampire stared back at her.

"I still can't believe you just walked into here, beat us up, and wanted to just _leave_." Remilia expressed herself.

…

After watching the vampire's expectant face for a moment, Sendai commented. "I thought this was a youkai stronghold. A militaristic one, I mean."

"I _told you_ it was a mansion." Patchouli interjected from her seat, still reading her tome. "Yet you were so stubborn."

"I also thought you hurt Reimu." Sendai rationalized further. "I couldn't just let that go."

Remilia chuckles. "Pfft… hurt Reimu? Pftah. You were pretty much a repeat of her, except you had the gall to at least not hide behind a silly danmaku game. Even if we wanted to so much as touch a hair of her's, Yakumo would surely gap glass into our eyes, or some other such nonsense. I enjoy trying to bargain with her or tease her, but being on the genuine bad side of the Hakurei is a nightmare in more senses of the word than you might imagine."

' _So the Yakumo still acts…_ ' Sendai nodded at this, more to herself than in response to the vampire. ' _...She protects Reimu? To the point even these youkai know of her interference?_ '

Suddenly, waffles were before everyone. Sakuya had suddenly found a seat next to Meiling.

Patchouli found her book replaced with a plate of waffles. "...You had better have placed a bookmark where I left off."

"Indeed." Sakuya started working on her waffles, which were cut and decorated to a degree higher than almost everyone else's, barring Remilia's.

"...Thank you." Patchouli began working on hers, her waffles glowing as she telekinetically spliced them rather than simply use the silver tools right next to her plate.

' _I'm becoming more convinced this is just a commune rather than a battlement._ ' Cautiously, Sendai picked up her stack of waffles with both hands, and began eating them like a sandwich…

A glance around the table revealed that Meiling employed a similar strategy. Remilia, however, used her fork to consume the waffles, doing so deliberately…

…

After a few moments, Sendai and Meiling were the first to finish.

"Mmm~..." Meiling smiled. "Good waffles."

…

Moments later, the other women finished their food.

Sendai was looking around idly, taking in the sights… ' _This mansion's pretty ornate._ '

"You're Reimu's mother, are you?" Sakuya suddenly speaks up, to various women's curiosity…

"Mmm." Sendai looked over at her.

"Where were you?" Sakuya cuts to the chase.

"...Dead, I think." Sendai figured. "No, definitely dead."

"But you're not dead right now." Sakuya pointed out.

...Only now, Sendai noticed all the empty plates had been cleaned up, at least from the notable women. "Yeah."

' _It's a mystery even to myself. Can't say I'm not thankful, though._ '

…

Patchouli floated up. "As much as I'd like to chat… I have studies."

' _You would._ ' Sendai watched her slowly drift away…

"Are you not the least bit curious, Patchy?" Remilia spoke up. "It's not everyday something literally unexplainable happens."

Patchouli snorted. "So you say. Hmm. If I must ask a question…"

Pivoting in the air, Patchouli faced the miko. "How do you perform your dark magic?"

...Intrigued by the question, Sendai supplies an answer. "It sort of came about after a while of training and fighting youkai with the help of some villagers. The village never cared for it, but I did."

...Patchouli looked into the air for a moment, before giving Sendai a dry glance. "I did not ask for your life's story. I asked for _technique_."

Sendai blinked. "...It's similar to mana manipulation, I guess. It's just a little more applied. It can do a little more than just moving mana can, too."

...At this, Patchouli began floating away. "Innate talent. I may as well ask a fish how it swims, then. Thank you for your answer."

' _Moody mage._ '

...

Re-adjusting her posture, Remilia set her silverware down and looked up at the miko. "Well, do you want to get started on... whatever it was you wanted to do?"

"Sure." Sendai began to stand… "I-"

"He~y, Reimu's mom…!" Suddenly, Meiling stood as well, grinning widely. "How's about we make good on that rematch? This time I know you've got those dark spells up your sleeve…!"

...Giving her a patient smile, Sendai declines. "Maybe some other time."

' _That might be interesting, but I have things to do, for now._ '

Nodding, Meiling pushed her chair in and began to leave. "Cool. I'm not gonna forget about it either, yeah?"

…

Once she was gone, Sakuya vanished without a trace.

"Let's get this over with…" Remilia got out of her own chair, moving for the door at the far end of the room.

==== SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE: _Practice_ ====

The two stood in Remilia's throne room again. Sunlight poured in through the hole the miko created with her uppercut the other day, and light poured in from the hole in the wall she knocked Remilia into previously…

"So~..." Stifling a yawn, Remilia stared at the miko. "What was it you wanted to do, now?"

"That move, where you teleport and shoot fireballs." Sendai propped her arms onto her hips. "If you wouldn't mind, I'm interested in learning that one."

...Tilting her head, Remilia pondered this. "Honestly? That's a vampiric art, you know, despite its simplicity. It's not like I can just _give it_ to you like some simple, hashed together prepackaged spell."

"I'd like to leave here with something new." Sendai neutrally laid down her terms.

...At that, Remilia furrowed her brows. "Hmm. Something _new_."

After a moment of careful pondering, Remilia posed the miko a question. "Tell me, are you able to see in the dark?"

...Sendai shook her head. "Not much better than anyone else, most of the time."

Remilia snorted. "Hah. I suppose your angsty form could, couldn't it? However, do you know how this is possible?"

"Biology?" The miko guessed. "A lot of youkai take from animals that naturally see in the dark."

"As bats are known for, yes." Remilia quipped, allowing her wings to lightly flourish in reference. "The reason we vampires are able to is simple. We _own_ the night."

...Sendai gave her a flat look.

...After a moment, Remilia looked away. "Though, I suppose it's _technically_ a combination of our physiques with the immense magical prowess and capabilities we hold. I mean-... for one thing, our limbs can grow back, we can transform into _companies_ of bats, and we can become mist. For all intents and purposes, we're no run of the mill animal-turned-youkai case."

' _I see…_ '

"As such, sight in the darkness comes in part from our dark affinity." Remilia nodded, as if okaying her explanation to herself. "Though, it is also our natural eye for magic and heightened senses."

"I don't see how you could teach me to see in the dark." Sendai had her brows furrowed…

Remilia snorted. "Yeah you wouldn't see, would you- anyway…" After mumbling out her jab, she cleared her throat. "Ahem. I believe I will be able to show you how you may already see enchanted objects or distributed magic with your given abilities."

' _For a vampire, she's pretty laid back. Still formal and stuffy in ways, but comparatively… more human than the majority._ '

...Accepting this information, Sendai stood up straight.

"Channel your darkness to your eyes." Remilia instructed, taking some steps back…

After a moment, Sendai's eyes went black, covered with darkness. "...I've tried this before. It does the opposite of help me see better."

' _Typically, darkness only helps with defense and physical combat. I've never tried to apply it in a utilitarian way more than a handful of times._ '

Remilia began to sport a dry look. "...You- I didn't tell you to cast it _over_ your eyes, you're not going to bed. _In_ your eyes. _In_."

Furrowing her brows, the miko tried to take this advice.

…

After a moment, the dark energy receded into her eyes. For a moment, she saw the world flash with misty colors, before the darkness dissipated into her mana pool again.

' _I can't really hold that for long._ ' Blinking, the miko felt her eyes re-adjust awkwardly after that stunt. ' _Maybe I can bind the mana movement actions to-_ '

"Something like that." Remilia raised a hand and tilted it about. "I saw your eyes flicker, so you were doing something different. If it's too hard to hold without concentrating, you'll have to find some shortcut technique. Such as an enchanted talisman that performs the procedure."

"Where'd you learn about those?" Sendai thought it curious that a vampire knew of a shrine maiden technique…

Remilia shrugged. "Reimu showed me when I visited her shrine one day. It's not going to do me a lot of good, I can't even _work_ with such a kind of holy magic."

' _...She showed a vampire shrine maiden techniques?_ ' Sendai wasn't sure what to make of that.

Shelving that thought for now, Sendai reached into her sleeve and drew a generic talisman…

' _Draw my darkness to the area behind my eyes…_ ' The talisman began glowing as her memory replayed the motions she made her mana take…

"It probably helps if you give your eyes a trickle of mana, as well." Remilia figured audibly, moving towards her throne. "Vampires are naturally lathered in magic, so for us enchanting our eyes isn't really something we ever consider."

' _I'll do that too, then…_ '

Once the process was done, she took the talisman, and stuck it to her shoulder.

...After a moment, she looked around. Everything at once flourished in a bright, scarlet clot of color, before the misty colors faded, and the room looked normal again.

' _Okay…? I'm not entirely certain that this is useful. Sort of pretty, though..._ '

...After looking around, she noticed a panel in the upper left corner of the room glowed with white energy. ' _That wasn't like that before._ '

Panning her head around, her gaze rests on Remilia. The vampire had scarlet energy flowing freely from her form, seemingly spreading across her entire half of the room.

"Well?" She had her brows raised. "What do you see? Unless you can't see. If you can't see, don't tell me what you can't see."

"I can see." Sendai affirmed dryly. "...Everything's slightly more flowy and colorful."

Looking down at her own arms, she saw black outlines. Filling an arm with darkness caused these outlines to flourish with dark energy…

"Seems to work as intended." Smiling, Remilia sat down in her throne. "Aa~h… I'm actually vaguely surprised, you know. I didn't think lathering your eyes with magic and darkness would actually work... but it seems it _has_."

...Slowly, Sendai saw a misty clump of energy travel along the floor towards her. Once it reached her, she leapt back-

 _Fwam!_ A spike of scarlet magic erupted where she was previously, but only briefly.

"Good, everything seems to be in order." Remilia nodded. "...Yellow fits you."

Sendai furrowed her brows, on edge from the attack attempt. ' _Hmm?_ '

…

Remilia was still watching the miko. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"Is this what you see all the time?" Sendai questioned, still scanning the room with her gaze. ' _I don't think I'd like this talisman on all the time. Everything's a little_ too _colorful..._ '

"Oh, no, not really." Remilia waved a hand lazily. "For us superior beings, it's more like a sense akin to walking or flying. I can't imagine what it'd be like to always see magic, especially in Gensokyo."

...Looking at the lit square in the upper corner of the room again, Sendai moved towards it. Once she got below it-

"Hup!" She uppercut into the air-

 _Bam!_ Her dark fist struck the ceiling, leaving a mark and creating dust-

 _Woosh!_ She dashed towards the panel in mid-air, stretching her arms out and creating wind blades to give her completely horizontal momentum.

 _Crack!_ "Ouch…" Once past the square- which turned out to have been a not-so-sturdy magical barrier- the miko stumbled to a stop inside…

In this small room was a big mace, a large portrait of Remilia, along with some other knick knacks. The walls and floor were made of simple, scarlet wood boards and-

Sendai felt Remilia's hand on her shoulder, the vampire suddenly behind her. "Would you get _out of here!?_ "

OBTAINED: EYE OF TRUTH TALISMAN

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Thoom. The large double doors came to a dusty halt, slamming behind the miko.

' _I guess she didn't want me to see that?_ ' Sendai was still unsure what to think of that. '... _I'll have to talk with Reimu about the dangers of showing people your techniques as parlor tricks. I know that feeling all too well..._ '

Moving down the halls, the miko began to search for an exit.

…

' _This mansion is way too big._ ' Sendai just now realized. ' _It was less noticeable when I was fighting through it._ '

Marching down the generic, furnished hallway, she gazed at the passing fairy maids.

Unlike when she was assaulting the manor, everywhere she passed had good traffic of about twenty maids at any one time.

' _...They're not doing anything either, really._ ' Sendai was intrigued by just how useless the staff looked.

She was still using this opportunity to test run that talisman she attached to herself. Like this, she could see the magical auras the various fairy maids constantly exuded. Some varied in size, while other maids hardly had any...

"Maple-cha~n…" A cream-haired maid marched before her friend. "I don't feel like doing the curtains toda~y…"

"If you don't do the curtains, Chief'll make the curtains do _you_." The brown haired Maple-chan countered. "Now get off my arm…!"

' _Unlike the wild fairies, they have this weird sense of unity, though. It's really weird._ '

"Aa~h! Komi-cha~n! Let go of my ski~rt!"

"Do ya think Chief'll let me wear my tighty whities today!?"

"Yellow-cha~n… I'm sleepy~..."

"Hey."

' _What's even weirder is how few of the fairies even care I'm here, after what I did._ '

"Hey."

The stern voice eventually caught Sendai's attention, making her pause.

"Hey, you."

...Turning to the right, she saw a tall fairy leaning against the wall, next to a couch and an end table. This fairy appeared to be almost seven feet tall; she had earth green hair along with tan skin, and she was quite muscular. ' _She doesn't have a magical aura…?_ '

Sendai blinked. "Can I help you?"

The fairy nodded. "Yeah. Chief said the kappa sell better weapons."

...Turning away, Sendai contemplated just walking off. "And…?"

"Give me your money." The maid reached out a hand. "If not, something I can sell. I don't wanna hafta beat down your ass for my donation, so I'm asking nicely."

Snorting, Sendai gave the fairy maid a smirk. "Nicely, you say. That doesn't sound very nice."

The burly fairy maid frowned. "...Alright, look, bitch. I'm only being nice because you're big enough to remind me of myself. And, if I were you, I'd totally help another strong girl out, yeah? I need serious weapons to kick serious ass, and I'm sure _you_ do, too."

...Bringing a hand to her chin, Sendai contemplated this. ' _She might have a point. Even so, I don't- actually…_ '

Digging through her pockets, the miko realized she was flat broke.

' _Yeah, didn't think I would have any. The tax for crossing the Sanzu may as well be robbery._ '

Shrugging, Sendai expressed her sympathies. "Sorry. I don't have any money to spare you, miss..."

...Groaning, the fairy maid cracked her neck. "I'm Ganpeki, asshole. As if you didn't already know. S'that how you wanna be? Fine. Fucking _fine_ by me. You won't even be leaving with the clothes on your back!"

' _I… did not actually know what your name was._ ' The miko took some steps back, cracking her own knuckles. ' _It seems she wants to fight, though, so I guess I'll humor her._ '

MISS SHAKEDOWN

EARTH FAIRY GANPEKI

Raising her arms into the air and giving it a few test grabs, Ganpeki beamed. "Heheha _hah!_ "

Sendai suddenly noticed brown mana flare out from the fairy's form as she got ready. ' _Huh… she seems to have cognitive control of her mana, unlike most other fairies._ '

Then, the burly fairy charged towards Sendai, shielding her face with her arms as she barreled forward. " _Horaa~h!_ "

Each stomp was audible, even on the carpeted floor.

Kneeling, Sendai gave the earth fairy's stomach a darkness-enhanced punch-

 _Bam!_ A dark ring spread out in the air from where she hit-

"Ah…?" Sendai was forced to roll out of the way, the maid continuing forward despite the gut blow.

Noticing that the miko had evaded her, the earth fairy stopped her charge, before turning around to face her. "Ha~h… what's wrong, bitch?"

Watching the fairy's unrefined posture, Sendai waited for an opening… ' _I don't know how my blow did nothing, but I'll see if consecutive hits do something. She's not very fast._ '

…

After a short stare down, Sendai walks forward to bait Ganpeki into acting-

"Tora~h!" Bringing both arms together, Ganpeki throws them wide, causing nearby furniture to shake as the force she exudes causes even herself to stumble.

Sendai steps back to avoid being hit by this-

Not done yet, the fairy does a short hop forward, kicking her leg out. "Ra _a~h!_ "

It didn't reach much more length than her first attack, which Sendai'd already evaded.

 _Thud_. Ganpeki's shoe came back down on the carpet hard.

"Hahaha~!" Reeling one arm back, Ganpeki threw it out so hard that she almost bowled herself over. "Wo-woah…!" Nearby end tables shook at her might.

...Once she was done, she began to stand back up-

Exploiting this opening, Sendai quickly slid forward and executed a series of quick unenhanced punches.

Two consecutive punches to Ganpeki's head elicited flinches but nothing more.

Wha-whack. Two punches to Ganpeki's gut cause her to cringe, but nothing else.

"Hnh…!" Sendai raises her leg for a kick-

It rolls off Ganpeki's side, not connecting with her body fully.

Moving past it, the fairy reels her arm back again. "Eat _it!_ "

She swings wide before Sendai brings her leg back for a proper dodge-

 _Bam!_ Sendai is launched by the blow-

Thud. She lands some feet away on her back. ' _Really, now…_ '

Stomping up to her, Ganpeki raises a leg with the intent to stomp her into the floor. "Game over, bitch!"

The miko rolled to the side-

 _Thud._ Ganpeki's shoe came down beside her. Swiftly, the miko rolled onto her arms and used them to propel herself back up…

' _I thought I was fighting a fairy, not some pretend oni!_ ' Never before had she seen a fairy this tenacious.

"You don't know when to stay down, do ya?" Grinning, Ganpeki cracks her knuckles. "'Cause I'm just gettin' warmed up!"

...Looking around, Sendai leaned over and grabbed the legs of an end table.

"Hmm~?" Ganpeki grinned. "Gettin' a shield, huh? Yeah, that's not a bad-"

Lunging forward, Sendai slid the end table into the fairy's gut with one powerful horizontal blow, accented by dark energy in her arms.

 _Bam!_ "Gufah…!?" Cringing, Ganpeki stumbled to the side. "Th- the fuck're-"

Raising it over her head, the miko brought the end table down on Ganpeki's head.

 _Ba-Crack!_ The end table was destroyed by this, although the fairy was knocked onto her stomach.

' _Nice._ ' Taking a deep breath, Sendai watched the fairy calmly…

…

Slowly, the fairy maid began to get back up. "Hehehe~h… honestly. I ain't done-"

 _Bam!_ Before she could get up fully, Sendai delivered a dark-accented kick to her face.

"Hanh!?" Covering her face, the fairy maid fell back onto her butt. "Bi-bitch…!"

At this point, the miko could tell that the fairy's magical aura was far dimmer than before.

"Look…" Putting a hand up, Sendai tried to be diplomatic. "You can't just go around shaking down people. If not that, at least think again before trying _me._ "

"N-no…" Gritting her teeth, the earth fairy began to try and get onto her legs again. "No, fuck you…"

...After a moment, the maid stood, and Sendai took an offensive stance.

…They stared at each other, for a moment.

The maid snorted. "I'll letcha off the hook for today. Next time I see ya, though, you better have some cash prepared. If I'm havin' trouble with chumps like you, I either need better weapons, or better fists, or _both_. Next time ya see me… bitch, your luck's gonna up and run out."

' _Alright._ ' Dryly, Sendai folded her arms. "...I'll hold you to that, then."

With that, the fairy maid began jogging off…

…

' _What was that about?_ ' Shaking her head, the miko began to walk away herself.

"Looters are more common these days."

...Turning her head as she walked, the miko saw Sakuya strutting beside her. "Is that so?"

"Indeed." Sakuya confirmed. "In some… curious places, I've seen people who act suspiciously similar to our Ganpeki, here. I might go as far as to say that every notable society in Gensokyo has at least one shakedown artist."

' _I see…_ ' Nodding, Sendai looked at the hallway ahead. "...Where is Reimu in this?"

"It's not really any of her business." Sakuya replied indifferently. "It's not like it's an incident, or anything."

' _This is true…_ ' Sendai nodded again. ' _...But, if they're shakedown artists, they're bound to have some good pocket change. I wouldn't tell anyone this… but shaking down the shakedowns might be a good way to make a quick week's worth of meals. All depends on how much money they really carry. If I were Reimu, I'd be beating up muggers any chance I get. That's some of what I did growing up, and I was always able to excuse my actions as upholding the peace._ '

"Have a nice day." Sakuya suddenly vanished.

' _Oh…_ ' Sendai blinked. ' _You… too?_ '

Stopping suddenly, the miko noticed she was now at the front door. ' _I think that maid's to blame for all the misdirection going on in this mansion. She always somehow conveniently gets me to my preferred destinations without me noticing…_ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

"Take care." Sendai gave the gate guard an idle parting wave as she progressed away from the manor.

"You too!" Meiling gave her a big friendly wave from the gate. "Next time ya show up, you'll have ta get through _me!_ "

' _Sure. I'm not really sure when I'll actually need to come back here again._ '

In a few moments, the miko was on the midst of the path leading away from the mansion. The sun was already three fourths through the sky, but the day was still bright.

Looking around with that talisman still equipped, Sendai noticed curious magical signatures in the environment around herself…

' _Probably passing youkai._ ' She considered these signatures. Glancing at the sky again, she noticed the prism-like tint the Hakurei Barrier gave off, which only faded in visibility the higher it got into the sky. For the most part, it had a large dome shape, although it was massive enough that simply moving couldn't really give one proper perspective of how immense it was. ' _...Maybe I shouldn't wear this all of the time._ '

Shrugging, she continued forward anyway. ' _Well, it's not hurting my eyes as bad as it was in the manor. That place had a lot of mana everywhere, so it made keeping my eyes focused on one place for awhile difficult._ '

Eventually, she came to the Misty Lake's shore again…

' _At least this thing's still here._ ' She smiled at the lake. ' _And-..._ '

Staring at the lake's shore, she saw a hazy, yellow trail of mana extend off of it and into the air over the water.

' _Okay?_ ' ...Hesitantly, she moved to step out onto it.

Her sandals connected with the yellow mana, allowing her to walk on it.

' _...Is this supposed to be an invisible path?_ ' Raising a brow, Sendai continued walking up the path, which went into the air over the lake-

"He~y!"

Her expression becoming dry, the miko turned to see some incoming fairies…

Cirno flew onto the scene, accompanied by her great fairy companion again. "It's you! That not-Reimu shrine maiden!"

' _Kind of busy with this path here…_ ' Reaching into her sleeve, the miko intended to make this quick…

"Ci-Cirno-chan…" Grabbing her friend's shoulders, the great fairy tried to usher her away. "The last time you tried this, it didn't go-

 _Crack!_ A mana molotov exploded against Cirno's head, before she lit ablaze entirely.

"Woa~h-" Pi~chun! Cirno died after letting out a brief exclamation.

"Aa-ah…!?" Stunned, the great fairy could do little but drift backwards in disbelief at how quick that exchange lasted.

Ignoring the remaining fairy, Sendai continued following the path…

Eventually, she got to a point where it organically turned. ' _What's the point of this? Why exactly would-_ '

"Ah!?" She nearly stumbled off the path after a force crashed into her side.

The great fairy was giving her an angry pouty face. "Thi~s is- is for Cirno-chan…!"

When the fairy rushed her again, Sendai leapt, and allowed herself to fall onto her-

Pi~chun! The great fairy was crushed by the miko's landing.

' _Well, apparently this path doesn't break easily…_ ' After giving it another glance, the miko continued down it, well in the air over the lake now.

In about another few minutes of walking, the miko was now over the lake's middle. The path had ended in a large, translucent yellow platform of mana.

In the middle was a similarly translucent treasure chest. A sunflower fairy with long yellow hair stood next to it, watching it and clutching her sunflower tightly…

...Sendai stepped towards the fairy and the chest.

Abruptly, the sunflower fairy whirled around. "Wh-what…!? Oh, no~…!"

…

Sendai blinked. "Hey."

"Yo-you're…!" Aiming her sunflower at the miko, the fairy grimaced. "You're not Snug-chan!"

"Probably not." Sendai admitted. "What's going on, here?"

...Relaxing, the fairy looked over at the chest. "We-well… I was waiting for Snug-chan. I wanted to give her a present, for being my friend…"

' _Huh. So these paths are a fairy thing, probably._ '

...Pointing at the chest, the miko asked a question. "What's in it?"

"I picked her her own sunflower…" The fairy stated, looking back over at the miko. "So we could play with our sunflowers together."

' _That sounds weirder than it should, but that's probably just me._ ' Giving her head a brisk shake, Sendai walked past the chest and to the edge of the platform. ' _There doesn't seem to be anything here for me, then, unless I got her a flower she'd take or something..._ '

...Turning to the fairy, Sendai asked this question. "If I wanted that sunflower, could I trade you something?"

...After a moment, the fairy nodded. "If you got me something Snug-chan would like…"

' _That doesn't help at all._ ' Turning away, the miko prepared to jump. "Alright, then."

…

Without warning, the miko charged her legs with darkness, and bound off the platform, leaping over the lake's surface.

"Woah…!?" The fairy flailed her arms, the dark shockwaves left in the air by her leap causing her to freak out.

Once she was in the air, Sendai kicked forward- "Hoh…" -obtaining horizontal momentum to carry her across the rest of the lake.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...At the other side and after a few more horizontal kicks, she slid to a stop against the grass on the other side of the lake, ending up on her back.

' _Alright…_ ' Springing back onto her feet, the miko started to move towards the central path that lead to the Hakurei Shrine. It also lead to the village if one went far enough, and it also deviated to a path into the Forest of Magic, ending about where Kourindou was.

' _Kourindou…_ ' Seeing the start of the path into the forest, the miko immediately thought of the store. ' _I wonder if that hoarder's still kicking around, in there. Considering how Reimu looked, I don't think I was dead for more than… twenty years, maybe. Probably more like fifteen._ '

…

Instead of getting onto the shrine path proper, Sendai walked off onto the deviating path, into the forest. ' _I'll stop by and see how he's doing._ '

Once she got near the magic forest, she could see a billowing cloud of immensely bright, cyan energy rising from it. ' _Wow. That hurts to look at…_ '

Bringing her hand up, the miko took the talisman off her shoulder, and slid it back into her pockets. ' _I don't think this'll be much good in there. I should've asked that vampire how they do that inhumanly fast swoosh-like dodge instead._ '

Continuing down the path, the miko looked up at the setting sun. ' _Is it really already that late?_ '

"He~y…!"

"Wh-what're- ugh, really…?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Actio~n!"

Before the miko, a fairy, a harpy, and a bee girl strutted out from the brush.

The fairy had a blue dress made of a thick material, and short blue hair. "We found a human!"

Slouching, the red-tinted bee girl brushed the arm her two friends pulled her with. "Yeah, yeah…" Her skin was only lightly tinted red, while her stripes were a deep red. "You know, she looks awfully like-"

"So wha~t?" Smiling, the generic harpy tilted her head as she continued towards the miko without the aid of her friends. "She looks like one 'a them village wannabes."

...Nodding her head, the red-haired bee girl accepts this. "Yeah. Actually, yeah, I think you're right about that…"

Flying into the air, the harpy gazed down at the miko with a whimsical expression. "Don't be sca~red, girl. We just wanna pla~y!"

' _I don't really feel like doing this, right now._ ' Marching forward, the miko intended to just walk through them-

The harpy girl descended upon her, talons outstretched. "Hehaha-"

Filling her hands with dark energy, Sendai reached up and grabbed the talons as the harpy lowered upon her-

"Aah!?" Freezing, the harpy flapped her wings faster-

 _Bam!_ With a pull, the miko swung the harpy into the floor, the youkai ending up with her face in the dirt. "Mngh…!?"

"Mika…!?" The bee girl backed up slightly.

"Wow!" Blinking with her eyes wide open, the fairy took in the event. "...Now _that_ chick's gotta be fun!"

Scowling at her fairy companion, the bee girl began floating into the air…

The harpy, Mika, began to get up. "U~gh… pftoo. I- I got dirt in my- hey…"

Gently, Sendai used a single leg to push the harpy girl back down onto the ground. Mika's expression was dry as she rested her chin on the dirt, giving up on getting back up...

Clapping her hands together, the water fairy cast a spell. "Balloo~n!"

Bwoom. A large, shiny bubble of water formed before her, floating in the air.

Drifting into the air, the slender bee girl began releasing red particles from her pod-like rear.

Getting off of the harpy girl, Sendai crouched, charging her legs with dark energy…

As the water bubble began accelerating towards her for seemingly no reason, Sendai rocketed into the air-

 _Bam!_ Dirt was kicked up in her wake as she ascended.

The bee girl's eyes slowly widened as the miko ascended to her position-

 _Bam!_ A kick to the bee's gut sent it twirling through the air. "Haugh!?" From there, the bee continued to rocket over the not-entirely-magical trees that rested around the edge of the magic woods.

...Pop! The balloon of water homed in on Sendai and exploded under her, soaking her. "Ah…" The knockback from the water balloon forced her to spend more time in the air than she initially wanted to.

"Hehehe~..." Grinning at the airborne miko, the fairy raised a hand to her lips. "I think you look better wet."

...Dryly, the miko turned towards her and kicked towards the floor at a diagonal angle. "Hnn…!"

Pi~chun! Sendai's kick annihilated the fairy-

Bam. Landing in a kneeling position, the miko quickly began to stand…

"Ahah…" Flapping into the air, the harpy began to fly away. "I think… I'll just-"

Turning towards her, Sendai threw her arm outward.

Fwap- fwap! Two ofuda struck the harpy in the wings. "Ah- hey…!? Ah- ow…!" Dropping to the ground, Mika seethed as the holy talismans began to shock her. "Ge-gee~z…" She stumbled back, before-

Thud. The harpy girl collapsed back onto her chest, her clothes all covered in dirt.

…

With that, the miko began to walk towards Kourindou again. ' _Guess that bee youkai got away. How annoying…_ '

"Are- are you just… gonna leave me here!?" The harpy girl tried to get onto her limbs, only for the ofuda to give her another shock. "Ack…"

Ignoring her, the miko continued down the path.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Rinnosuke Morichika_ ====

Di-ding. Pushing her way through the Kourindou door, the slightly soggy miko meandered inside.

' _...There's even more crap than I remembered._ ' Sendai was taken aback by how much garbage there was. ' _Last time I was here, he kept it all in his backrooms. Now there's piles everywhere…_ '

"Hello~." A male's monotone voice came from over the counter.

Turning to him, Sendai stared at him…

' _Huh. He's not so scrawny, anymore._ '

...After a moment of inactivity, he stared up from the book he was reading.

Locking eyes with the miko, he blinked a few times.

…

"This is the first time someone's tried a doppelganger of _you_ on me." Rinnosuke idly placed a bookmark into his book, and shut it. "That's vaguely worrying."

Sendai rolled her eyes. "I'm getting _pretty_ tired of people accusing me of still being dead, y'know."

"Because she still is." Frowning, Rinnosuke places his arms on the counter. "I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Oh, shut up." Furrowing her brows, Sendai dug through her sleeves… "I've got my proof right here, _Kourin_."

...Rinnosuke slipped his hand under the counter-

Clutter and junk clattered loudly, as four dolls rose from some of the piles at each of the store's four corners.

"Reconsider this." Rinnosuke glared at the miko. "My defenses are no joke, you know."

' _This should do, if they're machines. If not, the item crash should keep me safe…_ ' Sendai drew the Dragon Palace flintlock. ' _Time for this thing to be useful for once._ '

Seeing the gun, Rinnosuke slams the desk-

A small, blue pattern lights up where he slammed.

-and ducks behind it, keeping his gaze over the desktop so that he may observe the happenings.

The four red and grey, iron-clad dolls hold out large, bronze spears and begin to approach Sendai in a revolving pattern…

' _They don't shoot?_ ' Sendai furrowed her brows.

Once they got a little closer, she aimed the flintlock into the air. " _Vol Fulger!_ "

From the midst of the miko's form, a ball of electricity suddenly flashed out, encapsulating her-

 _Zap! Zap! Zap!_

The electric orb was solid, generating blinding light and impossible to see through. It persisted for a mere three seconds, but in this time frame, the dolls drifted into the electricity-

Za-za-za-zap! Immediately, the decorated and armored dolls were fried, dropping to the floor in smouldering parts.

In the next moment, the electricity was gone.

' _Considering I can't see anything when I use that attack, I'd say it went pretty well._ ' Sendai examined the ruined defense dolls lying about the shop floor...

…

Slowly, Rinnosuke rose from behind the counter, brow raised. "That attack… was a little too familiar to be coincidence."

"I'm going to put holy salt on your lunch and make you eat it." Sendai threatened, sliding her stout flintlock away as she approached the counter.

"It can't be you, though…" Rinnosuke was still in disbelief. "You _died_. You were _buried_."

At that, the miko perked up. "Buried? Where?"

Rinnosuke snorted. "You don't even know where you were buried…?"

"How'm I supposed to know where I got buried if I'm _dead?_ " Sendai countered, her expression dry.

"Alright…" Putting a hand up, Rinnosuke furrowed his brows, and locked eye with the miko again. "Why are you here?"

"I woke up in a field, went to that mansion across the lake, kicked everyone's ass, got shown how to see ambient mana by a vampire, and left." Sendai summarized her past day and a half's events so far. "...I still should've asked them for something better, but that can wait for another day."

"...It's… really you then, isn't it?" Leaning over on the counter, Rinnosuke looked tired.

...The miko nodded, giving him a smirk. "I'm pretty sure."

…

"This is a little much…" Backing away from the counter, Rinnosuke shook his head… "If I recall correctly, these kinds of things don't just _happen_."

"Yeah…" Nodding at that, the miko began looking around idly…

"How did you die?" Rinnosuke asked of her.

Sendai refocused on him. "Ah, I-..."

…

' _How did I die?_ '

Sendai clutched her head. "...Well, that's not right, now is it?"

"What do you mean?" Rinnosuke stepped towards the counter again. "Are you alright?"

"No." Sendai put it bluntly. "...No, I don't need a potion." She put up a hand to stop him from digging beneath the counter. "I mean my memory. My head hurts when I try to think about how I died."

...Rinnosuke tilted his head. "Maybe you don't want to remember."

"Pfft." Shaking her head, the miko sighed. "Na~h. Something's obviously wrong. I bet it's Yakumo."

Snorting, Rinnosuke jerked his head back. "Yakumo…? Why would it be Yakumo?"

Sendai grinned, backing away from the counter. "Because she's a slithery bastard, that's why."

Idly, she began looking around the room, running her gaze over the junk scattered about again.

"...If you say so." Smiling, Rinnosuke folded his arms. "So… what brings you back here? Have you seen Reimu yet?"

"Aha~h…" Leaning over, the miko picked up a metal box of some kind. "Saw her at the mansion after fighting that vampire, but I was too trashed to give her a good talking to. Thought I was a doppelganger or something, which is fair. I saw plenty fakes of my mom well after she bit it."

"Aa~h…" At that, Rinnosuke nodded, before moving to pick his book up again. "You've only been back a day, and you've managed to single-handedly assault one of Gensokyo's more notable factions."

"What, really?" Standing, she faced him, blinking curiously. "Bullshit. We fought _trees_ tougher than that mansion."

"Is that so…?" Rinnosuke's expression was dry.

"That _is_ so." Sendai held up that metal box she picked up. "What even is this…?"

Skeptical, Rinnosuke questioned her. "How many of them were trying?"

"...The vampire might not've." Sendai conceded. "Okay, she might've actually required some help to take down for real, but everyone else was kinda a pushover on their own. If they all fought me at once, I woulda been broken pretty fast."

...After a moment's thought, she corrected herself further. "That maid probably should've been able to assassinate me, too. She could've just teleported up to me and slit my throat. For some reason, she didn't do that, so I was able to get a lucky seal in on her."

"Mmm." At that, Rinnosuke nodded. "It's just a little surprising how you managed to just brute force your way through the manor like that…"

' _Oh, that reminds me…_ ' Feeling her side, Sendai brushed her hand over the various cuts and incisions made by both Sakuya's knives and Remilia's claws from the previous day. They weren't necessarily healed, but their bleeding wasn't as bad as it used to be, and was stifled down to nearly nothing after the miko's darkness application.

' _My clothes're a little ripped, too. I doubt the village tailors have hung onto my spares for fifteen-or-something years, especially when word down the street was that I died._ '

"I actually could use a potion, now that I think about it." Sendai smiled sheepishly.

"Ha." Crouching, Rinnosuke quickly stood after slipping a potion out from under the counter. Uncorking the bottle, he threw it into the air-

Immediately after, a splash of health green energy dropped onto Sendai, and flowed into her form.

"...Did you _really_ need to use the magical application method?" Sendai grinned as her wounds healed up.

"No." Rinnosuke confessed. "Just making sure I'm not rusty, is all."

' _Can you even get rusty at that sort of thing…?_ ' Shaking her head, Sendai held up the metal box again. "No really, what is this?"

"...Ah." Rinnosuke finally focused on it. "That would be what I believe is called a toaster."

' _Sounds like a fun weapon…_ ' Looking over the toaster, Sendai examines it with mild mirth. "A toaster, huh. If it's not a weapon, I'm going to be disappointed."

"It is not a weapon." Rinnosuke broke it to her.

"Seriously." She shook her head. "Not even remotely?"

Adjusting his glasses, Rinnosuke revealed its purpose. "To my understanding… it seems to be some kind of miniature, lighter version of a forge, except for small arms at low temperatures. It's likely meant to only work with fragile metals, or perhaps jewelry."

...Sendai was now completely unenthused. "Sounds like a piece of crap."

"Probably." Rinnosuke conceded to that.

Idly, the miko gave it a few test swings with both arms.

Holding the toaster with one outstretched arm, Sendai arched back. " _Toaster Oven!_ "

As she drifted slightly into the air, the toaster in her hand began to reveal amber light from its interior, the device now active.

...A moment later, the toaster deactivated again, and Sendai landed on her sandals after a one foot drop.

"You activated it…!" Rinnosuke was impressed. "Hmm. Perhaps if you keep using that item crash, I can actually measure how some of these devices work, be it electrically or magically. Don't do it yet, though, I need instruments, and perhaps another few hands."

...Sendai smirked. "Another few hands? You mean you actually know people other than me and Keine, now?"

"Indeed I do, actually." Rinnosuke countered, yet to open the book he picked up. "Perhaps I'll show you them, sometime. If they don't attack you on suspicion of being a doppelganger, that is."

"Hah." Walking up to the counter, Sendai sat the toaster down.

…

After a moment, Rinnosuke sighed.

"Know anyone who can patch these up?" The miko gestures to her partially ripped clothes. "...A cheap clothes store would help, too."

"One of my friends could help you very well, actually." Rinnosuke pointed in a direction towards the back of his shop. "Right sector of the early forest segments, can't miss it. One of the clearings now has a house in it."

Sendai grinned. "Your friend lives in the Forest of Magic? What, she 'a magician?"

"...Yes, actually." Rinnosuke nodded neutrally. "A skilled seamstress, too. She's also not that bad of a person, so don't go sealing her just because you feel like it."

The miko retorted. "I'm willing to best the dust in my pockets that she's gonna attack me on sight."

Looking perturbed, Rinnosuke searched for a counterargument. "...You're not wrong." He was not successful.

"Oh, well. She live alone, or does she like company?" Rapping her hands on the counter's wood surface, Sendai began to plan…

"...She lives alone, although she does have a friend or two that stop by sometimes." He provided.

"Sounds good." Sendai nodded… "Say, you wouldn't happen to have a~... set of potions and a water I could use for the road?"

...Rinnosuke gave her a flat look.

"C'mo~n, Kourin." Sendai insisted, tilting forward idly. "Least you can give a newly not-dead girl is some healing items. By the way, I'm broke."

"How are you broke?" Rinnosuke began criticizing her logic. "If I remem-"

"Blame the Sanzu." Sendai folded her arms. "Riverway robbery."

...Sighing, Rinnosuke reached under the counter for some of his stock. "Very well. For you, I happen to carry a mana potion and a health potion, today. Complimentary giveaway."

The bottles rested on the counter with a few clinks. The miko accepted both potions with both hands. "Tha~nk you, towel boy."

"That name again…" Rolling his eyes, Rinnosuke began walking out from the counter. "Water's in the back, here."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The back room was cluttered with piles of items here or there. ' _It's not as bad as I anticipated, though… though I do have to question that device Kourin keeps his waters in._ ' The device she referred to was this large, metal box in the back of the room...

Finishing her water cup, Sendai rested on the tiny wood chair that was before the stout table. "Cozy place this's become. Didn't you have that one table that was too big?"

"It's gone." He supplied. "This one I got for cheap."

"What about that high chair I broke but got fixed?" Sendai half-smirked, leaning back in her chair and resting her grey cup on the table. "That was-"

"Gone." Rinnosuke shook his head idly.

Sendai jerked her head back. "How. Well-... okay… wait. Didn't you used leave out those books that I read to Reimu? The ones with the pictures."

…

' _This chair barely holds my ass..._ ' Sendai adjusted herself again, furrowing her brows.

Rinnosuke scratched the back of his head. His seat was so tiny that he looked like he was just crouching. "Well… I _had_ stored then, and then they were gone."

…

"Gone, huh." The miko was unamused. "You _stored_ them, and _then_ they were gone."

"Something like that." Rinnosuke stood up from his tiny chair, almost stumbling as he did so. "Ah- more water?"

"How are they gone?" Sendai stood up herself-

Crack. The chair died beneath her.

...The shopkeep winced. "That was five hundred yen…"

"You're gonna be five hundred yen if ya don't tell me what you mean by a buncha your old stuff just being 'gone'." Sendai gave him an empty threat, knowing he'd take it as mostly-empty.

"...Well, there's this other friend…" Fidgeting, Rinnosuke tried to find the best way to explain a friend of his.

...Sendai's brows furrowed.

"She… comes by sometimes, and 'borrows' things." Rinnosuke tilted his head back and forth, before opening the metal box in the back of the room to get more water. "...She's good on her payments, sometimes."

"No~." Sendai slowly shook her head… "You're not letting this happen to you. No _way_."

"I-I mean…" Eyebrows raising at the miko's tone, he turned around to face her before even getting the water jug inside. "I'm doing a bad job of describing it, it's not what you think."

"Oh, yeah, I'm _sure_." Cracking her knuckles, the miko began articulating her shoulders. "It's a good thing I'm back, or whoever this asshole is would probably find a way to take your whole… horde." She tried to find a descriptive way to describe his piles of stuff…

"She means well, you know." Rinnosuke continued to defend her. "She's just a little-"

"She _means_ well!?" At this point, Sendai was grinning, though the mirth was born from disbelief. "No, look. Look, Kourin. I'm gonna find her, and I'm gonna make her give back all your stuff."

"It- ah…" Cringing, Rinnosuke sighed. "Well. In that case, I'm not telling you where in this forest she lives."

She folded her arms. "In the forest? Probably the left bits." Sendai deduced, based on where the other mage lives.

...At that, Rinnosuke just sighed.

"I'm not letting you become some pushover." With that, the miko began marching off. "I'll be back."

"Wait…!?" Rinnosuke's eyes widened. "You're going _now?_ "

"Uh huh. Be back with a table or two." She began leaving out the back door.

"Wait- hey…!" He began moving-

Click. The back door shut.

...Click. Rinnosuke swung it back open-

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! The miko was already barreling off into the magical forest's depths.

…

"I probably should've told her she's Marcus' daughter…" Rinnosuke facepalmed, leaning in the doorframe. "Oh, well. She'll probably sleep on it at Alice's… I can tell her then."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

intermission chapter; first _**MISTER SHAKEDOWN**_ fight, some mook fights, and the rinnosuke fight

completing arcs gets sendai stuff basically - w -

basically when chapters aren't major touhou fight based, they're kinda like this; these intermissions basically setup the next fight night and let the previous one wind down.

...although you could technically say this was the RINNOSUKE CHAPTER

although that reminds me, Fantasy Heaven Sendai basically uses a whole different set of growth abilities than regular sendai

basically something like:

Scratch - Basic move. Deals dark elemental damage over time on incision, which may expand incisions. Can be inflicted by any limb; claws not required.

Anti-Glide - The user can move at awkward angles and speeds to approach enemies or dodge projectiles. Allows the user limited flight.

Side Spin - The user may spin around the enemy awkwardly and with inhuman speed, attacking with claws.

Air Giant Wheel - Spinning inhumanly fast on an invisible axis, the user unleashes a torrent of deadly scratches.

Midair Doom - The user arches back and unleashes a sphere of intersecting slashes.

Holy Vulnerability - All holy attacks do fifty percent more damage to the user.

additionally if HP and MP prizes are ever a thing, she couldn't pick them up in not-youkai form

this list pretty much is changing never either

basically sora's anti-form from kingdom hearts II - w - although that dark DoT thing is a me thing.

different from sora's form is less redundant abilities and no 50% increase in ALL damage taken because that's not even youkai-like that's just weak

i never really explain MP costs ever but just assume it's kinda costly to use it and using it repeatedly is moreso since it's a form-like thing and not just a one-off spell like hydro storm or most other item crashes - w -

i have talked too much so i must shut up now

oh but one last thing i'll probably be following a GENSOKYOBOUND-esque update schedule

this means whenever a chapter's ready, it comes out! ho ho ho (i decided this after this simmered on my computer for like a week and i was doing other things and i was just like "y'know what")

as always, see you all next time!


	6. 2-1 - The House where Dolls Play

Skidding to a stop, the miko who came before looked around again…

' _Has the sun already set completely?_ '

In the darkness of the Forest of Magic, the canopy above shined with luminescent, faint blue particles. Leaves glowed with magical energy, and the trees were towering, thick, and plentiful.

As such, the root situation was pretty chaotic, too.

"Hup!" Leaping over a particularly rough patch of terrain, Sendai kicked off the side of a large tree- "Hoh!"

 _Thud!_ She rolled to a stop past the patch of roots. Unbeknownst to her, this action coated her hair with fallen leaves…

Standing up, she brushes her attire off. ' _It's abnormally dark in here… but it's pretty bright, too._ '

Romping through the brush further, the miko performed short leaps over large roots, her path lit with the faint blue glow of enchanted leaves and mushrooms.

She barreled through a large bush-

 _Splat_. Her sandal came down into a puddle.

' _What…? Oh._ ' She looked down at the faintly luminous puddle. ' _Slime girl, probably. I'll never forget the first time I met one of these._ '

Promptly, the slimy mass began to wiggle to life. "Oo~h? What's thi~s…?"

Before Sendai, the jiggly form of a viscous, blue slime girl began to form. "My~... what a luscious looking human. Why don't you _bathe_ in me…?"

Sliding a hand into her sleeve, Sendai stared down at it drolly. "Let me add some salt first."

"Fufufu~..." The slime girl smiled as she took humanoid form. "What do you think salt will do, cutie? I'm not a snai~l."

Sendai brushed some clumps of holy salt from her sleeve, allowing them to drop onto the slime girl-

" _Aahn!?_ " The slime girl jerked in surprise, and began writhing. "Ow- ow, ow~!"

Sss~. Her goo sizzled as she quickly evacuated her puddle, the holy salt searing into her form and causing the slime it sank through to vaporize.

Jerking herself away from the sizzling, salted goo, the slime girl herself began to jiggle away. "So-sorry for bothering you! Bye!"

 _Fwap-fwap_. Two ofuda struck the slime girl in the back-

Zap-zap! Holy energy crackled around the goo girl's form as she began to lose her humanoid shape. " _Aauuh!_ Wha~h…"

Within a moment, the goo girl was a puddle on the forest floor, the ofuda still stuck to her liquid form.

' _She'll be fine. Ofuda don't hold slime for long, either._ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 2 - OVERWORLD

STAGE 1 - The House where Dolls Play

Continuing through the woods, the miko eventually came to a clearing where the luminescent glow of the woods unnaturally tapered off…

' _Hmm?_ ' Through the gap in the canopy, she was able to see the normal night sky. ' _Oh. It's this clearing…_ '

Then, a structure in the midst of the clearing caught her eye.

' _That's new._ ' Locking her eyes on it, Sendai progressed towards it. ' _This must be one of the magicians Kourin spoke about._ '

The house was unlike anything she'd seen in the human village. ' _It's a lot cleaner. It looks like what the village would make if things were more together._ '

...On that note, Sendai slipped out the Eye of Truth talisman, slapping it onto her shoulder. ' _It's probably lined with traps, being a magician's house._ '

All around her, the forest's trees gave off blindingly bright cyan sheens. Even so, the managed mana flow around the magician's house was revealed. Lines of scarlet, panels of teal, and pads of yellow were precariously dotted all around the house. The front door itself glowed a brilliant white, almost entirely reflective.

' _...Looks trapped to me._ ' Stepping towards the house, Sendai took care to avoid the yellow pads on the front lawn on her way to the house's flank. ' _Actually, I should probably try the door first. No need to break in if she knows Kourin…_ '

Carefully, she beelined to the porch. Upon seeing the steps had orange mist around them, she leapt past them. "Hmh…"

Clack. After landing on the porch, she approached the door and gave it a knock.

 _Knock knock knock knock_.

…

Sighing, she knocked again. ' _If she's asleep, I might just wake her up._ '

 _Knock knock knock knock_.

…

Then, the miko heard footsteps.

...The door swung open.

"What is it…?" Around the door was a woman with short, blonde hair. "At this hour?" She seemed to be in a pair of light blue pajamas.

Sendai greeted her. "Hey."

...The magician blankly stared at the miko. "Who are you, again?"

"Rinnosuke sent me, if you know that name." Sendai dodged the question.

"Ah…" Nodding, the magician looked around drowsily. "Well, then. Come on in."

The door swung open. Inside was warm, quaint lights, as well as curiously dim green and blue glows from various corners of the room, only accented by the talisman Sendai wore.

Auras of various colors wrapped the dolls all around the sides of the room. White, vaguely luminescent strings seemed to constantly shift and move about the room as the magician walked, despite her drowsy demeanor…

' _I'm not sure if I should keep this talisman on or take it off…_ ' Blinking, Sendai cautiously followed behind the mage and into the house, doing her best to ignore the wires and the glowing dolls.

"What did Rinnosuke send you for?" The apparent doll master inquired, taking a seat at the central coffee table.

' _At least the seats aren't enchanted._ ' From what Sendai could tell, none of the furniture had any magical augmentations.

Taking a seat, she looked at the drowsy puppeteer. "...I need to get my clothes fixed." She gestured to the rips and tears in her leotard and arm sleeves. "Some spare copies would be nice, too."

Perking up, the magician looked the miko over. "...What _exactly_ were you doing to get them ripped up? I know it's not my place to pry, but… let's say you remind me of someone."

"I…" Sendai considered not telling the full story, for now. "I got into a fight."

"Is that so…" Standing, the magician began to stretch. "Hnn~... so~..."

Looking back over at the miko, the magician questioned her. "Why do you look like Reimu?"

The lines that previously randomly strung about the room were now all sourced to the magician, and all stretched out to the surrounding dolls.

Tensing at this visual, the miko slowly moved to stand. "...I'm her mother."

...Smiling, the magician folded her arms. "Do you really expect me to buy that?"

Standing fully, Sendai cracked her knuckles. "No."

"How old are you, youkai?" The puppeteer asked the miko. "If you don't know me, you can't be older than a few days."

The miko began looking around in both directions, to ascertain if her surroundings were changing further. "About… I'd say forty years. I'm gettin' up there."

...

Looking behind herself, the miko saw the previously unarmed dolls all had lances the size of themselves, all pointed towards Sendai.

Hastily, she slid a hand into her sleeve, and began to draw the stout Dragon Palace flintlock-

"Sure." The puppeteer snapped her fingers. "Goodbye."

Drawing the gun, Sendai pointed it up into the air, posing. " _Vol Fulger!_ "

Electricity flowed from her form until it became an orb which encompassed her completely-

 _Za-za-zap!_ Dolls charged into the bright energy, only to be blown back by the white and blue electric sphere.

Cla-clank-clang-clank. The oncoming shelf's worth of dolls was annihilated by the electrical energy, clattering to the floor in parts.

Promptly, the electrical orb fell, revealing the miko to be perfectly fine.

"...Hmm." Alice held a hand to her chin, her other arm across her stomach. "Good reflexes."

Turning on her heel, the miko aimed the stubby flintlock at the mage. "I just came to get my clothes fixed. What does my appearance matter?"

"I don't take kindly to doppelgangers." The mage tilted her head back and forth. "No one does, really. Especially not where Reimu's concerned."

Then, she shrugged. "...I guess I was a little rash. Do you have any money?"

…

Sendai grinned sheepishly. "I might have to owe you until I do some jobs."

From the shelf behind the puppeteer, dolls drifted out to align themselves beside her.

' _I don't think she likes to hear that._ ' The miko figured. ' _Actually…_ '

"Is Rinnosuke's word not enough?" Sendai tried to argue.

Unconvinced, the mage extended her arm forward, prompting the dolls to begin mobilizing.

Before any of the dolls could act, Sendai's arm filled with dark power, allowing her to uppercut up-

 _Bam!_ She pierced the house's roof, soaring through it.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Alice Margatroid_ ====

Outside, the miko landed atop the shingled roof. It was curiously devoid of magical signatures…

' _Wo-woah…_ ' Sendai barely skidded to a stop on the slanted roof, her sandal pressing into the gutter at the edge of the house.

The magician floated from the hole in the roof, her expression a slight frown. "Did you really have to do that…?"

Not agreeing with the ground she stood on, Sendai kicked off of the roof-

Crack! Her darkness accented leap bent the gutter.

...Thud. She landed on the ground some distance away from the house.

The magician's frown grew deeper. "...If you _really_ want to run, I'll let you. Just come back with money next time."

"...I'm not running." Sendai assured her from the ground, adjusting her posture for offense. "I just came to get my clothes fixed."

Snorting, the puppeteer continued. "That's not the only thing that's about to be fixed. So… how shall we do this? Danmaku, or do you actually want to die?"

Sendai stopped herself from slouching. ' _Danmaku…? I feel like I've missed something._ '

"...I haven't fooled with danmaku in years." Sendai spoke truthfully.

"Very well." Spreading her arms, the puppeteer revealed a six doll squad behind herself. "I am Alice Margatroid, the Seven-Colored Puppeteer. Who might you be, or are you too fickle to grace me with a title?"

Sendai looked around, the magic forest bright with mana due to the talisman she wore. ' _...I think I'll leave it on, for now. Ironically, the magic's bright enough for it to not look like night when I wear this, which should help me out._ '

Dryly, Alice continued after the miko's non-response. "This is a clothier's workshop, not a fast food joint, you know." Drifting forward, the mage stayed airborne. "Though, I suppose I could fool people, sometimes…"

Behind her, the six dolls all aimed their lances forward at the miko. "With all the sharp instruments I toy around with and all."

 _Woo~sh!_ The six dolls all descended from above, their hexagonal pattern roaring down-

Woosh. Due to the range, Sendai was able to sidehop out of the vicinity easily.

The dolls promptly returned towards Alice once she missed, their forms obscured and seemingly disappearing behind hers.

…

In this moment of observation, both parties considered their actions. ' _She seems to like sending dolls to fight me rather than attack manually. All I need to do is go up and hit her, but she probably won't make it easy…_ '

After this quiet moment, Alice began drifting to the right. "Come, come. Let's make this quick so I can sleep."

Sendai starts strafing towards the house… ' _If she does something clever, I'll just go inside and jump back out again._ '

As Alice strafed herself, she cast an arm forward.

Quickly, a single unarmed doll whirled forth from Alice's form.

Watching it carefully, the miko prepared to leap back…

It stopped before her, and clapped its hands together-

Fwa-fwa-fwam! A rainbow barrage of wavy danmaku particles immediately erupted from the doll.

"Hup!" Sendai was forced to leap back to avoid a face full of rainbow bullets.

Floating towards the miko, the puppeteer created a wall of four green dolls before herself with another wave of her hand, all holding ornate shields.

' _This is gonna be annoying._ ' Stepping back to wade through the incoming bullets, the miko reached into her sleeve. ' _Perhaps my ofuda will disable dolls if their numbers become too high…_ '

The doll that came towards her began to rush forward again-

Darting forward, Sendai punched the doll-

 _Crack!_ The doll shattered into various parts, which all dropped to the floor.

With her talisman equipped, the miko could see the strings attaching each doll to their wielder. ' _How does she move them with only one string each? Probably just magic…_ '

Woo-woo-woosh. Three lance-toting dolls extended from Alice's form, one moving along the house's front, one up into the air, and one to the right and flanking Sendai.

Like this, Alice continued to slowly progress towards Sendai…

Drawing a yin-yang orb from her sleeve, the miko maximized it. Back pedaling further, she punched it forward-

 _Bam!_ The orb rolled forward towards Alice-

 _Clang!_ It was slowed by the shield toting dolls, who were pushed out of the way by it. Alice herself had more than adequate time to dodge it, only accented by the aid of the shield dolls.

 _Patatatat!_ The three scattered lance dolls all fired linear spreads of wavy, rainbow bullets at Sendai.

' _What…?_ ' Noticing the incoming barrage, the miko began to bolt towards the magician.

Alice created the six lance dolls behind herself again. "Checkmate."

 _Woo~sh!_ The hexagon roared towards Sendai-

The miko's form flickered out, the lance dolls left to hit nothing.

...Alice blinked, drifting up to avoid any potential nasty surprises. Her lance dolls promptly returned to her, as well.

Below her, Sendai flickered back into materiality a few feet behind where she was.

Alice turned to the miko's new position. "Vexing."

The three scattered dolls aimed their lances at Sendai.

Fwi-Fwi-Fwi- _Choo~m!_ They all fired beams from their lances-

Darting forward, the miko rolled under the three thin red persistent danmaku lasers.

' _Damn…_ ' This slightly frustrated Sendai. ' _I wanted to uppercut after her. Perhaps I should anyway._ '

"Here…" Alice spread out her arms again-

Six new dolls appeared, this time scattering to different portions of the front yard-

Fwam! A red themed one began casting basic homing fireballs.

Bloop. A blue decorated one shot a slow, person-sized homing bubble into the air…

Two others were brown-clad and equipped with bows, aiming at the miko as they stuck together…

The final two dolls were grey, and equipped entirely with shields that stuck to their arms, chests, and backs.

' _This instantly became too much._ ' Sendai furrowed her brows, looking at the wide selection of dolls…

Darting to the side, the miko grazed the fireball-

Fwam! Another was promptly fired once the first one missed and faded out.

 _Patatatat!_ The three dolls along the miko's flank and sides unleashed more danmaku...

Thu-thunk! The archer dolls hit the ground many feet behind Sendai due to their missed shots succumbing to gravity.

The armored dolls began to near her, so Sendai punched one-

 _Clo~ng!_ Her darkness accented punch simply caused the doll to roll back, before continuing towards her from many feet away…

As the other one neared, she uppercutted it-

 _Cla~ng!_ Her dark uppercut allowed her to soar into the air with the doll, until it couldn't carry her up any further.

While the doll soared up and away, the miko kicked in the vague direction of the magician. "Hnh…"

As she began to near her, the miko then kicked down towards the ground-

Landing, she slid to a stop, her hakama ripping further and revealing dark-accented skin as she skidded-

 _Woosh_. A hexagon of lance-wielding dolls was once again unleashed above, where her original trajectory would've taken her.

Due to the miko's close proximity, Alice began to change positions. "Your mobility is a problem. Here, here." With two separate arm waves, she sent out more waves of brown archer dolls.

They each drew their bows at different intervals, while the miko began running along the edge of the woods-

Thu-thunk. Thu-thunk. Thu-thunk. Each volley of arrows let out the sounds of projectile striking wood as the miko sprinted next to the trees.

Sendai leapt to avoid a homing fireball, moving around to flank the fireball doll.

Fwam! The doll shot another orb of flame-

The miko dropped onto her back, sliding to avoid the orb, only to arch her legs up and press against the ground with her arms-

" _Hyah!_ " Throwing herself up, Sendai leapt out of her slide-

Cla-clack! The fire doll was shattered by her legs as she passed through it.

Thu-thunk. She felt arrows pass through her hair as she soared through the front yard, her leap slowly orienting her back into the right posture to land on her feet-

Thu-thunk. More arrows soared behind her-

Thu-thunk. She landed, feeling the wind off the final barrage of arrows-

 _Patatatat!_ The lance dolls all unleashed rainbow danmaku waves again.

' _Alright._ ' Sliding a replicated Chronicle of Gensokyo from her sleeves, the shrine maiden leapt and tossed it.

Once it was free from her hands, the book began flapping and twirling wildly as it spun in a slowly expanding circle. Pages whirled out from it and into the night air, trailing it-

Pap, papap, pap! Danmaku began pattering against the pages, some portions of the volleys consumed.

As the miko ran underneath the now weaker volleys to get under Alice's position, the puppeteer generated a block of eight lance wielding dolls to hover in the air behind herself.

"Come get me." Alice beckoned the miko, staying next to the block of dolls.

' _That's… obviously a trap._ ' Eying the shiny lances the doll block was armed with, the miko allowed herself to wade through a few danmaku bolts to begin strafing…

' _Huh. Her danmaku's not as bad as that of some of the manor residents…_ ' Sendai dug through her sleeves for something useful…

Then, she brought her arm out, and allowed ofuda to flow from her sleeves. As the paper began to shift and fold into an origami axe, Alice folded her arms.

 _Woosh!_ Kicking the dirt beneath herself, the miko jumped-

Thu-thunk! Arrows whirled under herself

In the air, she did a backflip-

Thu-thunk! Arrows whirled through her hair, in her torso's wake-

She landed, crouched-

Thu-thunk! The third, final barrage of arrows whirled through her hair again before it landed on her back.

Raising her arms once again, the ofuda worked to finish creating the axe-

Fwi-fwi-fwi- _Choo~m!_ The dolls fired their three lasers again-

Jumping into the air- and doing so through one of the upper persistent lasers- the miko hurled her axe. "Huah…!"

Landing, the miko stumbled a little. ' _Th-that laser… was a little harder on me than expected. Still nowhere as bad as the mansion, though._ '

 _Bam, bam!_ The block of dolls was promptly knocked about by the axe, two of them shattering and the rest left disorganized.

Folding her arms as she calmly drifted out of the way of the axe, Alice shook her head. "I don't think you'll be solving any incidents this way."

' _Her tone…_ ' The miko furrowed her brows. ' _She reminds me of that maid…_ '

...With that thought in mind, the miko began running forward-

Thu-thunk, thu-thunk. Her movement allowed two arrow volleys to miss her.

Thunk. One arrow missed her-

Shink! "Ff~..." Hissing- and getting jerked to the side by the sudden sensation of an arrow piercing her flesh- she continued forward, moving slightly slower than before. ' _Arrows are terrible…_ '

Alice sighed. "That's it for you, then. Magic Sign, Artful Sacrifice."

Throwing an arm forward, Alice tossed a doll below herself.

Watching it twirl down unlike any of the dolls before, the miko kept her focus on it as she leapt beside it, passing it.

At the height of her unaided jump, she yelled. " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

Casting an arm into the air as she remained suspended, six persistent lines were drawn around the puppeteer by launched rebound stones. The lines curved out from Sendai's hand before stretching straight up into the night sky...

Cli-cli-clink! Despite there being no ceiling, the rebound stones made a sound like they were clinking against something hard.

"What…!?" Eyes widening, Alice began to move-

 _Boom!_ Alice's doll exploded, the blast catching the miko's legs and hakama. "Ghh…!"

 _Fwa~sh!_ The holy shaft drawn by the rebound stones filled with light energy.

"Aah!" Alice let out a yelp, clipped by the shaft as she tried to escape.

...Thud. The miko dropped onto her legs, which promptly bucked, causing her to fall onto her hands. ' _That bomb…_ '

Using her hands and applying force to her legs, she quickly got onto all fours and scrambled to get up properly-

Thu-thunk. A barrage of arrows hit the ground before her.

Then, Sendai flickered out again, her form gone once she was upright.

Thu-thunk. Thu-thunk. Two more arrow volleys were unleashed where she was supposed to be while she was in the midst of her flash step.

...Once her form flipped back into materiality, she flung an arm at a row of archers-

Fwa-fwap. The two archer dolls struck each fell to the floor, uselessly crackling with holy energy.

' _These archers can burn._ ' The miko was just about done with archer shenanigans.

 _Pop!_...That one slow moving bubble that the water doll launched caught up with her, and popped beside her.

"Guh…" All it did was cause the miko to stumble, and get soaked.

Bloop. The water doll created another one, which floated to conveniently shield two archers.

' _That's nice…_ ' Frowning, the miko sent out two more ofuda-

Fwa-fwap. The remaining unshielded archers began to fall to the ground-

"Woah…" Sendai tensed up at the feeling of steel pressing into her, only to realize one of the slow, grey shield dolls drifted up behind her and started pushing her by floating into her back. ' _Why even…_ '

As she was pushed towards one of the idle, flanking lance dolls-

 _Whoosh-woosh-woosh!_ The doll began spinning wildly, its lance making it a deadly slicing machine.

"Ah…!?" As it gravitated towards her, the miko threw herself onto her side without the arrow stuck in it.

Generously, once the doll spun for a few seconds at almost completely horizontal momentum, it stopped and retreated back towards Alice, as did all the other previously strategically placed dolls.

...After a moment, the miko pushed herself back up-

 _Cla~ng!_ The doll that was trying to become one with her spine was flung away, struck by a wet arrow from the remaining archer dolls.

Thunk! The final arrow struck the treebark before the miko's head.

' _Really now…_ ' Baring her teeth, the miko drew a spread of three ofuda, and cast them towards the bubble-shielded archers at once-

 _Pop!_ The bubble popped, deflecting all of them.

' _Really…_ ' She began drawing more ofuda-

Alice drifted off her roof where she had been momentarily stranded, her body crackling with holy energy. "I-I've had _enough_ of this."

...Noticing her position over the battlefield, the miko got an idea.

Bloop. The water doll made another bubble to protect the archers…

Alice did a spin in the air-

Ten dolls with Cirno's likeness were produced, all generating somewhere behind Alice that the shrine maiden couldn't see.

Once Alice stopped, she snapped her fingers. " _Deep_ _freeze._ "

The dolls all immediately held their arms up, spread to a line around Alice, and began generating balls of ice…

Jumping, Sendai imbued her arm with the power of darkness and uppercutted the air-

 _Woo~sh!_ Ascending, she switched the darkness to her other arm and uppercutted again-

 _Woo~sh!_ ' _Okay…_ '

Now many feet in the air, the miko looked down, trying to make sure she couldn't see the mana glow of the archers behind the mage's own…

Alice blinked, somewhat annoyed at this. She was waiting for the miko to land again; she'd command her dolls to bombard her with ice magic, and the fight would be over.

Once the miko was sure she was at the right attitude, she began kicking forward into the air to slow her descent. "Hoh. Hah. Hnh."

Now Alice was getting more annoyed. "...What is she-"

 _Thu-thunk._ The miko heard the distinct sound of arrows impacting the puppeteer's back.

Alice had a look of shock, her hands in the air. "I- ah-..."

Promptly, the archer dolls dropped their bows, ragdolling.

The Cirno dolls all dropped their spherical ice chunks-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwa~sh! Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa~sh!_ The ice all exploded against the floor, large and intimidating shockwaves of frost magic spreading across the clearing and chilling even the evening dew on the grass's petals.

Alice slowly drifted to the ground, grimacing. "Ho-how careless…" Almost idly, but with noticeable strain, she held an arm to the side and began articulating her fingers…

...As Sendai fell towards the ground, she kicked towards a tree. "Hoa-"

Clack. Sendai's sandal allowed her to spring weakly off the tree's side, breaking her fall-

"Ngh…" On landing, she was forced to drop into a kneeling position even with the help of dark energy.

The ground was cold to the touch, the chill of the frozen blades beneath her causing her to jump slightly.

' _Fuck this arrow. If there's one projectile I don't like, it's arrows._ ' Getting up into a standing position, she took a deep breath…

A green doll came from Alice's house, holding a bright yellow orb with vial-like objects sticking out of the top. Quickly, it whirled towards the puppeteer…

' _No._ ' Throwing her arm, Sendai sent out three ofuda-

Clo-clo-clo~ng. Some shield dolls erected before Alice, their shields completely tanking the ofuda.

' _That's shit._ '

Alice accepted the yellow potion, before allowing the doll to float to her back. "I-I've gotta say, you've- ah…" The doll began tugging, forcing her to shut her eyes-

Rip-rip! " _Aaa~h!_ " Alice yelled and lurched forward onto her shield dolls as the green clad doll tore the two arrows from her back, taking flesh and meat with them. "Oh- ah, aah…" Quickly, she tossed the yellow potion into the air-

 _Fwi~fwi~wish!_ It became two light lavender splashes of liquid, which traveled down onto her form and absorbed into her…

Promptly, she stood upright again, using her arm to wipe away the tears that briefly flowed due to her pain. "There. Much better…"

' _Damn. Didn't know her house was full of elixirs, even though I probably should've guessed…_ ' Sendai reached for her side. ' _I'll see how much pulling out this arrow hurts and potion up if I need it. I… probably will. I'll go rifle through her place for spares later._ '

"I've got to say, you've given me a few scares." Alice took a relaxed posture again, floating into the air. "I'm not going to play around to amuse myself, this time."

Drawing another generic, blue doll from her pocket, Alice reeled her arm back… "Demonic Control, Return Inanimateness."

Fwi~sh! The doll lit up with grey energy…

Tensing up, Sendai stopped herself from ripping the arrow out at this moment. ' _I'll just flash step out._ '

 _Whish!_ Once Alice tossed the doll, it roared towards the miko with unrealistic speed-

The miko's form flickered out-

 _FWABOOM_

In the doll's wake, a massive pillar of blue and grey magic spiked up into the night sky, enveloping the entire proximity the miko once stood.

Alice knew it didn't connect, and began drifting back in anticipation…

Flickering back into materiality, the miko winced at the sharp sensation in her gut. ' _Alright, time to get rid of this arrow…_ '

"Are you some new kind of spectre?" Alice questioned Sendai casually. "I've never seen a ghost who can just float through magic like that, being inherently magical and all that."

Hardening her hand around the arrow's shaft, she pulled-

Ri~p! " _Aa~gh…!_ " Despite the darkness she clotted around the area where she pulled, she still lost a chunk of flesh, blood openly draining from her new wound. "Ff~... ngh."

' _Tha~t was bad…_ ' Reaching into her pocket, the miko drew her potion. ' _I can live with this, but it'd only get worse, so let's not._ '

Alice snorted. "You know it's better to leave it in, right? Not that you'd be able to fight much if you left it in, but even so…"

Popping the cork off, the miko tilted her head back, chugging the potion.

The puppeteer watched her, and began subtly articulating her hands to make dolls shift about elsewhere…

"Ha~h…" After finishing the potion, the miko looked around again, her wound starting to close.

' _I'm just going to spam item crashes and steal her elixirs if she still has any._ ' Sendai resolves, done with this fight. ' _Her dolls are just too annoying…_ '

Pulling out another Chronicle of Gensokyo, Sendai tossed it into the air, and leapt backwards.

Snapping her fingers, she pointed into the air. " _Holy Spark!_ "

Fwi~sh! The tome split into nine different copies, which all expanded outward to create an octagon in the air.

Alice's eyes widened, and only after a rainbow pentagram formed in the midst of the tomes did she start to move to evade-

VRRRRRR~

A massive rainbow beam of holy energy roared out from between the chronicles, over the miko's arm.

" _Aa~gh!_ " Alice wailed somewhere within the laser.

The entire clearing was lit up by the beam, though it only lasted for a brief two seconds before it shrunk and fizzled out, the chronicles now black as ash.

...Fwoo~f. All the tomes became dust.

' _There…_ ' Sendai huffed, folding her arms.

…

She began walking across the lawn, her equipped talisman revealing Alice's location.

The mage sat on the ground next to a tree, looking up at her. "Yo-you…" Her body crackled with rainbow energy, her limbs jittering. "Wh- get away… I- I can't let you- ah..." She tried to move, only to flop onto her side. "Nnh…"

Thud. On the ground, the mage glared up at the miko with disdain.

…

' _Well…_ ' Ignoring her for now, the miko turned around-

Shi-shink! Two dolls thrust forward into her, piercing her stomach with cold, steel lances.

' _Are you kidding me!?_ ' Incredulous, adrenaline rushed through her body as her arms flared with dark energy, and she reached forward to grab the dolls.

With them both in hand, she smashed them together-

 _Bam!_ A dark ring spread out in the air where she crushed the dolls together, reducing them to their base parts.

' _I hate mages. Unless they're helping me._ ' Channeling darkness to her new puncture wounds, the miko started treading towards the house, before stopping. ' _Speaking of, I should probably just knock that mage out if she's really going to-_ '

 _Boom!_ Sendai leapt to the side as a doll walked up and outright exploded next to her.

' _Oka~y._ ' Brandishing ofuda, Sendai turned towards the mage-

Alice was being held in the air by her dolls, her body still disabled, although not enough to prevent her from grinning down at the shrine maiden. "I- I have dolls filled with _gunpowder_! I won't let you leave here in one piece…!"

Sendai tossed the ofuda forward-

Fwap-fwap-fwap. "Augh…!" Alice shut her eyes, the holy magic coursing through her body. "I- I won't lose…!"

...Channeling darkness into her legs, Sendai leapt-

 _Boom- Boom- Boom!_ Dolls exploded beneath her, turning the lawn into a series of craters.

Eyes uneven, Alice announced another spell card. "Testing! Level Titania!"

 _Thoom. Thoom._ Two giant dolls dressed in basic maid outfits landed on the ground below Alice, each one half the height of her house.

...As Sendai fell, she kicked down towards one-

 _Thunk!_ She sprung off of its head, creating dark shockwaves on impact with the giant doll. Even so, the doll's posture didn't falter as its head began cracking open-

"Knight!" Alice declared another spell card. "Doll of Round Table!"

 _Woo~sh!_ From Alice herself, a revolving ring of more than twenty dolls began expanding outward, all armed with lances. Gradually rotating as one unit, they leave Alice to approach the shrine maiden-

 _Woo~sh!_ Twenty more dolls expanded outward from behind Alice.

The two large dolls began floating into the air, dolls generating behind and around _their_ forms…

' _Where did all of this come from!?_ ' Sendai stared down into the seemingly multiplying mess of dolls…

" _Thousand Blades!_ " Arching back in the air, Sendai's ofuda began flowing from her clothing like a river, working to form a ring of axes around herself.

Once the axes were formed, they began spinning outward-

 _Clack- clack- bam- clack!_ They drilled into the first ring of twenty dolls-

 _WOOSH-WOOSH-WOOSH_

Every single doll began spinning with their lances extended, quickly shredding the ofuda axes into nothing.

' _Good…!_ ' Feeling herself begin falling, Sendai uppercutted the air again-

 _Woo~sh!_ Soaring upward, she looked down at the slowly rising cloud of deadly blades in the form of dolls with lances.

"No!" Alice barked up at her. " _Aeroga!_ "

 _WOOSH_

A powerful draft came from below, blowing the miko- as well as the dolls and the puppeteer herself- up higher.

The dolls initially went upward faster than the miko, but the uppercut again-

 _Woo~sh!_ Gaining more height, the miko refused to look down.

' _This is a little more than I expected from some forest hobo…_ ' Adrenaline rushing through the miko's body, she uppercut again-

 _Woo~sh!_ She gained more height…

"Sacrifice!" She heard the puppeteer over the sound of roaring whirl blades. "Suicide Pact!"

Promptly, every single doll dropped their lance at once, and began floating upward.

' _Nope!_ ' Sendai kicked to the side-

-and failed to gain momentum due to her timing.

' _C'mon!_ ' Throwing her arms to the sides, she dashes forward with the aid of her wind blade dash attack. Once it carries her its set distance, she kicks forward again-

 _Woo~sh!_ Wind whipped through her hair as she soared over the trees of the magic forest, leaving the house clearing entirely-

 _Woo~sh!_ Chaining another kick to further her momentum, she allowed herself to descend towards the canopy below-

 _KABOO~M_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

... _Bam- bam!_

"Agh…" Sendai curled up into a ball after rebounding off of a tree trunk, before-

 _Bam!_ -she landed on her back. "Ngh…"

…

Slowly, she began to sit up. ' _Ou~ch. That puppeteer better not've blown up her own house. I'd like to swindle a potion or two..._ '

..She was also blinded by the immense magical signatures all around her in the midst of the woods. Reaching for her shoulder, she took off the Eye of Truth talisman-

Instantly, everything was black, except for the glow of foliage and leaves.

' _Woah…_ ' The change in lighting threw her off.

...After a moment, she marched towards where the canopy was visibly darker, before she reached the clearing where the magician's house was again.

The lawn was now fit to be a moat, except it hadn't water. The house itself wasn't destroyed, but it could use a complete re-roofing at this point.

Abandoned lances littered the 'moat', making it more like a defensive spike pit all around Alice's house. It also made her house look like a porcupine.

Eyebrows raised, the miko took some steps back to prepare to jump the gap. ' _If I see her in the house, I'm just mowing her down with ofuda._ '

…

Once she was ready, she ran, her dark-powered legs allowing her to leap- "Hu~p…!"

Soaring across the gap, she was poised to land on the porch. Before she actually landed, however, she extended her arms and threw them outward-

 _Woo~sh!_ With her wind discs summoned, she roared towards the front door at completely horizontal momentum-

 _Bam!_ Once inside, her discs dispelled and she slowed down by running until she got to the room's rear-

Thud. She kicked the back wall to stop herself, leaving a dent.

' _Okay…_ ' Looking around the dark room… it was too dark for her to see.

Taking out her Eye of Truth talisman, she slapped it back on-

Instantly, the room was a pale blue, the magician lying on the floor to the right of the table. Despite her complete stillness, the mage's body did not crackle with holy energy, rainbow energy, or anything that might betray the fight that just happened…

...Promptly, Sendai leapt to the side to align herself with the mage, and adjusted her pockets so that they were in the right posture for what she was about to do.

" _Thousand Talismans!_ " Sendai promptly began wildly throwing a machine gun stream of ofuda straight down at the mage.

 _fwap-fwap-fwap-fwap-fwap-fwap_ -

"Ah- no!" Alice promptly sprung off the floor, flailing her limbs as she got painted with ofuda. "You- ngh! Aah!"

Floating about the room, she darted into the wall to her side-

Bam! -before accidentally throwing herself into her coffee table-

Cla-clack. -tipping it over and leaving her to roll onto the floor.

 _ZAP_

The amount of ofuda instantly knocked her out once they all initialized on her form.

...Despite the fight being over, Sendai continued to throw ofuda at the wall until the spell's course ran out, which was a good fifteen seconds. ' _That was the one time that was ever useful._ '

…

Now alone in the dark house, the miko folded her arms. ' _So much for getting my clothes fixed._ '

On that note, she promptly turned around, kneeled, and began opening shelves.

' _Let's see~..._ ' She opened a drawer that had a bunch of thread and scissors. ' _Useless._ '

The next drawer contained a myriad of empty spools. ' _That's nice._ '

A tubby drawer she pulled open looked to contain a myriad of synthesis materials and magical crafting items. ' _Whatever._ '

She swung open a cabinet-

It was full of potions of various colors.

...Eying it carefully, she ran her gaze over the red potions, then over the few yellow elixirs she saw.

' _...I don't think she'll miss some health potions and an elixir._ ' The miko quickly placed two of the Hi-Potions into her arms, as well as an elixir.

After taking them into her arms, she sat them down on the table nearby- after briefly repositioning the table itself to be upright- before placing them into her pockets…

' _There we go._ '

…

Idly, she swung open one of the closed doors, and marched inside.

' _Looks like a bedroom…_ ' Looking around, the miko could only see in monochrome blue due to her equipped talisman and the dark lighting of the home. ' _I'm not really tired, though. Not that this is a smart place to sleep anyway._ '

...As she looked about the room, she reconsidered her thoughts. ' _Well, I'm tired, but not tired-tired…_ '

Looking in the mirror, the miko saw herself, except her eyes were curiously bright yellow.

"Hmm…?" Jerking her head back, the miko leaned forward, inspecting the mirror. ' _This isn't one of those youkai mirrors, is it?_ '

…

Idly, she reached for the talisman on her sleeve, and removed it-

Once she did, everything was black, because the room had no lighting.

' _...Yeah. That was probably it._ ' Nodding acceptingly, the miko threw the talisman back on so she could see again.

With that, her curiosity in the room faded, so she went back into the main room.

' _She said she was a clothier. Does that mean she keeps spares somewhere?_ ' Continuing through the house, the miko pushed open the door to the guest room.

It had some unassuming beds along the room's back wall, and that was it.

Ignoring those, the miko walked towards the closet in the back of the room, and swung it open.

Inside were a myriad of outfits, including ones identical to Sakuya's, as well as a witch outfit, what looked like Reimu's outfit, a business suit, and a few others Sendai really wasn't able to place a name on…

...Taking out Reimu's outfit, Sendai held it up to herself. ' _I… don't think this will fit._ '

Then, she looked down at her chest, spotting ripped patches of her leotard and cloth apron.

' _...At the same ti~me… I think my clothes have seen better days._ '

...After giving both outfits a close look, Sendai began to remove her cloth apron.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

' _I wish mages would just use normal lights. Actually, does she have candles around…? Whatever._ '

With the shrine maiden outfit on, Sendai once again readjusted the Eye of Truth talisman back onto her shoulder, having had to move it around mid-change for the sake of visibility.

...Furrowing her brows, the miko reached to try and pull her shirt down lower. ' _Why is Reimu's shirt this tiny? And..._ '

Frowning, she tried to stretch the skirt, too. ' _This skirt almost doesn't exist. She might as well be running around in her bloomers… or bindings, if she switched out of bloomers. Either or._ '

Meandering out of the room, Sendai went to go check the mirror. ' _This Alice girl must make clothes for people as she says, then. That's not so bad…_ '

Eventually, the miko reached Alice's room again. She noticed there were some inanimate dolls on various shelves around this room, too, although they did nothing.

Sendai looked into the mirror-...

' _...Wow._ ' She examines the huge mid-drift created by Reimu's tiny shirt combined with their bust difference, as well as her tiny skirt. ' _I look like a whore with this on. Actually..._ '

After a brief jog, she threw her cloth apron back on, despite it being torn up.

' _...Better._ ' She was still dissatisfied both by how tiny the skirt was and the fact that the shirt was pretty constricting above being tiny. ' _Actually, maybe I'll leave a Hi-Potion behind and call it payment for a replacement outfit. She technically owes me for what she just tried to do to me._ '

Sound with her logic, the miko took the Hi-Potion out…

After a glance at the tipped over central coffee table, she righted it with one arm and placed the potion on it.

' _I should leave a note._ ' Turning around, the miko looks for some paper… ' _Is it not out here? Maybe it's in her room. A clothier- a_ mage clothier _\- better have paper lying around._ '

Meandering into the puppeteer's room, the miko began opening random shelves…

"Hello~?" A voice came from the front door, causing the miko to tense up.

' _I'm pretty sure this doesn't look like a great situation._ ' Sendai just shook her head as she continued to look for some paper to leave a note with. ' _Oh, hey. I found a quill to write with before I even found the paper..._ '

The lights in the main room turned on, causing the miko to glance over.

"Ah… Alice!? What happened- Alice!?" A voice that was distinctly Reimu's came from the main room.

' _Reimu can control the lights here? Huh._ ' Then, she perked up. ' _Found the paper!_ '

"Ofuda…" Audible thuds came from the main room as Reimu rolled the magician's body around in examination.

Walking out of the bedroom, Sendai stepped towards the main table…

Freezing up, Reimu looked up at her.

...Leaning over in front of the table, the miko began writing on the note. ' _Let's see, what do I say… "you tried to kill me but I stole less potions than I could have so you owe me"? Maybe I shouldn't tell her I took any at all._ '

"What…" Standing up, Reimu furrowed her brows. "You again?"

Looking up from the paper, Sendai gave her a wave. "Hello, Reimu."

"Did you do this to Alice?" Reimu gestured a leg towards the fallen puppeteer. "...And that to her lawn?" She gestured again, this time to the lawn.

"No, she did that to her lawn." Sendai rebuked. "...And she did that to herself."

...Reimu stared at her dryly. "She slapped Hakurei talismans onto _herself_."

Sendai grinned. "When you put it like that, maybe not. She tried to kill me, so that was what she got. I didn't go any farther because she doesn't seem all bad."

"Where'd you even _get_ Hakurei talismans from…?" Reimu propped her arms onto her hips. "How do you even _use_ them?"

"Like so." Sendai raised an arm, and threw it outward-

Fwa-fwa-fwap. Three ofuda hit the wall behind Reimu, an intentional miss. Despite this, the younger miko had moved to evade anyway well before the ofuda were poised to hit her.

...After giving the wall a glance, Reimu looked back at the elder miko. "... _How?_ "

Sendai gave her an even stare. "I'm your mother, Reimu."

"Yeah, I sure do remember my mother's yellow eyes." Reimu gave the miko a dry glare as she landed and stepped towards the back counter. "That, and for some reason you've thrown on one of my spare outfits. Didn't you have clothes before…?"

"They got ripped." Sendai justified. "I came to get them fixed."

"So you beat up the one person who could fix them." Reimu countered. "Good job."

"It's not my fault no one believes me when I say I'm your mother." Putting her quill down on her paper, Sendai turns towards her daughter. "Also, about my eyes…"

Slipping off the Eye of Truth talisman with one arm, Sendai threw her other arm out first-

Fwap! A generic ofuda hit the wall, because Reimu had dodged out of the way. "Hey, hey-"

Fwap! The Eye of Truth talisman strikes her stomach, sticking to it.

"Ah…?" Blinking, Reimu's brown eyes changed to a somewhat vibrant red. "Woah…" She looked around, caught off guard visually. "What'd you do?"

"Look in a mirror." Sendai steps out of the way of the door to Alice's room.

"...Why~?" Narrowing her eyes, Reimu power walks into Alice's room, and looks into the mirror…

Sendai steps in behind her, grateful for the fact that Reimu seems to habitually turn on the magi-lights in each room.

"Huh. They're… red." Leaning forward into the mirror, Reimu blinks at herself as she thoroughly examines her own eyes. She moves to take off the talisman…

...Once it's off, her eyes become brown again. She puts it back on, and her eyes become red again. Then, she takes it back off… before putting it back on.

"Having fun?" Sendai grinned at her from the doorway.

"Whatever." Slipping the ofuda off again, Reimu twirled around and tossed it at Sendai-

Fwap. It stuck to the miko's bust, and her eyes became yellow again.

Stepping past Sendai, Reimu continued back into the main room. "Alice should be fine in a little while. You're coming with me, though."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sendai idly followed her doubtful daughter, before pausing. "Actually, hold on."

"What is it?" Gaining a glare, Reimu gazed back in from the doorway out. "Make it quick, youkai."

Sendai stood over the paper, picked up the quill pen, and began writing again. "Please fix clothes… and make spares. Will pay you back later. Damaged outfit in the room with three beds. Hakurei miko."

"What…?" Reimu began to step forward. "No, you're not writing that."

"Yes, I just wrote that." Sendai sat down the pen, and left the paper there on the table.

...Looking up, she saw Reimu glaring at her.

Sendai grinned. "I need _someone_ to make me clothes. I'm very sure the village clothier didn't hold onto my clothes after I expired."

"It's things like that." Reimu complained. "You expect me to believe you're my _mother_ , when you talk about something like-... you _dying_ in such a carefree way."

...At that, Sendai just shifted her arms behind her back. "There's not much point in thinking about it now. I don't even remember the circumstance in _which_ I died, which might be for the better. I'd probably march right up to whatever killed me and just die again."

"You don't remember how you _died…?_ " Scowling, Reimu began to turn and progress out the door. "Okay."

...At that, Sendai just sighed. ' _I've got my work cut out for me, apparently._ '

...Jerking her head back in realization, Sendai quickly darted over to the back counter to close the potion cabinet, before jogging to follow Reimu outside. ' _Can't leave that open, or the mage'll know I swindled her right away._ '

STAGE COMPLETE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion(x2) - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

alice fight

alice gave her MORE TROUBLE THAN AI EXPECTED

mostly because alice can be very smart about keeping opponents away from her fragile young adult magi body, and that's pretty much the name of her game: strategy and keeping the hell outta melee range

that and she's no stranger to making herself scarce so sendai had one hell of a time keeping her in one place

alice also didn't fight at max capacity until the very end, both because she was tired and she thought sendai was just some feeble doppelganger

alice is very much the kind of person to toy with her enemies simply because it's a sort of novel experience, which is kinda why remilia does it but alice isn't always SURE she's fighting a curbstomp battle; she also does it to gauge enemy ability

that said she does have some attacks that are just complete and total overkill like doll of round table, level titania and the goliath doll spell cards; and i do give her mastery of a lot of the basic FF/KH prefab spells i.e. aeroga, firaga, blizzaga so forth

which all for the most part can mean very dynamic things in the hands of an experienced magician like alice

...and once that was all over, alice tried to get the jump on sendai by playing dead - w -

that moment when alice got shot by her own archer dolls was fun - w -

7.8 k words this chapter!

as always, see you all next time!


	7. 2-2 - An Unassuming, Ordinary Shack

In the midst of the forest, the miko who came before trailed behind her daughter, who drifted just above the floor…

' _I'd still like to know how Reimu can fly. Has she been studying magic?_ '

"Don't try to run away when I'm not looking. I'll know." Reimu warned her mother as she progressed past tree trunks.

Fwap-fwap-fwap. The miko tossed ofuda idly at oncoming trees as she moved to illuminate the dark woods better.

"I'm not going anywhere…" Sendai gave her an idle rebuttal as she strolled behind her, occasionally taking a leap to get over some roots or pits.

"No attacking me, either. If that wasn't obvious." Reimu added an additional warning. "I'll seal you if you do."

Sendai smirked. "I'll seal you if _you_ do…"

"What was that?" Reimu turned back towards her, frowning.

"Oh, nothing." The elder miko continued to smirk.

...Rolling her eyes, Reimu kept going ahead.

' _She reminds me of how fiery I used to be. Provided, I was a lot less tolerant than her. I probably would've made good on that sealing if I was her._ '

Ahead, the bushes rustled, causing both mikos to pause.

"Oo~h?" Seemingly fading in from the shade of the woods, a woman far taller than the bushes she rustled slid out before the two. "I thought I had… smelled…" She trailed off noticing the identities of her company.

The woman was unnaturally tall and slender, dressed in a long, pink nightgown and a pink sun hat, her eyes unnaturally glossy and full.

Her gaze locked onto Reimu.

…

"Sorry." Turning away from the mikos, she begins to hobble into the woods. "Sorry won't happen again sorry…!"

With one flick of her arm, Sendai sent three ofuda forward-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwap_. "Anh…!?" The entire eleven foot tall youkai jumped at the sensation of ofuda running up her back.

 _Za-za-zap!_ They all initialized at once, sending holy energy through the youkai's body.

" _Oou~h…!_ " Wailing, the tall youkai girl slowly tipped forward-

Fwoof. Her landing was surprisingly soft, likely due to her slender form.

...Nodding at that, Reimu began drifting forward again. "Thanks."

Sendai snorted. ' _You sound very thankful._ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - An Unassuming, Ordinary Shack

As the two progressed through the woods, Reimu turned to her mother again. "I'm gonna be asking you some questions soon, and I want you to answer me."

"Mmm~..." Sendai wasn't really fazed by her daughter's persistence.

' _I've got my talisman off at the moment, because the forest is blindingly bright with it on._ ' Looking around, the miko takes in the forest's azure glow once again. ' _It's pretty contrasting to how dark this forest's always been._ '

...After a few more moments of walking, the glow of the foliage gave way to another clearing.

' _Ah. It's to the left of Kourindou, like I expected._ ' Sendai nodded to herself idly as she and Reimu moved through the clearing, approaching a very tiny house. ' _...It's more like a shack, though. It's about what you'd expect from a feral magi._ '

The house was small, composed of wood boards, and very rustic in appearance. The roof seemed to be composed loosely of some kind of shingle, and it had a chimney, but nothing about it looked exceedingly pretty.

As they approached, Sendai quickly slipped her Eye of Truth talisman on…

...Blinking at the house a few times, she wasn't sure what she was looking at. ' _Oh. Okay._ '

Unlike Alice's house, where all the trapped or enchanted materials and surfaces seemed very neatly labeled, this house was the very opposite. Globs of magical energy seemed to only very loosely conform to certain portions of the house.

Barely distinguishable lines of magic ran across the yard every which way, and the house itself was glowing almost entirely neon teal, various billowing clouds of magical energy simply hovering out of it and into the air above.

' _What is this. It reminds me a little of when I was inside the mansion… except I'm pretty sure this isn't intentional._ '

...After a moment, the miko was forced to slip off her talisman, her eyes starting to hurt. ' _I… don't think we'll have to worry about traps. Reimu seems to know this place, anyway._ '

Drifting down onto the porch, Reimu knocks on the door.

Knock knock. "Marisa~, open up. It's me."

...Clack. Sendai did a hop over all of the porches stairs and onto the porch itself.

Reimu gave her a dry stare. "That was necessary."

"Flying everywhere is necessary." Sendai jested idly, gazing at that door. ' _The steps could be trapped, for all I know._ '

"Pfft. If I didn't, those roots would be a pain. This forest's not a fun place to walk around in." Reimu countered, staring at her mother. "Besides… why not? It's a lot easier than walking."

Sendai smiled at that. "I suppose it would be."

…

Reimu banged on the door again. "Marisa~! You better not be asleep! I know you don't go to bed until it's nearly morning!"

"Hold o~n!" Marisa yelled from inside. "Lemme just- I gotta do this! Hold on!"

…

 _Fwoof_. Some kind of muffled, soft boom came from inside the house.

"Really…" Reimu folded her arms.

…

Bam! The door slammed open, causing Reimu to jump back and into the air. "Woah!"

"Heya, Reimu-ze!" Marisa hastily darted out of her front door, and shut it before the purple mist leaking out of the house could follow her. "Wazzap, wha's goin' o-..."

After panning her gaze around, Marisa laid her eyes on Sendai. "Ho~ly _crap!_ You-..."

Moving away from the door- only after making sure it was firmly shut- Marisa stepped up to the elder miko. "I didn't think you'd actually try them…! Wow..." Smirking, the mage began to run her gaze along the miko's body, crouching and tilting her head to examine her. "Wow, you filled out _nicely_ …" Slowly, Marisa brought her hands up-

"Marisa." Reimu dryly addressed her friend, landing behind her.

...Pausing, Marisa turned to her.

…

Then, Marisa turned back to Sendai.

She looked back at Reimu, then back at Sendai.

"Oh shit." Marisa chuckled incredulously. "That, um, wasn't supposed to happen."

"I didn't eat those dirty mushrooms you gave me." Reimu dryly explained.

"Oh. Oh?" With this new information, Marisa looked back at Reimu... then back at Sendai. "...Who the hell's this supposed ta be!?"

"Some doppelganger I keep running into." Reimu answered promptly.

At that, Marisa gave her a slow, single nod. "Oo~h. Wow, yeah, I can see why you'd be freaked." ...Then, she looked back at Sendai. "She's fucking hot!"

"Marisa~." Reimu shook her head at her friend. "Anyway, I brought her here so you could help me interrogate her. Sealing doppelgangers of myself usually doesn't accomplish all that much, and I don't think it'd be different here. Don't you have… truth serums or something? Or something that specifically deals with doppelgangers?"

...Marisa grinned at her. "Do bombs count?"

Reimu gave her a dry stare in return.

Giggling, Marisa walked towards her door again. "Ehehehe- nah, I got some things. I actually made a, like, thing that-"

She opened the door, and purple gas started rolling out from inside-

Bam! She slammed the door again. "Crap, right, forgot about that…! Uh, if ya see any of that stuff, don't breath it in. It'll confuse ya and stuff." She snapped her fingers-

 _Thoom!_ All the windows around her shack's perimeter flip open, and gas starts rolling outside.

Relaxing, she folded her arms. "So anyway, yeah, I've got a crystal that helps dispel illusionary stuff. It ain't very good, but if it does _something_ that'd help me figure out how we could like, seal her ability to do that dopplegang thing or whatever you call it."

Reimu started drifting back into the air, watching the gas roll out from inside the shack. "Marisa, the gas…"

...Looking around, Marisa noticed the gas encroaching on the front porch. "Oh, shit." She held out her arm-

A broom flew out from the nearest window, moving towards her.

"Alri~ght!" She leapt, landing on her broom in a sitting position before moving to share Reimu's distance from the house.

...Sendai stared at the rolling fog, before distancing herself from it with one leap-

 _Bam!_ Her hop called for slamming her legs against the porch, caving it in as she leapt off of it.

"The hell!?" Marisa flinched back from the noise, eyes slightly wider than before.

 _Thud_. The miko touched down below the two girls, at about the same distance away from the house.

...Marisa looked down at the elder miko. "Ya just cost me a _porch!_ It's gonna be like a month until I remember to fix that!"

' _Speaking of…_ ' Sendai stared up at the mage neutrally. "I heard you took some things from the Kourindou."

...At that, Marisa floated down a little lower, grinning at the miko. "Oh, yeah? Who wants ta know?"

"Me. Kourin." Folding her arms, the miko kept her stare consistent. "Why did you?"

This response caused Marisa to jerk her head back. "...Kourin, huh? Where'd ya hear _that_ nickname from?"

"Where did _you?_ " Sendai retorted.

Floating down, Marisa made her eyes level with Sendai's. "Pft. Some doppelganger you are, goin' 'round startin' trouble. Now I don't know _who_ ya are, but if I see ya causin' trouble down at the Kourindou, there's gonna be some problems, alright?"

"You're the one stealing things." Sendai announced, posture unchanging. "I came to take a couple things back. I'm not letting you just steal from people."

...Reimu sighed. "Really, now. Well, if you want to be sealed _that_ badly-"

Marisa held an arm up, preventing her friend from acting. "Hey. Nah. You just sit back fer this one."

...Reimu huffed. "Alright. But you _better_ not let her get away. I don't wanna see her running around causing problems after tonight."

"Oo~h, don't worry, ze." Marisa shot her friend a quick thumbs up. "She won't be walkin' _anywhere_ after t'night…!"

…

Reimu drifted over the nearby forest canopy, greatly distancing herself from the oncoming fight.

Marisa slipped an octagonal object from her hat. "How many cards we playin' wit'? Unless ya got none, then yer just shittin' me, 'cause with jumps like that you _gotta_ have cards."

"Cards…?" Sendai brought her hand to her face. "...Are you… really asking me to play _danmaku_ right now?"

"Unless ya feel like deepthroatin' this broom 'a mine, busty." Marisa tapped her broom with her handheld octagon. "We could do that too, ze."

Shrugging, the miko cracked her knuckles. "I'm afraid I don't have any of these cards you speak of."

Marisa grinned. "Hah. Look at you, all smart. Alright, I'll just mess ya up real nice, then."

Strafing to the side, Sendai kept a careful eye on the billowing layer of lavender fog emerging from the house…

Slipping out the Eye of Truth talisman, she briefly re-equips it.

'... _All that fog is heavily magical. That witch… everything on her's glowing to some capacity. That octagon, her broom, her hat… her. She shines even brighter than that magician from before._ '

"Love Sign…" With one arm, Marisa adjusted her hat, reaffirming the octagon with her other.

A paper thin line stretched out from the mini-hakkero, moving straight past Sendai's form.

With the talisman on, she could see the violent magical energy whipping out from it. ' _Let's_ not _do that laser thing again! If they're anything like that vampire's, this won't be fun._ '

Leaping out of the way, and dangerously close to the fog around the house, Sendai began moving around the witch's side-

The white line flickered out, the witch shaking her head. "No, no~. Ya can't just go _around_ …"

Turning towards the miko again, Marisa strafed with great speed to the area Sendai just vacated from. "Now I'll have to do this the painful way, ze."

Sendai took off the Eye of Truth talisman for obvious reasons. ' _So bright…_ '

Marisa aimed her octagon forward at the miko, and it began glowing…

Raising a brow, Sendai adjusted her posture-

 _Choo~m!_ A thick, torso-sized laser of blue energy roared straight out at Sendai without much other warning.

' _Woah!?_ ' Sendai leapt to the side, almost falling over as she evaded the extending laser. ' _Fast!_ '

Two visible, loosely held together mana orbs flared up at either side of Marisa-

 _Fwio~m!_ They all fired thin, ray-like lasers of translucent light energy.

' _Ow._ ' The rate at which the lasers generated was too fast to dodge, but moving out of them immediately prevented the miko from getting hurt much. ' _...Danmaku energy. I thought she was getting serious..._ '

At the miko's seeming non-reaction to the danmaku, Marisa furrowed her brows. The vaguely orb shaped mana gatherings at her sides flared up-

Soundlessly, she began firing quick salvos of green magic missiles, which accelerated outward from her form as she strafed.

Every half-second Marisa would fire a salvo of two rockets. This resulted in quite a huge oncoming force almost immediately...

Allowing her arm to fill with dark energy, the miko darted out of the way of the first salvo, only to uppercut into the air-

 _Woosh!_ Now airborne, she was safe from the well over twenty rockets the witch produced below.

' _I don't imagine they're strong if there's that many of them, but it's better to not find out._ ' The missiles made large green splashes where they struck, but seemingly didn't so much as kick up dirt or dust.

In the air, she kicked downward in the vague area of the witch. "Hoh!"

As she descended, Marisa shot under her with a great burst of speed, evading her entirely.

' _I thought it was hard for mages to go_ that _fast…_ ' Sendai landed well behind Marisa, who'd already turned to face the miko. ' _I guess my only real option is projectiles, unless I get lucky or find a movement pattern or something..._ '

Marisa clapped her hands together, grinning widely…

The two mana orbs her sides combined before her, and began firing person-sized, blue magic missiles at the miko.

"Here ya go!" Marisa beamed, as the constant stream of slowly accelerating missiles advanced outward. The missiles generated so fast they intersected one another...

Sendai ran to the side of them-

Strafing about haphazardly, Marisa had a fun time of dodging her own rockets to make harder to dodge lines in the air.

' _Oh, good…_ ' Reaching into her sleeve, darkness ran up the miko's arm and down one of her legs…

' _Actually._ ' Changing her mind, the miko ran to the side of a few incoming rockets, and towards a larger, unavoidable looking wave-

Her form flickered out, the rockets passing through the air where she was.

Marisa blinked, but kept strafing with great speed whilst firing, confident it'd go somewhere or at least deter attack.

The whole area where the miko should have been was now a bright maelstrom of blue and white magical energy from all the rocket blasts…

Sendai's form flickered back into materiality, a few feet before the mage.

Marisa jerked her head back at how close she suddenly was-

 _Tick-fwam!_ A large danmaku rocket struck Sendai directly, blinding both combatants.

Marisa stopped, moving to divert her momentum to strafing in the opposite direction-

She felt something apply weight to the front of her broom.

"Oh, hell no!" Marisa barked over the curious silence of her danmaku rockets-

Sendai pulled down on the front of the broom, standing to its side with both arms on it-

' _Woah!?_ ' Abruptly, the miko found herself lifted off the ground by the broom itself, but only briefly. ' _That's some telekinesis…!_ '

Ceasing the firing of her rockets, Marisa moved to both shove the octagon into the back of her broom, and punch the miko in the face.

Bonk. The magician's punch didn't do a lot…

Sendai snorted. ' _Good job._ ' She gave the broom a strong horizontal tug-

"Woah!?" Marisa rolled off of it, barely landing on her feet beside it. "You asshole…!"

With the broom in hand, the miko drew it back and swung wide, accenting her arms with dark energy-

"Woa~h shit!" Marisa ducked under the swing, her hat whirling in the air _over_ the swing.

Bringing the broom up, Sendai quickly whipped it down for a horizontal blow-

Marisa fell to the side in an attempt to dodge, her arm outstretched towards the miko-

 _Fwoom- Fwoom- Fwoom!_ She generated three green starburst bullets from her palm as she fell-

 _Clack!_ Sendai's strike slammed the witch into the floor below. " _Aah!_ Fu~ck…!"

 _Boo-Boo-Boom!_ The starburst danmaku immediately exploded on the miko, becoming persistent spherical blasts of non-elemental magical chaos.

' _Ow, ow…_ ' Doubling back, the miko stumbled out of the orbs. ' _...Not really lasting pain, but it definitely makes you reconsider what you're doing._ '

...The bright blasts faded, the miko holding the broom like a staff. Once the light was fully extinguished, Marisa was revealed to be awkwardly stepping back away from the miko, her arm in her hat.

"Eheheh…" Marisa was smiling. "Why don'cha suppose I give ya a gift, now?"

...Sendai slid forward, intent on a leg-oriented swing-

Marisa flung her arm outward-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ Before she could see what the mage lobbed at her, the miko's vision was filled with painful danmaku energy again. "Ngh…!"

"Hahaha~!" Marisa laughed over the explosion. "Oh, 'n' by the way…!"

Suddenly, the miko felt the broom almost rip itself from her arms, but she barely held on with her still dark accented arm. "Nn…!"

...Gritting her teeth as the blast faded, the witch drew another bomb canister from her hat, and chucked it forward.

Sendai leapt to the side-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ The canister exploded next to her harmlessly.

Sendai whipped her free arm outward-

Fwap-fwap-fwap! Three ofuda struck the mage in the torso.

"Pfft…" Grinning at the ineffective ofuda, Marisa snapped her fingers-

Fwoom-fwoom-fwoom. Three more green starbursts were generated, homing in on the miko.

...Keeping herself from grinning, the miko leapt, letting the broom take her towards the mage-

 _BooBooBoom!_ The starbursts exploded against her as she was carried towards the mage. " _Aagh!_ "

Marisa's eyes widened at the incoming form. "Woah- shi-"

Ba- bam! Sendai's form collided with Marisa's, the two of them sent sprawling.

Moving quickly, the miko began to get up-

As she sprang to her feet, she saw the mage getting dragged along the forest floor on her back, one arm on her broom and one arm on her hat. "Hehehehe~!" She seemed almost incredulous at her own escape from the situation…

' _She's not getting away!_ ' Sprinting forward, Sendai ran after the broom and caught up easily with the magician's awkward acceleration.

Marisa grinned widely. "Comet! Blazing Star!"

"Hup!" Leaping, Sendai poised herself to land-

Thud. -onto the broom in a sitting position. ' _Now, to kick her off and hit her with it aga-_ '

Vuu~m… The octagon on the back of the broom began to glow brightly.

The miko rose her leg to try and kick the witch off, only to see she'd suddenly began to cling to the bottom of the broom with all four limbs. ' _Really, now-_ '

The octagon released its energy.

VRRRRRR~

A massive, unbelievably bright beam of pulsing yellow energy roared out from the broom's rear, magnificent blue starbursts splashing outward as the broom started to accelerate at unbelievable speed…

' _Wha~t is this…!?_ ' Grabbing onto the broom firmly with both arms and legs, the miko stared at the rapidly approaching thick trunks of the forest's trees ahead…

 _Woosh!_ The two women grazed the tree, roaring past it. ' _Wow…!_ '

The broom began slowly rotating in the air as it accelerated forward, the miko's vision tilting as she herself was slowly tilted sideways.

 _Woo-woo-woo-woosh_. The forest's dim foliage was a blur as the broom rocketed through it at fatal speeds, inadvertently illuminating the path ahead with the fierce yellow glow of the laser behind.

' _Woah!_ ' Mouth tense and eyes wdes, the miko leaned right to avoid getting a face full of rock as the broom tilted-

' _Oo~h!_ ' She had to throw her upper body to the left immediately after to dodge a low-hanging, thick branch-

 _Woosh!_ ' _Aa~h…!_ ' Finally, she crouched inward, her head grazing another trunk.

RRRRrrr~...

The laser began to die down as the two slowed down _somewhere_ in the woods.

By this point both the miko and witch were both horizontal… when suddenly, the broom jerked up, taking them into the air.

Wind whipped through their clothing as they rocketed higher into the night sky, the broom's shaft rapidly rotating to the point that keeping a proper perspective was confusing in and of itself…

Vuu~m… The octagon began charging magic again.

' _What kind of attack is this…!?_ ' Finding her senses, the miko shook her head, trying to think of a way to get off of Marisa's wild ride.

"Wahoohoo~!" Marisa seemed to be having fun, though. "Ya feelin' sick yet!?"

' _She's probably controlling where it goes…_ ' Sendai considered, blinking rapidly as the wind irritated her eyes. ' _If I apply force, I'll probably be able to change our course… but the real question is if I want to. If I did it back there we probably would've hit a tree at inhuman speeds and both died._ '

As the broom slowed to a near stop many many feet above the Forest of Magic, it tilted downward.

Sendai sighed. ' _I might just have to hang on until this stops..._ '

VRRRRRR~

The yellow laser kicked in again, creating an amazing yellow pillar that awkwardly tilted into the night sky and illuminated the canopy tops below.

Almost instantly the broom began spiralling towards the ground at surreal speed.

As they descended, the hairs on the back of the miko's neck stood. ' _So fast…! When would this ever be useful!? We're gonna crash!_ '

The roaring of wind and flapping of clothes began to kick in again once the broom picked up enough speed…

On the topic of speed, the miko took pause. ' _Well, it's probably an alright mass distance travel tool…_ '

As the broom roared down towards the canopy, it closed in on a clearing…

Reimu seemed to be ahead, flailing her arms-

 _Woosh!_ -before darting out of the way to avoid getting hit by the broom.

Once the broom passed her, it rotated and dipped towards the floor…

Sendai was upside down as the broom approached the fog machine of a shack the magician lived in. ' _Are-... we just going to ram the house!?_ '

RRRrrrr~... The beam's energy slowly tapered off as it neared the house, leaving the broom to ride off the continual acceleration.

Within seconds, it neared the house-

 _Bam!_ The door slammed open before they reached it-

The insides were a purple blur, the dim interior lights and the fog making the miko unable to see. ' _Oh- oh, wow that smells…_ ' Tucking herself in, the miko kept as low a profile as she could-

 _Woosh!_ Something grazed her back.

"He- agh, kauf…" Marisa tried to exclaim something, but inhaled a mouthful of the fog as well.

...A second later, the broom emerged from the other end of the house via a back window, now beelining in the air as it distanced itself from the fog.

' _I- I, wow…_ ' Sendai's vision spun once she could see properly again, her head's movements seemingly inverted. ' _Everything's… hazy…_ '

"Aw~..." Marisa was suffering similarly, the broom erratically moving through the air as she made it slow down by going in circles. "I- I… kaugh- I was hopin' we coulda grabbed th- that crappy pot that was makin' all the smoke… but I gu-gue-... _guess_ not…"

...The girls aimlessly drifted around in the air, both attached to the broom as the fog-induced confusion slowly subsided.

' _I could've sworn I had a way to deal with status effects before…_ ' Sendai furrowed her brows, suddenly reflective. ' _I can't remember, though._ '

…

After a few more idle moments, Marisa tilted the broom upright as it stopped. "Alright, joy ride's over, get off and lemme shoot ya." She started kicking Sendai's arms to little effect.

' _How does she still have her hat after all of that?_ ' Sendai barely recognized the fact the mage was trying to physically engage her.

Marisa aimed her hand at the miko, intent on more seriously attacking her. "I _said_ -"

Still upside down, Sendai channeled darkness into her legs, and thrusted her torso to curl into a ball-

 _Thunk!_ This motion made the broom dip straight down and embed tip first in the floor, as dictated by the miko's leg movement.

Thud! Cast off the broom, Marisa landed on her face. "Ngh…!?"

Rolling off and away from the broom and onto her legs, the miko began to turn around…

"Well aren't _you_ a freaking powerhouse…?" Marisa was already up, stumbling backwards as the broom rose from the floor to take her side again. As she did this, she reached into her hat…

"Just give back Kourin's stuff already." Sendai requested, if only because so far she's only managed to get taken on a crazy joy ride and land a few hits on the resilient mage. "Are some tables and books really worth getting hurt over?"

Grinning, the witch dug through her hat… "Ya should be askin' yourself that!"

From within the hat she drew a tan, long… curiously shaped mushroom.

' _...I was expecting a mana potion or elixir._ ' Sendai stared at the mushroom with dry vexation. ' _Unless that's another kind of bomb…_ '

"Ya see _this?_ " Marisa dangled the oblong mushroom before herself.

"No." Sendai shot back dryly.

"Nice eyes." Marisa shot back with equal bluntness. Tilting her head back, she began to insert the mushroom. "Omf… mmh."

...Sendai shifted her posture to something more neutral. ' _What… is the point of this? Is she trying to put on a show?_ '

...Once it was deep into Marisa's mouth, she began actually chewing, something which looked like it proved difficult at first for a variety of reasons that Sendai could only imagine. ' _Really, now. All things considered, it's probably some kind of mana-related mushroom. I was never into alchemy myself._ '

Gulp. Marisa swallowed the mushroom once she chewed up all its contents. "...Oo~h, that always tastes like _shit_. S'worth it, though…!"

Sendai folded her arms. "...Would you compare that to an elixir, or a potion?"

Marisa snorted, not bothering to dignify the miko with a response as she shifted her body posture...

...Dryly, Sendai started stepping forward-

The mage's body began to glow, and she arched her arms back into a stretch. "Nn~h…!"

Before the miko's eyes, the previously ordinary magician began to grow in height, going from previously being a head below Sendai to equal height with her.

' _What…_ ' Sendai's eyebrows rose as the previously nearly flat mage's bust became multiple sizes bigger. Curiously, Marisa's outfit seemed to also change to be only akin to her base design, now more white than black and accented with a generous bust window.

"Oo~h…" Letting out a womanly moan, Marisa leered down at her own form, before groping herself with her somehow newly gloved, elegant hands. "Yea~h. That _never_ gets old…" The gloves were snow white.

"Ahem." Sendai reminded the mage she was there.

"Oh! Right…" Marisa grinned sheepishly. "Don't have time ta play with myself."

...She blinked. "Wo~w. My voice is _sexy_. You know-"

Sendai darted forward, moving to give the mage an unaccented punch to the face-

 _Whack!_ "Oof…" Marisa flinched to the side, furrowing her brows and rubbing her cheek. "Alright, the fuck's ya problem?"

' _She seems a lot more physically resilient. Is it a trade off, or…?_ '

"Hyah!" Marisa punches forward-

Sendai's nudged lightly by the stomach blow, before realizing what happened. ' _Oh? Oh._ '

…

Reeling her arm back, Marisa tried again. "Hoh!"

Thunk. The noise was audible, but the miko only blinked again. ' _Well, I feel it. She's also pretty fast, for a mage. Probably the mushroom's effects._ '

...Smirking, the mage stepped back, and reached into her hat. Almost lackadasically, she takes out a bomb canteen.

Sendai adjusts her posture to be aggressive again. ' _Again?_ '

Lazily, the tall witch tosses the bomb canteen behind herself. ' _Oh._ ' After a moment, it lands on the floor-

 _Kaboom!_ Unlike the previous canteens, this one exploded into a tiny, wild splash of blue magic-

 _Bam!_ Before the miko could gauge the purpose of this, Marisa was launched into her, her fist connecting with her gut again. "Oah…!?"

The two parted as the miko slid back. Despite being launched back by the blow, Sendai landed on her feet. ' _Now_ that _I definitely felt..._ '

Marisa's body was crackling with non-elemental energy after that stunt, but she didn't seem to mind. "Hehaha~! Didn't see _that_ comin', didja!?"

...Strafing to make sure any further attacks wouldn't propel her into the confusion fog around the mages house, Sendai began to fill her arm with dark power. ' _You won't see this coming, either._ '

Once she was ready, Sendai lunged forward, intent to land a hook on Marisa's stomach-

"Woah!" Marisa, despite her ornate clothing and unassuming body type, somehow grazes the hook by moving just to the side of it in the direction it came from. "Ho~h!"

' _I was right. She's got speed that'd make most envy, now.._ ' Sendai gazed at the witch in vague surprise as her hook caught only air.

Marisa lunged forward to exploit this opening.

Bonk, bonk. Sendai's hair was ruffled by Marisa's attempt at unleashing regular punches on her head.

"For a doppelganger, you're made 'a bricks!" Marisa steps back from the miko quickly, incredulously shaking her hands. "The hell didja feed on!? Oni?"

Moving quickly, Sendai lunged forward with a regular hook this time-

Marisa skipped backwards, tilting her hat up so that a bomb canteen would slip out-

 _Kaboom!_ "Ngh…" Sendai stumbled back, the big blue blast sending a burning sensation across the entire front of her body. ' _Aa~h… that didn't seem to damage much, but that sting's pretty bad._ '

...Blinking, she glanced up.

Marisa came down from above, her heeled shoe intent on landing on the miko's head-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai stepped to the side. ' _That bomb… was really familiar, too._ '

 _Thunk!_ Marisa's heel was half-embedded in the earth. "Oh, shit…!"

Reaching into her sleeve, Sendai drew a mana molotov, and lobbed it forward-

 _Crack!_ It exploded against Marisa's head just as she freed herself from the floor. "Owa~h! Aahaha~ that sti~ngs…" Unlike the bomb Marisa had lobbed, the mana molotov actually made it seem as if Marisa's hat was on fire, but only for a moment.

…

After a moment of Marisa readjusting herself, Sendai began to charge her arm with darkness for another hook attempt while the mage approached her again…

Once Marisa was in range, Sendai roared forward-

 _Whack!_ "Nnh…?" Sendai was actually interrupted mid-attack by a careful jab from the mage.

 _Di-di~ng…!_ "Whoo~ie!" Marisa was very pleased at that.

...Locking her eyes on Marisa's again, Sendai noticed the witch's right pupil was now replaced by a pulsing, glowing star emblem. ' _For some reason, she made a dinging noise after hitting me._ '

Intent on ending the fight, Sendai sweeped forward to being a dark uppercut-

"No~!" Marisa quickly acted to crouch and retaliate with another intercepting jab-

 _Whack! Di-di~ng...!_

...It didn't necessarily _stop_ Sendai from uppercutting, but she ended up only launching herself into the air.

' _How is she so fast?_ ' Sendai was somewhat put off by her speed. ' _That, and now I_ know _I'm rusty._ '

Thud. The miko landed before Marisa, whose eyes were now had yellow, star-shaped emblems in the place of her pupils.

...Raising her arms-

Sendai blocked a random jab from the mage.

…

Raising her arms-

Sendai blocked two random jabs from the mage. ' _Okay._ '

Abruptly, Sendai lunged forward for a jab of her own-

 _Whack! Di-di~ng…!_ Moving to the side, Marisa immediately intercepted it. ' _These punches don't really do anything but interrupt me, but I'm still annoyed that I'm letting her hit me at all…_ '

Now, both of Marisa's pupils glowed with blue magical energy in addition to their star shapes…

…

Fed up, Sendai decided to go for a kick-

Marisa slid back, reeling her fist back. " _Huuoa~h…!_ "

Quickly, Sendai brought her leg down, and raised her arms to guard.

…

Instead of punching forward, two thin lasers stretched from Marisa's eyes.

Fwam-fwam! Sendai stumbled backwards at the sudden sensation of the danmaku energy, the eye lasers zapping her. "Wha- what!?"

 _Fwaa~...!_ Marisa slid up to her in the next moment, her arm glowing with cyan energy as she unleashed an uppercut. " _Hah!_ "

 _BAM! Di-di~ng, di~ng, di~ng…!_

" _Guah!?_ " The resulting hit launched Sendai into the air, but only at a fraction of the distance of her own uppercut, and Marisa didn't come with her as she flew back.

Almost landing on her legs, Sendai took two uneasy steps back on landing before flopping onto her back.

Thud. ' _Wo-woah…_ ' Her vision was spinning after the strike, star-shaped waves of blue and yellow magical energy coursing off of her body as she slowly regained her stamina.

…

After a quiet moment, Sendai sprung back onto her feet. ' _Wow. That… was a pretty good punch. I don't normally get so staggered, either._ ' Unnaturally precise star shapes were still flickering out of her vision, as she looked over her body.

' _It might be magic._ ' She noticed the final traces of cyan energy slowly fading from her form, the pulsing ache it provided going along with it.

...She looked back over at Marisa.

The mage gave her a confident grin. "Now that's what I call a _star punch!_ "

' _Is that so…_ ' Sendai began marching towards her.

Marisa articulated her arms. "Bring it, ze! I'll- aah…" She stumbled to the side. "Aw, shit. Already…?"

...Over the course of a few moments, Marisa shrank back down to her previous height, her bust retracting and her costume somehow altering itself back to normal.

' _Now I've seen everything._ '

"Oo~h…" Holding her head, Marisa looked around slightly woozily, her voice back to its normal pitch. "Damn, ze. Freaking-"

 _Bam!_ As Marisa spoke, Sendai kicked her in the chest.

" _Gnh!_ " Marisa flew back from the unaccented kick-

 _Bam!_ Her broom whirled up behind her and stopped her launch, her back hitting it hard.

"Aa~ow~…" She whined. "O~kay. Fuck you…"

' _I'll end this with a non-lethal item crash._ ' Sendai resolved, having had her fill of magician-related shenanigans for one evening.

...Marisa tried to climb onto her broom, only to almost tilt back off of it while getting into a sitting position. "Woah…"

Sendai slipped her arm into her sleeve.

Steadying herself, Marisa held up her octagon once again, drawing it from the broom's rear. "Alright. Now I'm done playin' wit'cha."

Pulling a Chronicle of Gensokyo from her sleeves, Sendai rose a brow at her. "Do you now have time to play with yourself?"

Marisa snorted. "Hah. I'm about'a!"

Aiming the octagon forward, the mage grinned widely. "Love Sign…"

Tossing the tome into the air, Sendai posed. " _Holy Spark!_ "

As a line was drawn by the octagonal weapon the mage used, the miko's tome split into nine different tomes. These tomes revolved in the air as they generated an octagonal pattern of their own, a pentagram flaring to life in their midst-

" _Master Spaa~rk!_ "

Both the beams flared to life.

 _VRRRRRRRR~_

The deafening noise made it hard for Sendai to hear anything.

The blinding light made it hard for Sendai to see anything. ' _Actually, I can see colors. That's… about it. Bright, eye straining colors. My laser's… not this annoying, though. It almost sounds like..._ '

RRRRRRR~

' _Her attack's… also a giant rainbow laser?_ ' The miko was in disbelief. ' _That shouldn't be possible. How powerful even is she…?_ '

' _It took Marcus a lot of trial and error to get this chronicle item crash to work… and this random forest mage can just spam equal lasers all she wants. Either the youkai situation in Gensokyo got a lot worse while I was gone, or I just happened to come across someone special. She_ is _Reimu's friend apparently..._ '

RRRRrrrrr…

Finally, the two incomparably thick, massive magical lasers both came to a halt, the clearing ceasing its shaking once they both shrank flickered out of power.

…

After a moment, Marisa yelled over the silence. "What the _fuck!?_ "

Sendai snorted. ' _She seems just as surprised as I am._ '

"Stupid doppelganger…" Marisa grumbled, before reaffirming her posture and bringing the octagonal box up again. "Alright, let's see ya copy _this!_ "

' _I think I'll just go around her this time and surprise her._ ' The miko resolved. ' _No use matching up to her lasers if they've got equal firepower._ '

"Loving Heart…!" Marisa's octagonal weapon began to glow a brilliant yellow again.

Sendai began sprinting towards her.

" _Double Spark!_ "

Sendai's form flickered out-

 _VRRRRRRRR~_

The two massive rainbow lasers tore into the surrounding forestry, toppling a few of the normally resistant, towering magic trees.

RRRRRRRRR~

The amount of firepower being exuded was massive to the point of Marisa being slowly pushed back by the force, despite the flaring yellow energy shooting from the rear of her broom…

Sendai appeared just next to her, and quickly moved to keep under her but not in the range of the epicenter of the two spreading beams. ' _Two!? How!?_ '

RRRRrrrr~...

As the roaring lasers died out, Sendai leapt for the broom-

Marisa skid forward, pivoting around to grin at the miko. "Not this time! Love Sign…!" Aiming the octagon down, Marisa quickly whirled back and away from the miko.

' _Again!? Does she ever run out of mana?_ ' Dashing after her, the miko was intent on trying to keep up, until the mage floated up high.

"Machine Gun Spark!" Marisa aimed her magical armament down at the ground where the miko was-

VRRRRRrrrr~...

The laser she fired this time was more segmented, a bright yellow coloration to it. The beam's contents splashed and fluctuated against the floor it struck, its form more unstable than the other sparks.

Rolling out of the way of it, the miko transitioned to a dark uppercut. "Hoh!"

 _Woosh!_

Marisa darted out of the way of it, and aimed her octagon where she thought the miko'd move next-

VRRRRRrrrr~...

The slightly lighter weight, massive yellow laser missed as the miko kicked back towards the ground.

' _Woah…!_ ' On her way down, the miko flew into a wave of star-shaped blue danmaku bullets that were unleashed by the wake of the first spark-

The miko's form flickered out-

VRRRRRRrrrr~...

Where she was, a great yellow laser shelled the position, a maelstrom of blue bullets left in its wake.

"I'm gonna _get'cha~!_ " Marisa beamed down at the ground, searching for the miko's form. "Don't hi~de!"

Her octagon was pulsing bright orange, although the vibrant and caution-inducing color slowly dimmed and reverted back to the fierce yellow it had before. If one paid attention, they'd see there was smoke billowing from it, but it stopped once the color changed back to yellow.

Sendai's form reappeared, and instantly she bolted towards the woods, her arms outstretched, summoned wind blades wielded to give her forward momentum-

VRRRRRRrrrr~...

In her wake, the massive yellow laser rended the rock and grass, a violent splash of blue stars roaring into the night sky.

Ending her dash, Sendai brought a dark arm up for an uppercut- "Hup!"

 _Woosh!_ Soaring, she cleared the canopy-

VRRRRRRrrrr~...

A laser annihilated the canopy she just cleared. Now high up again, the miko kicked through the air in the vague direction of the mage. "Hoh!"

VRRRRRRRrrrr~...

As she soared through the air, the third laser of Marisa's salvo roared uselessly into the night sky behind her.

"Damn cool down…" Marisa frowned at the orange coloration and smoke billowing from her weapon. " _Now_ I remember why I don't use this spell so much…"

Sendai kicked towards the magician, launching herself closer. "Hah!"

 _Woosh!_ Marisa ducked under her to avoid the kick, descending back to ground level.

' _Really…_ ' In order to follow along, Sendai kicked straight down, intent on using a horizontal kick to break her landing and close the distance with the mage again.

"He~y, timeout." Marisa called out to her lazily. "I need ta chug a potion. That cool wit' you?"

 _Woosh!_ The miko transitioned directly from falling into sliding along the floor as she moved to engage the mage.

Marisa floated up to avoid her-

With her arms, Sendai leapt from her slide into the air, kicking after Marisa-

Marisa did a forward flip with her broom, one hand on her hat. "We~w. Thanks!"

Landing on her legs after the sliding leap, Sendai drew ofuda…

...Marisa took a Hi-Ether from her hat, holding it out teasingly. "Hey, hey. You want-"

 _Crack!_ It broke, an ofuda ripping through it. "-one…?"

...Marisa looked over at the broken bottle dryly. "You're right, I was jokin'. Still, I got like, twenty of these things. We're gonna be here till the sun comes up if ya keep that up."

"In your hat?" Sendai was skeptical…

Marisa rolled her eyes, before holding her hat out-

 _Woosh_. A bowling ball fell from it. "Yeah, in my hat. Y'never used a hat to store stuff before?" Quickly, Marisa drew another Hi-Ether. "Sad life, ze, sad life."

...Sendai began walking to stealthily position herself for an uppercut, only to stop when the mage began drifting at her walking speed whilst drinking. ' _Perceptive._ '

…

"Haa~h." Marisa nodded confidently, before tossing the bottle away. "I'm gonna be crappin' blue later, but it'll be worth it!"

' _I needed to know that._ ' Cracking her knuckles, the miko began moving again. ' _Perhaps Evil Sealing Circle would work. Something with aerial control…_ '

Cracking her neck, Marisa drifted back into the air a little. "Alright…"

Leaning over, it seemed as if she muttered something to her weapon…

Sendai arched herself back, ready to jump up at the mage.

Once she's done, Marisa aims the octagon at her opponent. "Magicannon…!"

Vrrr- vrr, vrrr~... Her weapon- her mini-hakkero- began to shift, seemingly expanding as the borders of the octagonal box folded outward.

 _Woosh!_ With dark power in her legs, Sendai launched herself straight at the mage.

" _Final Master Spark!_ " Marisa unleashed her annihilation of love.

A white line stretched from the mini-hakkero, and Sendai's form flickered out in mid-air.

VRRRRRRR- _RRRRRR_

A huge, unholy beam of pure white magical energy roared outward, effortlessly cleaving a line straight through the magical forest despite being completely genuine danmaku energy.

Red and blue stars generated in a solid sphere around Marisa's form, the strands holding it together whipping outward in a milky way-esque pattern as more and more generated.

 _RRRRRR~_

Sendai flickered back into reality below Marisa, safe from all but the lashing star-shaped waves of the milky way around Marisa. ' _I don't really care about the smaller danmaku, even if it's about the size of my torso._ '

Slowly, Marisa brings the beam to the left, sweeping it deeper through the forest and causing the land itself to shake with the beam's ferocity.

 _RR_ RRrrrr~...

However, after a brief moment, the beam faded out of existence, slowly and gently.

…

The miko roared up from under Marisa, a dark uppercut striking the back of her broom.

"Waah!?" Marisa held both arms tightly onto the mini-hakkero as she was launched off her broom.

The miko was just above the mage, the two suspended in the air as the broom twirled up and away...

Before her free fall began, Marisa aimed her mini-hakkero up at the miko who came before. The device crackled in anticipation as another white line began to extend, and the magic began to glow brighter and brighter...

The miko descended, her dark fist connecting with the device's epicenter.

Marisa's eyes were wide.

…

 _ **KABOOM**_

STAGE COMPLETE

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

Shaking her head, Reimu slowly and somewhat clumsily carried the two unconscious women into the shack, which was then mostly devoid of confusion gas. "Really…"

...She dumped them both on Marisa's bed, exhaling at the weight the action took off her shoulders.

Crea~k. The bed didn't like it, though.

"I leave you one fight and you blow yourself up." She frowned down at her friend, whose outfit was half-annihilated. "I figured something was up after that broom attack that took you all over the place, but I figured you were just being you."

Both girls were crackling wildly with all different colors of danmaku energy, making them easily mistakable for a small electrical project gone horribly wrong...

"A-aah…" Marisa fidgeted, betraying her consciousness. "No- not… my fault…"

"Yeah sure." Reimu was clearly convinced.

"Mnn~h…" Slowly, Sendai began to stir.

' _I'm gonna pass out if I don't heal myself before the pain's through…_ '

Digging into her pocket, Sendai drew one of the Hi-Potions she'd swindled, popped it open, and began drinking greedily…

"Mmh…" She closed her eyes, taking in the sensation of drinking liquid after physical exertion. ' _...The~n the taste kicks in. Ugh._ '

Finished with the potion, the miko let the bottle part from her lips, taking a deep breath…

"Huu~..." She exhaled, comfort spreading across her body in waves. "Good…"

...Then, she rolled off the bed and onto her legs, no longer imbued with heavy danmaku energy.

"Hey." Reimu caught her attention. "No going anywhere."

...At that, Sendai turned to her before doing a small sidehop away from the bed.

...Reimu rose a brow. "What was that for?"

"I went somewhere." Sendai grinned back.

...Reimu just folded her arms in response.

"Nn~gh…" Marisa's left arm flopped and felt around the bedside. "Hat…"

"Is that _really_ what you're worried about…?" Reimu stared at her friend incredulously.

"Fr-freaking…" Sitting up, Marisa stared at her friend unevenly. "Has potions. He-health."

"I'll just check your cabinets." Reimu resolved. "Your hat's probably out there somewhere, but I'm not gonna go look around when it's black out."

...Giving up, Marisa flopped back on her bed, eyes fluttering shut.

...After a moment of digging through the messy shelves, Reimu gave up herself. "You need to organize better." Turning towards Marisa, she blinked. "...Oh. Good."

' _She should've kept at least one in her regular pockets. If I didn't, I would've been like her by now._ '

…

Looking down at her clothes, Sendai's gaze became dry. ' _I'm nearly naked, again._ ' Her skirt was vaporized to the point her black panties showed, the only meaningful cloth remaining being the two pouches gorged with potions.

"So much for that truth serum…" Reimu began moving to leave the house. "C'mon, follow me. Don't run away, don't eat anyone- or me- so forth…"

...While her daughter stepped outside, the miko glanced at the shelves for something she could take. ' _I'm not leaving this place empty-handed. Not after the trouble that witch_ _gave me…_ '

On closer inspection, the miko realized the room was a complete disaster. Books were piled high between countertops, and the countertops themselves were cluttered with curious relics that the miko was hesitant to touch…

' _This reminds me of someone I know. Again._ ' Furrowing her brows, the shrine maiden crouched and opened a cabinet-

Thu-thud, thud. Books poured out of it, pooling up against her knee. ' _Oh._ '

Looking up at one of the high shelves, the miko noticed it had various potions of curious coloration, as well as mushrooms and herbs…

Her gaze rested on the oblong, not-so-appropriately shaped mushroom that sat on one of the shelves. ' _That's the one she ate earlier._ ' Reaching up, the miko grabbed it, and quickly pocketed it…

"He~y!" Reimu yelled from what sounded like outside. "Get out here!"

' _Hold o~n. My top is destroyed to the point that I just have my cloth apron, and everything's just hanging out. I need to do something about that..._ '

...Looking around quickly in the dimly lit bedroom, she approached a dresser which had various witch outfits piled high on it.

' _Hmm…_ ' Digging through the pile, she found various bras, socks, bloomers and outfits all bunched together in a disorganized ball.

Taking one of the witch outfits, she folded it wide and held the length of it along her breasts…

' _Oh, I see what I could do._ '

Instead of that, she let it drop and simply wrapped the shirt around her torso, tying the sleeves into a knot around her back. Like this, she took the rest of the shirt and rolled it up, tucking it between the shirt- and by extension her breasts- and the partially tattered cloth apron.

' _...Better than nothing. Actually- would she carry bandages?_ '

Before she could search more, her daughter yelled again. "I said _get out here!_ "

' _I should go before Reimu hurts herself out there._ ' Moving quickly, Sendai passed into the main room, and saw a high chair half-buried in books in the corner on her way out…

' _There we go._ ' Romping over to it, she latched her arms on the chair-...

' _Wow. That's stuck good._ '

Imbuing her arms and back with dark energy, the miko pulled again-

Thud- _thud_ , thuthuthud! She ended up displacing the entire book pile, creating a small wave of expanding books on the floor.

With the high chair now held over her head, she sprinted over towards the door outside.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

marisa fight

marisa takes some doing to beat up yo

her fighting style leaves her very very open and can make her very very easy to fight but if you don't exploit them properly she'll take that inch and make it a mile, making fights with her very risky and more based on situational opportunities and some luck than straight forward power

that and marisa's way of fighting is very unorthodox to begin with - w - and unlike most mages she's fine with taking some scrapes and bruises

she also very much prides in making herself annoying to fight, which is just part of how she does things; she likely saw how other opponents used individual annoying aspects and was like "how badass would i be… if i just became a mishmash of the craziest and hardest shit to fight"

when it comes down to it she's very strong on offense and support but has terrible defense - w -

in that sense she's not _terribly_ different than sendai but sendai takes risks because she can afford them and that's how she gets anything done; she's got a huge health pool (for a human) and really good defense, as well as a lot of experience

it was her first time getting taken for a joyride by a witch though - w -

OH YEAH i almost forgot to acknowledge the invincible mushroom item that marisa used here

the item itself from what i know originated in super marisa world or something along those lines, but here it's a phallic shaped mushroom as opposed to anything mario-y. it allows marisa to become… _INVINCIBLE MARISA_ (a term you can actually google!) (and no it's not 90% porn)

invincible marisa is basically 'super mario', but here she gains some additional stats from growing - w - and i let it give her little mac's _STAR PUNCH_ because that's fun

it won't work as well on sendai for obvious reasons; she's already big - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	8. 2-3 - Enchanted Nature

The two women came upon Alice's house once again as they flew and bounded through the forest…

"Why'd you bring a _chair?_ " Reimu gave her mother a cynical glance. "You know what, don't answer that."

"I'm more curious as to why we're back _here_." Looking around at the battered yard, Sendai had a raised brow…

Reimu easily drifted over the moat of spiky lances that made up Alice's lawn. "I'm not bringing you to my shrine naked if I can help it. If only because you'll blind everyone while I figure out what to do with you."

"Hup!" Sendai cleared the lance-filled pit surrounding Alice's house with a long leap, landing hard enough to kick up dirt on the other side.

...She sat down the high chair she took next to the pit. ' _I'll come back for you._ '

Once Reimu drifted inside, Sendai casually followed behind her, once again taking care to not find out what traps may've been bound to the front steps…

"Oh, hey." Reimu stared at a seated Alice.

Alice sat rigidly, expression hard as Reimu-like dolls slowly worked to peel the coat of ofuda off of her. "Oh… he- hey, Reimu-..." She froze when she saw the miko who came before.

' _She's up again? Either she's actually powerful, she's used to this, or I didn't land as many ofuda as I thought..._ '

"Rei- Reimu…" Alice breathed out, eyes focused as she struggled to speak through the seals. "That- that's… a youkai."

"I know, I know." Reimu waved her off, marching to the back of the room to look across the back counter. "I just came back to get her clothes. She's nearly buck naked."

...After Alice scanned the elder miko's form further, she slowly, laggily blinked. "Ma- Marisa's…?"

...Pausing, Reimu turned to her mother, noticing the mage shirt keeping her breasts covered and restrained, even if only as a proxy binding. "Oh. At least she has _some_ shame. Yeah, we stopped by Marisa's. I wanted her to do something about the whole doppelganger thing but she just blew herself up again."

Sendai snorted. ' _Blew_ herself _up? I guess you could put it like that._ '

"Do you have any spares that could fit her?" Reimu gave up on searching the back counter, stepping up to the puppeteer.

…

After a moment, Alice's delayed reaction time let her speak. "Some…"

...Reimu nodded. "Where?"

...Alice jerked her arm towards her room. "Ba-... back shelves. Fourth. You know…"

"Thanks." With that, Reimu marched up to Alice's room and proceeded through the already open door.

…

Sendai turned to the puppeteer. "Did you get my note?"

"...A- a miko, you aren't." Alice still had the patience to quip despite being crippled by talismans.

...Taking off her cloth apron, Sendai sat it on the table. "At this point, I'd like this to be fixed, too. Do you still expect me to pay you, or do I get a freebie because you tried to murder me?"

Alice's eyebrows twitched. "...I- ...will think about it."

' _She's not going to think about it._ ' Folding her arms, Sendai sighed.

…

Reimu came back out of Alice's room with a large green tunic. "This should do."

"No pants?" Sendai noticed immediately. ' _...That also looks like too much cloth._ '

...Reimu was indifferent. "Could just give you another spare skirt like mine… actually, no."

At this, Sendai marched towards the back room herself. ' _I might as well pick out something that looks easy to move in._ '

As she entered the lit room, she sighted the shelf Reimu left open and walked over to it.

' _Let's see… I don't want a general skirt, but I'll take something short if there's anything here for me at all..._ '

Eventually she had a short blue skirt, and an armless but large red top. ' _These will do._ '

...She looked down at her tattered Hakurei arm sleeves, and decided to keep them on. ' _There're probably spares here I could think about down the road. These aren't too beaten up, so I won't replace them right now._ '

Within a few moments, she walked back out into the main room with her new clothing on.

...Reimu nodded. "Looks fine. Alright, let's go." She began to leave the house, setting the tunic she found aside on the main table.

Alice sighed, still uncomfortable from the talismans that coated the front of her body.

...Taking one glance back at the puppeteer, the miko moved to follow her daughter.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - Enchanted Nature

' _I wonder if that puppeteer will do business with me if I dress differently the next time I see her..._ ' Sendai was still thinking of ways to get her outfit repaired. ' _She'd know it was me if I requested a shrine maiden outfit, though… and it's not like she doesn't know what I look like._ '

Holding the high chair she took from the witch's house over her head again, Sendai power walked behind her daughter's brisk floating.

Reimu didn't say much, though she occasionally took glances back to make sure Sendai was still behind her.

...Coming up to a particularly nasty patch of roots and uneven terrain, Sendai brought both arms back-

"Hoh!" -and tossed the chair way up into the air. Then, she sprinted forward and leapt, clearing the foliage.

 _Clack!_ Her sandals clacked against the rigid soil on the other side of the pit of plant matter. Looking up, she watched the chair fall back down, and leapt to catch it with both arms.

"You seem really dedicated to not flying for some reason." Reimu commented on the convoluted process the miko took in getting across the terrain.

"Perhaps I can't." Sendai suggested the unthinkable.

"I saw you in the air when fighting Marisa, though." Reimu countered, drifting ahead slightly slower than before. "If you're trying to save it just to get the jump on me, don't even bother."

"Foiled again." Sendai replied bluntly. "It was such a good plan, too."

...Reimu gave her a half grin, before looking away from her again.

' _Hah._ ' The reaction made Sendai grin.

…

 _Woosh!_ Once the two took their first few steps into a clearing, a figure launched from the brush all the way across the clearing to stop before them.

Both mikos had their arms poised to toss an ofuda spread, glaring ahead at the figure…

"Stop right the~re!" The figure was Cirno.

…

Both women lowered their ofuda, staring at the fairy dryly.

The ice fairy now had a vine along her arm and her dress, with some small pink flowers blooming from it. On her torso, instead of her usual ribbon, there was a sunflower.

Above those things, she was also tan now.

"Eye'm here to stop you!" Cirno propped her arms onto her hips, grinning.

...Reimu pointed to herself. "Me?"

The fairy shook her head. "Nah, you can wait. Eye mean _her!_ " Pointing at Sendai, the fairy beamed. "The phoney shrine maiden!"

"Ah." Reimu's expression was droll. "Look, I really don't have time for-"

"Wa- wait for me…!"

 _Woosh!_ From the brush across the clearing, the great fairy that Sendai saw before rushed out. "Aa~h…" Then, she saw the two mikos, prompting her to cringe back. "Oh no~!"

...The brush along the sides of the clearing rustled, prompting various youkai to step out.

' _There's that darkness youkai I saw earlier._ ' Sendai recognized the ball of darkness amongst them…

"Eye brought friends, too!" Cirno folded her arms, gaining a smug expression. "Stand aside, Reimu! First we're gonna beat up not-you, and then we'll beat up you!"

...Nodding skeptically, Reimu drifts out of the way. "Sure. Why not." With that, she moved over the nearby trees to watch the fight.

Floating back, Cirno looked around. "...Dai-chan! Are ya here yet!?"

The great fairy was across the clearing, behind her. "Ye- yes! Cirno, you can't be-"

"Don't worry!" Looking back at her, the fairy gave her friends a thumbs up. "There's no way we can all lose!"

...Sendai stepped forward, surveying her opponents.

Aside from the two fairies and that darkness youkai, there was a stout, green-haired youkai with antennae, and a petite pink youkai with bird wings.

The bug youkai was smirking, while the bird's stare was examining…

"So… a fake shrine maiden, huh?" The bug youkai spoke. "She's pretty hot…"

The bird youkai rolled her eyes. "You jinx us every time you say that. Last time someone got you wet, she blew us all up in ten seconds."

Looking back at her, the bug youkai seemed to deflate. "It's not my fault it's hard to judge power by appearances…"

'Dai-chan' warned everyone. "She- she's super fast, guys. We- we really shouldn't be doing this…"

…

Despite her caution, no one seemed to back away, all seemingly preparing themselves for confrontation.

"She smells delicious…" The darkness youkai spoke from within her orb.

"Rumia's right…" The bird youkai smiled. "She's human."

Looking back at the great fairy, the bug youkai nodded. "Yeah, whatever Daiyousei. Not every human that looks like Reimu _is_ Reimu, y'know…"

...Daiyousei pouts. "Fine. Don't believe me, then…"

…

Once they finished bickering amongst themselves, the miko audibly cracked her knuckles. ' _Are we starting?_ '

Cirno looked at her friends idly. "You guys done?"

"No." The bug youkai jeered.

...Cirno held her hand up at the miko. "Hold on! We gotta get ready!"

...The green-haired youkai stared back up at her dryly. "I was joking."

…

Cirno looked back at her equally dryly. "You're bad at telling jokes, Wriggle-chan."

Sendai began stepping towards them…

...Noticing this, Cirno whirled to face her. "Here she comes! Throw everything you've got!"

Instantly, the youkai all took to the air and began moving to flank around the miko along both sides. Rumia and Cirno drifted directly towards her, while Daiyousei stayed on the far end of the clearing.

"Lamp Sign!" Spreading her arms out, the bug youkai began to cast a spell card. "Firefly Phenomenon!"

"Night Blindness!" The bird youkai to the miko's right began to cast her own spell card. "Song of the Night Sparrow!"

"Darkness Sign!" Rumia yelled out, declaring her own spell card. "Demarcation!"

Cirno flew overhead-

 _Fwash!_ A sphere of expanding, red danmaku flourished from Rumia.

 _Bwomp_. Four blindingly bright fireflies spread out from Wriggle's form, revolving around her. Additionally, a flurry of smaller fireflies began gathering around her from the foliage all around...

" _Na na na~..._ " The night sparrow began singing, floating back and towards a tree to distance herself from the battle proper. " _Na nana naa~..._ "

 _Fwa~sh!_ A light flashed through Sendai's vision mysteriously, before everything faded to black.

' _Oh, good. Blindness… at night._ '

The miko couldn't see anything except for the fiercest glowing danmaku bullets, and those fireflies Wriggle had revolving around herself.

...Feeling the danmaku Rumia sent out patter against herself, Sendai began running in the direction of the bug youkai. ' _Thankfully her danmaku's not so bad…_ '

Slipping out the Eye of Truth talisman, Sendai slapped it back on to see if it would help.

The world was illuminated only by the colors of magical energy, the forms of the fairies and youkai revealed. However, Daiyousei and the night sparrow still couldn't be found due to their proximity with the surrounding magic trees.

Running forward and charging her legs with dark energy, Sendai kicked towards the bug youkai, becoming airborne by the force of her attack. "Hoh!"

The insect narrowly dodged as Sendai slowed down, the youkai flailing her arms. " _Woah!_ "

Digging her sandal into the dirt as she passed the youkai, she kicked her other leg down with it-

 _Bam!_ The impact both kicked up fallen leaves, and sent her back into the air _over_ the youkai.

"At- atta~ck!" Wriggle clapped her hands, and the fireflies all around her became diamond-shaped, lime green danmaku bullets that shielded her.

Sendai kicked down again, this time without dark aid-

 _Wham!_ "Ngha~h…!" The danmaku that Sendai didn't fall through dissipated, the fireflies leaving as Wriggle fell back onto the floor, clutching her shoulder where the miko's sandal landed. "Ow, ow ow~..."

Thud. Sendai landed a few feet behind the youkai.

" _Na na na~..._ " The night sparrow was still singing.

"Hey!" Cirno yelled from above, apparently darting around Rumia's danmaku. "Leave Wriggle-chan alone! This is me and you, not-Reimu!"

 _Fwam!_ Rumia sent out a blue sphere of danmaku, the diamond bullets that comprised it flourishing out from herself and bombarding the entire clearing.

"Rumia-chan, cut that out…!" Cirno darted back from the danmaku slightly, before clapping her hands-

 _FWASH_

Sendai tensed up, magical energy suddenly flaring up across the clearing as the magical signatures of the danmaku before her all stopped and were eventually drowned out by whatever happened to them. ' _It got a lot colder, too…_ '

…Carefully, the miko strafed towards the midst of the clearing.

Eventually, the sudden bloom of magic energy died down, revealing a large, spherical object in the midst of the field.

Then-

 _CRACK_

The magical mass shattered, shockwaves of frosty energy whipping out from the center and forcing Sendai to shield her face. ' _Woah…_ '

"Co~ld! _Coo~ld!_ " Rumia flailed wildly, fast and massive streams of round blue orbs flying from her arms as she blindly flew about in her own self-induced blindness.

" _Nanana naa~!_ " The night sparrow was doing her best to sing over the sounds of danmaku pattering, ice explosions, and yelling.

"Heal Sign!" Daiyousei floated onto the field, and Sendai heard her behind herself. "Life Finds a Way!"

 _Di-di-di~ng!_ Healthy chimes echoed throughout the field…

' _...They're not terribly organized._ ' In this moment, the fairy's healing spell caused the forms of the enemy party to light up brighter than even the magic woods surrounding the clearing.

Sighting the night sparrow, Sendai drew three ofuda, charged her arm- but not her hand- with dark energy, and flicked it.

 _Fwa-fwa-fwap!_ The three ofuda struck the bird, causing her to fall back off the branch she perched on. "Wah- woaah! Oh-"

 _Zap!_ The ofuda initialized.

" _Aaooh!_ " She fell backwards, landing on the forest floor below.

...Gradually, Sendai's vision began to brighten, the battle before her now much more vibrant than foggy colors and vague shapes. ' _There we go._ '

"Nnn~h…" Wriggle began to sit up, her form glowing a faint, healthy green as her stamina regenerated. "I'm gonna have a sandal print in the morning…"

...Turning back to Wriggle, Sendai stepped over to her and gave her a single stomp in the stomach.

"Oow! Why~!?" Cringing violently, Wriggle curled up into a ball, her regeneration halted.

Rumia, now recovered from her partial freezing thanks to Daiyousei's regeneration spell, roared straight towards Sendai. "Hahaha~!"

 _Fwam!_ With a twirl, Rumia unleashed a straight line of concentrated blue bullets straight out at high speed-

 _Bam!_ Running aside it, Sendai closed in on her and hit her in the stomach.

" _Oo~h_ …" Curling up into a ball, Rumia floated backwards, allowing the momentum from the miko's punch to let her gain distance.

"Heal!" Daiyousei's voice was now _very_ close to Sendai.

 _Di-di~ng!_ Bright, green energy wrapped around Wriggle's form.

"Oh no no no…" Wriggle began scrambling to crawl back. "Dai- stop healing-"

 _Thunk._ Sendai ran up to Wriggle and punted her again. ' _Healers are annoying…_ '

" _Me~...!_ " Curling up again, Wriggle rolled onto her other side. "Wo~oh…"

…

Turning to her right, Sendai looked at Daiyousei.

The great fairy flinched back violently, instantly terrified. "I- ah- um…"

"Hi." Cirno was behind Sendai.

The miko turned around-

 _Thunk!_ Cirno unleashed a torso-sized chunk of ice with her arms, which launched Sendai back on impact.

' _Woah…!_ ' Grappling it, the miko slid back, Daiyousei darting out of the way…

Stopping ten feet or so back, the miko dropped the ice rock and articulated her hands. ' _Cold cold cold…_ '

"Hehehe, yeah! Eye hit her, Eye hit her!" Cirno was very proud of herself.

"Ci- Cirno-chan…" Daiyousei drifted up beside her. "That's great, but… she took down all our friends!"

"That's not true." Cirno looked at her casually. "...We still got Rumia-chan."

Rumia drifted up beside her lazily, her dark orb flickering unevenly. "My~ stomach hurts."

Daiyousei put her hands to her mouth, before reaching into her pockets. "Uhm…" After a moment, she drew a potion. "Here, Ru-"

 _Crack!_ A single ofuda tore through the bottle, breaking the bottom beneath it. "-mia-chan…"

...Daiyousei dropped the broken top of the bottle, her hands spreading open in surprise. "Oh, _noo~!_ "

…

Sendai sent out a spread of three ofuda towards Rumia-

Rumia flipped to the side with unexpected speed, avoiding it. "Hehehe~!" From there, Rumia continued whirling towards the miko with erratic yet fluid movement-

 _Bam!_ When Rumia reached the miko, she was kicked in the face.

"Negh…!" Doubling back, the darkness youkai thrusted her torso to throw her head back down-

Sendai brought her leg back just as Rumia's jaw clamped down, audibly biting only air.

 _Bam!_ Sendai hit her in the head with a dark accented punch. ' _Hardier than she looks…_ '

"Nhah!" The darkness youkai seemed to relent for a moment, before thrusting her head only vaguely towards the hand that hit her, biting down with less ferocity than before-

 _Wham_. The miko delivered a solid blow to the youkai's stomach.

"Ooh…" With that, Rumia stumbled back. "Owhowho~w…" Turning around, she collapsed onto her chest. "Nnh…"

…

' _She reminds me more of the youkai I'm used to fighting. That night sparrow and the bug were just annoying more than anything…_ ' Cracking her neck idly, the miko turned to the fairies again.

Daiyousei had her hands to her mouth.

Cirno grinned widely, drifting forward. "It's down to you and me, phoney. Eye'm gonna beat you, an' beat you, 'an beat you!"

' _Okay._ ' Sendai took a deep breath... ' _This should be almost over._ '

"Ice King!" Cirno held her arms up. "Frost King!"

 _Fwa-fwash! Fwa-fwash!_ Four large ice chunks drifted out from her form, floating to create a line before her. Then, they mobilized outward, moving to flank the miko…

The four ice chunks all began firing spirals of danmaku, two firing clockwise and two firing counter-clockwise.

 _Fwii~sh!_ From the night's cool air, Cirno generated a blunt blade of ice that she held with both arms. "Here we go! Back me up, Dai-chan!"

"Go- got it!" Daiyousei silently drifted back and away, towards the end of the clearing farthest from Sendai…

Ignoring the blue waves of frosty danmaku the fairy was putting out, Sendai ran ahead towards the ice fairy-

"Aero!" Daiyousei pumped an arm into the air.

 _Woosh!_ Cirno was protected by a sphere of wind…

"Hyah!" Sendai roared towards the fairy with a dark-powered flying kick-

 _Cli~ng!_ Between the air shield and Cirno's attempt at blocking, the miko's attack was deflected. ' _Ah…?_ '

"Ha~h!" Reeling her blunt, icicle-shaped sword back with one hand, Cirno brought it down like a club-

Thunk! Her blade landed in the dirt as the miko slid to the ground behind her…

...Standing back up, Sendai noticed one of the ice chunks whirling towards her-

 _Cra~ck!_ She blew it to pieces with a dark punch-

 _Thunk!_ She was blindsided by a different ice chunk from another angle, forced to do a sideways roll to recover. ' _Really, now…_ '

Bringing her blade back up, Cirno ran for the miko. "Eye've got you now!"

...Sendai waited for the fairy to run at her, before preparing a basic kick. ' _I'll just let her get close first._ '

Once the ice fairy was within range, Sendai kicked forward-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwash!_ Upon getting within range, the ice fairy executed a high speed spin, arms outstretched as icy wind whipped around her like a blade.

"Ngh…" Sendai leapt back away from the attack, her arms not only chilled but legitimately cut into by the frosty air. ' _Now this is getting annoying._ '

Cirno stopped her spin as the miko leapt away, posing with both her arms in the air. "Yeah! Eye'm _cool!_ "

Sendai snorted. ' _...Really annoying._ '

...She noticed an ice chunk positioning itself over her. As it came down, the miko darted back-

Thunk. The ice chunk bounced against the dirt-

 _Cra~ck!_ A kick from the miko shattered it to pieces.

The two remaining chunks moved up to Cirno and began rotating around her. "Yeah, yea~h!"

...Like this, the fairy slowly, clunkily drifted towards the miko, her 'blade' in one hand and other arm outstretched as she glided.

Sendai drew a mana molotov from her sleeve, poised to toss it. ' _I can't believe I'm using holy fire to fight a fairy seriously._ '

Once the fairy neared, she suddenly picked up speed, gliding forward sword first, the ice chunks spinning around her rapidly. " _Frost Surge!_ "

"Hup!" Sendai leapt over the unexpected charge, allowing the molotov to fall below herself and into the whipping wind below-

 _Crack!_ It shattered over Cirno's form, lighting her ablaze. "Wo~wowow!"

Woosh. The wind around her quickly extinguished it, but Cirno was already fleeing to the edge of the woods, her ice chunks moving away from herself to engage the miko on their own…

 _Cra~ck!_ Sendai easily broke one of the chunks with a dark punch, the method in which Cirno had them engage not exactly as tactful as it had been before.

Quickly, she saw the fairy roar towards her from the edge of the clearing, closing the distance in no time-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai ducked under a wide swing of her club- like sword. Standing, she punched-

 _Woosh!_ Cirno 'ducked' the blow by floating down onto the ground, her height short enough that standing normally would allow it to miss.

Cirno punted Sendai in the ankle repeatedly, before retreating backwards.

' _That… didn't do anything._ ' The fairy's physical strength was too weak for simple blows-

 _Thunk!_ The last ice chunk slammed into the miko from behind, throwing her forward towards Cirno-

 _Fwash!_ Cirno created a ball of ice the size of herself, and began rolling it forward, making it bigger as she pushed it…

Bringing her legs up to prevent herself from being crushed between the two ice shapes, Sendai filled them with dark energy.

Once she was within range, she kicked forward-

 _Cra~ck!_ Glittery, bright shards of ice whirled through the air like snow as the miko plowed through the giant ice ball.

The ice chunk behind her stopped moving, forcing her to twirl as her legs met the ice fairy's head.

 _Bam-Cli~ng!_ This impact sent Cirno spinning on the heel of one leg, the damage significantly decreased by the aero shield she had.

Sendai flopped against the floor behind her. "Nnh…"

' _How is she still alive? Even with a shield, a fairy shouldn't live through that…_ '

Daiyousei floated onto the field. "Cirno-chan! Hea-"

Fwa-fwap! From the floor, the miko sloppily threw two ofuda at the great fairy, one hitting the fairy in the cheek.

"Ahn…!" Daiyousei grabbed onto it, and pulled-

 _Zap!_

...Thud. The fairy fell over, an expression of horror spread across her face.

' _No more support magic._ ' With that, the miko sprang back onto her feet-

 _Bonk!_ She flinched forward as a rock of ice hit her in the back of the head, shattering. ' _Alright, I'm done._ '

Turning back around-

 _Woosh!_ She slid back as she evaded another spinning attack from the fairy.

Stopping after her spin, the fairy pressed her thumb against her nose and wiggled her fingers. "Hehehah! Eye'm gonna get-"

 _Bam!_ Darting forward, the miko delivered a dark jab to the fairy's gut.

"Oouh…!?" Cirno's eyes were wide.

...Thu-thud. The fairy was sent soaring across the clearing, rolling to a stop on the other side.

...Almost instantly, she floated into the air by her torso, before righting herself. "Nn~gh… yo- you're… you're cheating!"

"No." Sendai brought out a mana molotov. "This is cheating."

Tossing it into the air, she posed, her hand pointing up. " _Hydro Storm!_ "

The bottle of liquid vanished in the air. Almost instantly, it began raining, thick drops of holy water descending from above.

"Aa- aah…" Cirno hugged herself… "Ba- bad wa- water…!" She started flailing her arms once the liquid began burning her-

 _Pi~Fwoo-woosh-woosh-woo~sh…_

The fairy exploded, a shockwave of magical energy unleashed from her form after she was annihilated.

All the holy water that had pooled on the ground around her froze solid post-mortem. The water drops that were immediately around her had become clattering frost stones, clinking against the pad of ice that formed on the forest floor.

...Sendai felt the wind of the fairy's destruction from across the clearing. ' _Wow. She was extraordinarily powerful for a fairy._ '

...Within moments, the holy water rain ended.

Pi~chun! Daiyousei died from it, exploding noticeably less spectacularly.

Pi-pi-pi~chun! Ambient fairies who were watching the fight died from it.

Thu-thud. Some youkai in the immediate woods around the fight fell to the ground, rendered unconscious by the holy liquid.

"I-..." Wriggle writhed. "Kaugh… I- I should stick to women my type…"

' _...She's still awake?_ ' Sendai gazed at the unfortunate bug youkai. ' _I suppose she would be._ '

…

Reimu soundlessly drifted onto the scene, dripping wet with holy liquid.

Sendai felt her limbs. ' _Now I'm all chilly. At least this new outfit didn't get ripped apart…_ '

"What was that?" Reimu questioned the miko.

...Turning around, Sendai faced her. "Oh, I got you wet. Sorry."

...Reimu gave her a hard stare. "You made it rain holy water."

"Yeah." Sendai confirmed. "Oh- I just remembered…"

Jogging to where she first stepped onto the clearing, Sendai picked the high chair back up. "He~re we go. Can't forget this."

With it in arms, she turned back around and progressed towards Reimu…

…

"Where did you learn to do that?" Reimu questioned the miko, after an idle moment. "The holy water thing."

"Oh?" Sendai blinked. "...It was awhile ago. Does the name Marcus mean anything to you?"

...Reimu looked away, and began drifting ahead. "Maybe."

…

"Can I stop at the Kourindou to drop this off?" Sendai lifted the chair above her head briefly to emphasize it.

"We'd have to turn around." Reimu declined. "No."

"Aa~h." Sendai lowered the chair…

' _Oh well. I'll head back to that witch's place tomorrow then, and drop off this chair at the Kourindou while I'm at it..._ '

With that, the miko drifted from the edge of the magic forest, the elder miko treading behind her.

STAGE COMPLETE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

team nine fight

wasn't that long of a chapter, because it was basically a mook rush - w -

mystia and wriggle can't take heavy hits that well, rumia doesn't strategize really, and cirno's… a CIRNO

and daiyousei just heals and stuff - w -

that and since they're all youkai they're holy vulnerable; if sendai used hydro storm from the start of the fight daiyousei, wriggle and mystia would've probably been instantly outta commission from the getgo, and rumia'd be a fifty-fifty to either bum rush sendai or run away

the real fight here was cirno but she prides herself in harassment and self-satisfaction more than she does actually winning at all costs - w -

as a side note, daiyousei's heals can't undo hakurei seals, so her healing mystia wouldn't have done anything

hoh

reimu's startin' to bat her eye at sendai's skills - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	9. 2-4 - Hakurei Bloodline

They came up to the Hakurei Shrine's large, wide stone steps. At the top was a large Shinto-styled arch made from wood, painted red.

In the dim evening's glow, the miko who came before stepped up two steps at a time. Reimu floated in the air ahead of her, navigating the stairs the easy way.

' _That feels like cheating._ ' The miko grinned at her daughter. ' _Maybe that's why she learned to fly. Still, it would've done her body good to actually use these stairs..._ '

Gradually, the two made their way to the top of the shrine stairs, the bright sea of stars over Gensokyo just a step closer from atop the Hakurei hill.

After reaching the top, Reimu landed and continued stepping across a wide stone path towards the small shrine that sat on the hill.

' _Here we are..._ ' Upon seeing it, Sendai got the urge to stretch, but settled for just exhaling. ' _For me, it only feels like I've been gone… about a day. Hrm..._ ' Upon trying to think of the day she died, her head began to hurt again.

'... _Maybe the shrine holds answers, somewhere. Or not. Maybe the answer's sleep._ ' Her mind began to drift towards rest…

Reimu stepped up the front porch, and up to the door, the elder miko following behind her.

...Reimu turned to her. "Not gonna leap up the porch again?"

"Not unless you put mines in the stairs." Sendai rebuked.

Snorting, Reimu slid open the door. "Maybe I should start doing that."

Stepping into the dark shrine, Reimu's presence caused the interior lighting to fade into existence, the shrine now filled with clean white light.

' _She gave it interior lighting!?_ ' Sendai marveled at this magical advancement. ' _...I feel like that'd attract a lot of attention at night, though._ '

"Stay here." Reimu instructed Sendai, once the elder miko got inside.

 _Slam_. The sliding door behind Sendai shut magically.

...The miko only vaguely turned her head towards it. ' _Yes. This shrine's paper walls will stop me._ '

With that, Reimu walked into the deviating room through the left door.

…

After an idle moment, Sendai double took. ' _It has more than one room now? I didn't see that from the outside… probably because it was dark._ '

...Somewhat restless, Sendai meandered towards the lone kotatsu in the middle of the room.

A moment later, Reimu came back with a cup of tea. Taking a sip from it, she closed her eyes momentarily. "...Mmm."

Standing next to the kotatsu, Sendai refused to let herself relax too much. "...So. How're we gonna go about this?"

...Eyes still closed, Reimu took a deep breath. "...Well, we could do this the easy way."

...Sendai rolled her head around somewhat tiredly. "Do y'think I've spent these last two days doing things the easy way?"

Opening her eyes, Reimu snorted. "If easy for you is fighting, yes."

' _Clever…_ ' Folding her arms, Sendai stared levelly at her daughter. "I guess you'd be right, then. I have no idea where I'd be if I asked questions first."

' _...It's not like I don't try, these days. Youkai are very trigger happy._ '

Half-grinning back, Reimu paced about idly, still staring into her mother's eyes. "I guess we have something in common, then." ...Taking this moment, she looked down into her tea cup and took another sip.

"So you say…" Sendai brought a hand to her chin. "You didn't attack me the moment you saw me back at that mansion."

...Rather than take a small sip, Reimu guzzled down the whole cup of tea, before looking up and rolling her eyes. "Please. It was late, I was tired, and Remilia nailed the roof. When I showed up and saw you both already beat up, I was good."

"You could've sealed us both then and there." Sendai smiled at her.

' _I'd really like to know why that mansion still stands, now that I think about it. Residential it may be, it's like… it's one thing to have youkai caves around; those are everywhere and youkai are everywhere. It's another thing to sit back long enough for them to build an entire multi-story mansion within eyeshot of your house._ '

"...I just didn't feel like it, alright?" Reimu was getting annoyed. "What were _you_ doing hanging around with them... 'mother of mine'?"

"I beat them up." Sendai stated bluntly. "I planned to leave, but that vampire was surprisingly tough. She let me stay the night, and decided not to attack me, if only because she feared Yakumo."

The mention of the gap youkai caused Reimu to narrow her eyes.

…

Twirling her gohei with one hand, Reimu cracked her neck. "I see. Yukari, huh."

' _So she knows._ ' Sendai took a deep breath…

"That thing with the holy water, back in the forest…" Moving over to the kotatsu, Reimu sat the tea cup and its plate down with one arm, her gohei in her other. "The things you know. The way you act…"

' _Is she finally putting the pieces together?_ ' Sendai watched her daughter with a raised brow…

…

Reimu looked over at her mother, glaring. "What is this?"

' _Hmm?_ ' Sendai blinked.

"This doesn't just happen." Stepping away from the kotatsu, Reimu's arms rested by her sides. "People don't… just come back to life, for no reason. That doesn't happen."

' _Oh..._ '

Clutching her gohei with both arms, Reimu takes an offensive posture, planning on using it as a striking weapon. "Yukari sent you, didn't she?"

' _...Goddammit, Yakumo._ '

"I know you can hear me, Yukari." Reimu glanced around, before resting her glare back on her mother. "When I'm done sealing her, I'm coming for you next. This isn't funny."

...Expression falling, Sendai began to crack her knuckles.

Taking in a breath, Reimu frowned. "It's not right to make fun of my family like this."

"You're right." Focusing on her daughter, Sendai glared.

" _Shut up._ "

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 4 - Hakurei Bloodline

The two mikos glared at one another.

…

Reimu drew her ofuda, before lobbing them forward-

Fwap fwap fwap. They struck Sendai's form. With a single swipe of her hands, the elder miko removed the ofuda from herself, and cast them aside.

' _Sealing techniques are terrible against humans. Against a Hakurei, they're probably literally useless._ '

...Observing this as well, Reimu stepped back a little, before leaping into the air and accelerating towards Sendai-

 _Thwack!_ The miko's gohei came down on two sturdy arms, Sendai's guard easily stopping it.

She moved to grab her daughter's leg, except before she could Reimu dropped a little-

 _Thwack!_ -and followed up with an upward strike of her gohei in midair. The blow hit Sendai in the torso. ' _It sure stings, but aside from being painful there's not stopping force behind it…_ '

Instead of attempting to grab onto her daughter's rather energetic legs, Sendai guarded again-

 _Thwack!_ "Take that!" Reimu finished her aerial combo with a lightning fast spinning strike, which made the elder miko's arms string.

With that, Reimu landed on the floor before Sendai-

 _Woosh_. Attempting to test her daughter with a quick, open-palmed jab to the gut only gave way to Reimu dodge rolling along her flank, the jab barely missing.

As the younger miko went around Sendai's side-

 _Woosh_. -the elder miko sent out a sweeping backwards kick, to punish her daughter if she tried to immediately retaliate from behind.

Reimu had distanced herself, though. She leapt into the air again, this time performing a very telegraphed leaping attack. "Ha~h!"

' _Really?_ ' Unimpressed, Sendai slid forward and tore into her gut with an open-palmed strike-

Fwifwifwish. The figure shattered, and ofuda flourished into the air like confetti, showering the miko. ' _What? A clone?_ '

 _Whack!_

"Ngh…" Sendai stumbled forward, a gohei colliding with the back of her head and prompting her to pivot around-

She caught Reimu's gohei in her hand, intercepting a thrusting attack.

"Ah…!?" Reimu blinked.

Smirking, Sendai tugged on the gohei-

Reimu let herself get pulled into the air with it, curling into a ball in mid-air before unfurling to kick into Sendai's stomach-

 _Wham!_ ' _Oof!_ ' Wincing, Sendai was forced to let go of the gohei as the younger miko's legs slammed into her chest. ' _That's some kick…_ '

Gliding to the other end of the room, Reimu began to turn in the air to face her mother again.

Sendai saw the glimmer of steel.

Now holding her gohei in one hand, Reimu's offhand had a hand-length, thick needle between each finger, shining in the dim light of the shrine's interior-

Fwi-fwi-fwish! They zipped through the air as Reimu flung her arm, but Sendai evaded them with a side hop…

Thu-thu-thunk. They landed in the wood and paper of the shrine walls behind her.

' _You_ _have your own tools, huh?_ ' With a flick of one hand, Sendai drew a mana molotov from her sleeves, and lobbed it forward-

Reimu dipped under it, belly almost touching the floor as she arched under it with flight.

 _Crack!_ It shattered on the back wall, the holy flames flaring to life but not truly burning anything.

Thu-thunk! Reimu threw two needles at the floor before Sendai.

Looking down, the miko noticed the backs of them had yin yang-styled metal pads.

The pads began glowing white-red.

...Landing, Reimu secured both arms on her gohei again. "Not another move."

...Sendai did a short hop in place.

"You know what I mean." The younger miko's stare was dry.

…

Sendai did another short hop-

 _Woosh!_ Accenting her arm with darkness, she thrust upward-

 _Bam!_ -and uppercut through the roof of the shrine.

...Landing on the shrine's slanted roof, Sendai took a moment to find her footing. ' _At least I'm used to_ this _roof…_ '

A moment later, Reimu was soaring out from one of the exterior doors of the shrine, her needles in her offhand again and gohei clenched.

Floating up, she twirls in the air to face her mother. "Did you _have_ to do that?"

...Sendai only briefly gave a glance at the roof she annihilated. "Probably not."

' _I remember making repairs myself, most of the time. Only if the shrine took gruesome damage would I have to hire carpenters… and they were characters, to say the least. I wonder if that's changed…_ '

...Taking a breath, Reimu slips the needles back into her sleeves.

Taking this quiet moment, Sendai considers her strategy. ' _Since we're outside, engaging directly will be harder. I'd rather not just jump at her while she showers me with her toys… or danmaku, considering that's some kind of phenomenon now. I'm sure those needles do something unpleasant if I'm close to them for too long, though._ '

…

Reimu holds out her arms, floating back to distance herself from the roof. "Spirit Sign…"

' _Uh huh._ ' Sendai braced herself. ' _Danmaku things. Some of them do more material, grandiose attack spells that aren't danmaku though, which is sort of confusing…_ '

Reimu's form flared with holy energy. "Fantasy Seal!"

Seven yin yang orbs spread out all around her, immediately lighting up with the colors of the rainbow, growing larger and brighter as they revolved around her form.

' _...I don't think that's danmaku._ ' Sendai started to pace along the side of the slanted roof, finding the slope a little awkward. ' _Hmm. Let's get moving before I slip and fall..._ '

Turning around, she marched along the rooftop-

Crack, crack, crack! Her sandals made short work of the shingles, her feet digging into the rooftop to prevent her from slipping.

...As she got over the apex of the triangular roof, she did a hop over the tip of it-

 _Fwam!_ One of the rainbow orbs roared into Sendai's back, exploding into a massive burst of lingering rainbow energy, the magic creating echoing ripples in the air.

' _Woah!?_ ' The impact sent Sendai flying across the roof, and into the dip between the main room's roof and the roof of the left room-

 _Crack!_ Sendai's darkness-enhanced legs didn't just break her fall; they also broke the roof she plummeted into.

… _Clack_. Now inside the shrine again, she landed loudly on her feet.

Looking around, she examined the room. ' _A kitchen, huh? Sweet. Would've been disappointed if it were anything else._ '

 _Fwam, fwam, fwam, fwam!_ The shrine shook as the roof was struck by the rest of Reimu's homing orbs, the shrine itself protecting Sendai from further bombardment.

...Sendai moved towards the side of the door to the main room, poised to attack. ' _Let's get the jump on her…_ '

"Permanent Border!" Reimu shouted something from the main room.

…

 _Bam!_ The door to the kitchen roared open.

Sendai readied to ambush her.

…Reimu didn't come through, though. ' _Hmm?_ '

Thwack! Reimu's gohei came down on the back of Sendai's head.

' _Ow…!_ ' Wincing, Sendai let herself lean forward as if in pain, before kicking backwards-

"Guh…" Reimu was clipped by the leg, and sent stumbling back.

' _How did she get behind me…?_ ' Allowing herself to pivot around, Sendai brought her arms up defensively.

"I'm not gonna get this done without trashing the shrine, am I?" Reimu stared at her mother vainly.

' _...Normally I'm one to take things outside, but I hate fighting mages._ ' Sendai reflected. ' _Considering how bad that_ one _orb hurt… then again, it seemed to be mostly pain and knockback._ '

...A yin yang orb generated in the air beside Reimu, and began floating towards Sendai.

"No." Sendai jabbed it-

 _Wham!_ It whirled towards Reimu-

 _Thwack!_ Reimu struck it with her gohei, and it roared back towards Sendai-

 _Wham!_ Sendai struck it again, and it returned to Reimu at double the speed-

 _Thwack!_ Reimu barely managed to hit it back-

 _Wham!_ Sendai had little trouble timing it right, although she had to hit it rather awkwardly this time-

"Woah!" Reimu dodged out of the way-

 _Boom!_ The now glowing yin yang orb tore through the wall behind her and into the night.

"...Uu~gh." Reimu groaned. "When I seal you, you're fixing this."

"That's what I was planning on anyway." Sendai admitted. ' _...Fixing this, not getting sealed._ '

"Jewel Sign…!" With that, Reimu floated into the air. "Orbs of Light, Cast into Shade!"

 _Woosh!_ A cluster of five glowing yin yang orbs all sprung from Reimu at once, immediately bouncing against the interior roof.

Sendai sprang back, towards the far end of the room, watching the orbs carefully as she drew her own and maximized it…

 _Bam!_ She punched it at a similar arc to the other orbs, causing it to hit the roof-

 _Crack!_ Unlike the danmaku variants, this one cracked the ceiling.

It fell into the blue orbs-

Cla-cla-clack. Making clicking noises as they collided, the orbs all lost their momentum and clumsily bounced against one another, until they all stopped on the floor uselessly…

"Will you stop playing around?" Reimu glared at her mother. "I know you have more. I also know you could be trying to throw yourself at me right now, but you're not."

' _It's not like I know what_ you're _capable of, though…_ ' Sendai stared at her in examination. ' _You seem to want me to get close and personal, too. All it'll take is probably some good hits, but… if you've survived this long fighting youkai with_ that _sort of body, you probably have avoiding hits down to an art. That, or there's a satchel of elixirs somewhere out of sight._ '

The summoned orbs dissipated, but the orb from Sendai continued to lie idly...

Reimu ran forward towards her mother, gohei raised.

' _She's gonna try to juke me out again._ ' Sendai rose her arms without full conviction…

Before reaching her mother, Reimu dropped to a slide and vanished.

' _That early!?_ ' Sendai turned around to guard-

Wham! Reimu dropped down from above, her sandal meeting her mother's head.

"Hn~h…!" Sendai almost fell back, but made a short leap to keep her balance, landing on her feet some steps back.

Reimu sprung back into the small airspace within the shrine's kitchen. "You _sure_ you wanna fight me in close quarters?"

' _Smarmy._ _You say that knowing you could just bombard me if we were outside..._ '

...The two stared at one another for a long while, Reimu holding her gohei defensively.

' _However…_ ' The elder miko had an idea.

She drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo from her sleeves…

Reimu focused on the book.

Casting it into the air, Sendai posed. " _Holy Spark!_ "

"Ah…!?" Eyes widening, Reimu ducked back, moving towards the door that lead from the kitchen to the outside.

Whirling into position with haste, the tome divided into nine, quickly forming a somewhat stinted octagon in the air above Sendai. Their awkward formation was due to the roof height of the kitchen.

Lines were drawn between them, and then-

VRRRRRR~

Sendai smiled into the laser that launched forth, blinding her vision and filling the room with light. ' _There. Let's see if this provokes her to go on the offense._ '

RRRRRrr~...

The rainbow laser of holy annihilation died down. The entire front wall of the kitchen was gone, nothing but rubble and torn paper.

...Reimu floated down from above the gaping hole, outside. "Wh- whah…!?" She gazed upon the destruction with wide eyes.

As the tomes disintegrated behind the elder miko, she stepped forward with a smug expression.

Still taking in the damage, Reimu frowned deeply once she sighted her mother. "You…"

Saying nothing, the smug elder miko came to a stop.

"You wanna trash the place?" Reimu reinforced her grip on her gohei. "Fine. Let's trash the place!" She reeled her arm back-

Woo- woosh! Flicking her arm twice, Reimu sent the Hakurei needles out again.

Thu-thunk-thunk. They pierced the wall and floor near Sendai.

' _They're not aimed at me._ ' Adrenaline kicking in, she began moving for the nearby door, leaping at the same time-

 _Boo-boom-boom, boom!_ The five needles exploded, blue and white blasts of holy, magical energy flaring out from the steel pins.

Landing after being clipped by the blasts, Sendai found herself rolling along her side in the main room, body pulsing with lingering magical ache…

' _Ow~._ ' Sendai furrowed her brows as she sprung back up, and looked for the hole she smashed into the roof earlier. ' _That was more sudden than I expected._ '

Her gaze rested on the hole. On the floor beneath it, there was a spinning gold talisman pad, and a column of blue aura stretching to the sky from it that was visible to the naked eye.

' _...That's pretty obviously a trap._ ' Sendai considered the pad with narrowed eyes.

Reimu floated through the now slightly wider kitchen doorway, both her hands now free. ' _Where'd her gohei go?_ '

"Persuasion Needle!" Reimu declared another spell card, albeit with an unorthodox name.

Eight needles slipped out between Reimu's ten fingers, which began glowing with holy energy…

' _I could just punch through the roof again._ ' Her legs and arms filling with dark energy, Sendai began to focus. ' _Or give Reimu what she wants and try to score a blow on her._ '

Reimu threw both arms outward-

The needles became a linear, long spread of golden streaks of light, the huge multi-person length needles of energy ripping through the air, their tips glowing unnaturally and brightly.

"Hoh!" Sprinting to the side-

"Eah…" -Sendai clipped only one of the four needles that were present in that spread, a violent crackle of holy energy flaring through her form. ' _Wo~w that stings!_ '

Pivoting around, Reimu faced the miko's new position, before throwing another four needle barrage-

Sendai's form flickered out of sight.

 _Woosh!_ The golden projectiles zipped into the shrine walls, leaving not even actual needles in their wake as they pattered off the paper and wood surfaces.

Reimu furrowed her brows, and looked up at the ceiling. There was no new hole.

Homing, rainbow orbs were generating to accent her spell, and while they moved forward at _something_ , they kept grazing past the empty space in front of her.

 _Woosh!_ Reimu threw two hands out, a concentrated line of eight needles tearing through nothing and dissipating against the back wall.

...Sendai's form flickered back in right before her.

Reimu's eyes were wide as more needles slid into her hands from her sleeves-

 _Bam!_

"Gngh!" The unaccented blow slammed into Reimu's upper chest-

Thud! She rebounded off the wooden floor, before soaring unnaturally highly into the air off of her bounce. Eventually, she stopped mid-air, righting herself and grasping her torso.

"You're not the only one with tricks." Sendai smiled at her. ' _She must have an ability similar to my flash step, which she uses to get behind me._ '

Expression flaring, Reimu alternated her arms as she threw long, golden needles, homing orbs accenting her barrage.

At the rekindling of the projectile bombardment, Sendai pivoted around, charged her arm with dark energy-

 _Bam!_ -and punched through the wall behind her, escaping into the lawn directly behind the shrine.

Taking a right until she was out of sight from the interior, she ran in place loudly for a few seconds, before sliding up beside the hole she made in the wall.

' _Let's see if I can catch her this time. Also..._ '

She pivoted around, arms ready.

Reimu was not directly behind her, unfortunately. ' _Damn._ '

...The miko in question eventually drifted out from over the top of the shrine's roof-

 _Woosh!_ She sent out four more searing golden needles-

 _Whoosh!_ Uppercutting into the air and between the widely spread needles- a trait they took on when they became big laser segments- Sendai closed the vertical distance…

The slow moving spam of contained yet luminescent rainbow orbs was shielding the younger miko, but Sendai allowed herself to plow through one-

 _Fwa~m!_ It created an echoing explosion, much like the immense and nearly formless ones from Reimu's initial spell card, but not quite as amazing or powerful.

The force behind it still made Sendai's momentum awkward. "Hn~h…!"

Reaching Reimu, she reached to grapple her-

Reimu's form faded out. This prompted Sendai to flicker out.

...The remaining rainbow orbs in the air began to dissipate, both mikos temporarily absent.

…

Sendai flickered back into reality, a few feet further in the air than when she was. ' _Where is-_ '

 _Whack!_ Reimu came up from below, striking Sendai with a round, upward kick, bringing her higher into the air-

"Ah!" Sendai shielded herself with her limbs-

"Hyah!" Reimu lashed out with her gohei, starting an aerial combo.

 _Thwack!_ It struck Sendai's guarding arm, prompting the miko to retaliate with a forward jab-

 _Woosh!_ Reimu twirled three-sixty, rolling around the fist-

 _Thwack!_ On her return, she struck Sendai with a wide strike of her gohei.

"Hnn~...!" Reimu brought up her gohei for a powerful downward attack-

Sendai jabbed again, her arm accented with dark energy.

 _Bam!_ "Hu~..." Reimu was sent soaring plainly into the air ahead, saliva glittering in the night sky around where Sendai's arm slammed her.

' _...That sounded like it hurt._ ' Sendai restrained the urge to chuckle at the damage done. ' _Uhm. Hope that wasn't too-_ '

 _Bam!_ Reimu descended from the darkness above again, her sandal coming down on Sendai's head and sending her plummeting faster than she was before.

' _Where!?_ '

 _Woosh_. Sendai kicked into a slide across the floor as she came down, ripping into the lawn's grass…

"Barrier…" Reimu was heard in the air above. "Expanding Barrier!"

 _FWO-FWO-Fwo~sh_ …

A massive web of blue lasers flared around Reimu, with herself contained by a three-dimensional box of blue-white beams. These immensely luminescent beams made the shrine grounds light up like it were daytime.

' _Are every one of her spells holy archmage light shows!?_ ' Sendai stared up at the weaving, cubic laser web with a mix of awe and surprise.

' _...She doesn't seem to be moving, though._ ' Pulling out a yin yang orb and maximizing it, Sendai hits it up-

Bam! It soared up and into the web-

 _Fwzip_. The orb seemingly disintegrated.

' _What._ ' Sendai blinked.

... _Thoom_. The orb descended from _behind_ the massive cubic barrier of beams, landing almost far away enough to roll off the Hakurei hill entirely.

' _...What._ ' Despite now knowing what happened, Sendai still had more questions than she did answers.

Descending towards the elder miko, the younger miko's laser web began to dissipate and thin out, although the blue aura drawn between them all remained.

Within a moment, Sendai found herself within three layers of cubic auras, her daughter rapidly approaching. Reimu's gohei was now twice as long, a blue aura running along the extended part of the shaft.

"Let's go!" Reimu glowed with holy energy as she reeled her arm back. " _Hyah!_ "

Roaring through the air, she homed in on Sendai-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai dodged the thrust with a simple side step, but Reimu kept going past her-

 _Wham!_

"Enh!?" Sendai was sent staggering by a strong blow of Reimu's great gohei, the miko suddenly appearing from beside her.

Reimu leapt back and folded her arms, her gohei spinning from her hands to engage Sendai directly-

 _Clack!_ The stick's smack echoed, Sendai catching the weapon with both hands and barely neutralizing its unnatural momentum.

"What…?" Reimu blinked in surprise, before unfolding her arms-

Bolting towards her, the elder miko brought the gohei forward. She filled her arm with darkness, but was forced to stop at her wrist because the gohei's holy energy was beginning to burn her hand-

 _Woosh!_ Reimu slid back and away from the inward strike.

 _Woosh!_ She floated up to avoid a wide, sweeping blow-

 _Woo-thwack-woosh!_ Twirling into the air, Sendai unleashed a spinning opening to her combo finisher that barely clipped Reimu, making her dart back entirely-

 _Thwack!_ Sendai finished her string of attack with a powerful overhead strike, the dirt she struck slightly parting due to the gohei's force.

...In that moment, the gohei slid out of her hands and back to Reimu, pulled by magical means.

"Nice job showing off." Reimu dryly commented on the elder miko's showing.

"Hah." Sendai grinned, standing upright again. "That's the one combo I actually know. How can you _stand_ using it when it's not extended all the time?"

Reimu snorted, drifting back in the air…

Fwoo~m. The cubic auras around her ended, and the beams of light minimized and fizzled out.

With a flash of light, her gohei returned to normal size. "Without that spell active, I really couldn't use a long weapon anywhere other than in the air. I get more arm power behind a smaller weapon."

...Sendai nodded at that. "Hmm. Some training would fix that. You look a little… soft."

"Yeah, sure." Reimu frowned at the statement. "I'm human. Unlike you."

"...I've been accused of being an oni before." Sendai provided bluntly.

...Reimu tilted her head back and forth, slowly descending in the air. "Aa~h… I don't really see it. There's only three cases where I can stagger an oni: I'm giving it my all, I've overwhelmed them with danmaku, or they're drunk."

' _Overwhelmed them with danmaku? That's… one way of doing it._ ' Sendai grinned. "...Well, what's to say I'm not a little tipsy?"

Rolling her eyes, Reimu began to ascend again. "You're not an oni."

"Maybe I'm an amanojaku." Sendai countered. "It'd make sense, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know what you are." Reimu began to take the discussion seriously again. "You're not a doppelganger, though."

' _...What?_ ' Sendai folded her arms. "What'm I supposed to be?"

...Taking on a focused expression, Reimu readied herself for combat again.

"Binding Border!" She spread her arms out-

Two talismans appeared to the sides of Sendai, and began projecting energy towards each other, catching the miko in the middle.

' _Ready for every situation, isn't she?_ ' Sendai leapt-

' _Uhm…_ ' The jump only sent her straight up. ' _Why can't I-_ '

 _Whack!_ Reimu appeared over her, and struck down with her gohei to send Sendai back to the floor.

"Ngh…" The elder miko on her rear. ' _...The talismans that binded me are gone._ '

She kicked into the dirt-

 _Fwip!_ Reimu's gohei came down into the soil in the miko's wake, before Sendai rolled backwards and onto her legs again.

The elder miko stood. ' _That attack of Reimu's must've bound my movement. So many attack options..._ '

Reimu flew back and faded into the air again.

' _Oh great._ ' Sendai sighed as she looked around.

"Dream Sign…" Reimu was heard behind her.

Whirling around to her right, Sendai unleashed a roundhouse kick-

Reimu ducked. "Evil Sealing Circle!"

From the younger shrine maiden's sleeves, ofuda whirled out to form a relatively modest but sizable circle around the two.

Sendai let all the dark accents from her limbs drop. ' _That move…!?_ '

As the ofuda began to glow and a cylindrical barrier flashed to life to contain the two, Sendai slipped her Dragon Palace flintlock from her sleeves, and aimed it into the air. " _Vol Fulger!_ "

 _Fwa~sh!_ The entire column was filled with holy energy.

 _Vzz~t…!_ An orb of electrical energy encompassed all of the elder miko.

...Once Sendai could see, after the electrical orb dissipated, she saw Reimu distancing herself. ' _That electric orb protected me better than I thought, not that that technique would do much to me to begin with. I think, anyway._ '

"Why do you have a lightning attack…?" Reimu was confused.

"Why do you still fight with danmaku?" Sendai smirked back at her, marching closer. "If it's for the stunning magic, it's _really_ not that useful. Why not just learn stun or bind or something?"

...Frowning, Reimu began to strafe in the air. "You had it at stunning magic. It's supposed to be for peaceful resolution."

...Dryly, Sendai waved her hand. Red orbs and transparent red ofuda slowly drifted into the air from it, before popping into colorful splashes of lingering red energy. "Uh huh. With how many overworld youkai you kill on a daily basis, developing an arsenal of attacks _just_ for peaceful resolutions is time well spent, I'm sure."

"I don't kill any." Reimu stated. "...As harsh as I seem, I don't kill any."

…

Slowing to a stop, Sendai blinked a few times. "You don't what now."

"I don't kill. I don't have to, not anymore." Raising a brow, Reimu floated down to land for the moment. "I didn't want to, so I made it so I didn't have to."

'… _That makes zero sense. How would you even?_ '

Sendai gestured lazily in the direction of the mansion. "Those youkai. Who are they to you?"

"Pests." Reimu summarizes. "...One of them's not a youkai, though."

' _What? No._ ' Sendai's brows furrowed. "Just because you're _friendly_ with them doesn't mean they're not youkai, Reimu."

"I mean the chief maid. She's actually human, I've checked." Reimu shot back at her mother. "...What's the problem if I'm a little friendly with some youkai, though? We don't have to be death rivals, not all the time."

…

Sendai's knuckles were white. "Reimu. Do you still protect the village?"

Reimu snorted. "Ah, yeah. From youkai, anyway. At this point, they may need protection from themselves, but… I do what I can. When I feel like it."

…

' _Friends with youkai?_ ' The elder miko's mind raced. ' _Friends with youkai!? Has she not seen what some of them can do!? Hasn't she- like, then there's the ones that-... and that_ vampire _. Those damn_ manipulative _bastards. And..._ '

...Sendai sighed, glaring ahead at her daughter.

' _Yakumo._ '

"Hello~?" Reimu called out to the idle miko. "So, are we done yet…? I think the night's almost over, and I really don't feel like becoming nocturnal…"

' _Yakumo did this._ ' Eyes narrowing, the miko allows dark energy to accent her limbs…

Reimu noticed the miko preparing. "Guess not…"

' _I shouldn't have died when I did. This is my fault..._ '

…

" _Yakumo~!_ " Sendai roared the gap youkai's name into the air.

"...Okay?" Caught off-guard by the volume, Reimu propelled herself back into the air both as the result of and to cover up the fact she flinched.

' _I have an elixir._ ' Sendai felt at her pocket. ' _...No matter how bad I hurt her, she'll be able to take it. With this, I can just heal her up when we're done..._ '

…

Sendai glared up at her daughter.

Reimu clutched her gohei. "Well, if we're not gonna be done yet…"

Her form faded out in the air.

…

Sendai heard Reimu's voice behind herself. "Divine Arts!"

Then, she flickered out as the younger miko began her attack. "Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick!"

 _Woo-woo-woo-woosh!_

Reimu ended up attacking nothing, a string of magnificent upward kicks chaining together to hit the air. They did cause Reimu to ascend, however.

Flickering back in, Sendai looked up at where her daughter was, before arching back and drifting into the air. " _Thousand Blades!_ "

Reimu's eyes widened as she finished her attack.

In the air around Sendai, the talismans flowing in streams from her sleeves formed magnificent, luminescent Hakurei origami axes.

They began revolving around her form, flourishing as they spin outward-

Reimu vanished after flinging herself towards one.

 _Thoom!_ Immediately after she vanished, Sendai kicked straight down and drew a mana molotov.

 _Thwack!_ A gohei strike to the back made the elder miko flinch. This notice let her whirl around and chuck the molotov-

 _Cra~ck!_ It shatters on Reimu's form, lighting her up.

"Aah- ow, ow…" Reimu winces, drifting back-

Sendai threw herself towards the miko with unnatural velocity, summoning blades of wind in each extended arm to propel herself forward.

Reimu guarded with her gohei-

 _Fwish!_ The rightmost blade collided with it, pushing her back. "Woa- nh…!"

By this point, the axes Sendai previously sent out had all naturally expired from being ignored and left in play too long, exploding into showers of ofuda…

After her wind blade rush ended, Sendai lunged forward and grappled Reimu's gohei.

" _Sodium Geyser!_ " Sendai released an arm from the gohei and used it to point up.

One arm against two, Reimu tugged and ripped her gohei from her mother's hands-

 _Fwoo~sh!_ The resulting geyser of chunky salt particles and misty, sodium-lined air sent Reimu soaring into the air. "Woa~h!"

Letting go of the gohei, Sendai exchanged raised arms, the hand that was just on the gohei now full of rebound stones. " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

The stones whirl out and into the air, arcing up as they form the cylinder above Sendai…

Cli-cli-click. The lines drawn by the stone initialize and solidify the round barrier, clicking against nothing as they stretch up and further into the night sky.

Reimu looks around-

 _Fwa~sh!_ The empty barrier pillar is filled with light, a rush of sealing, Hakurei holy energy roaring through it.

...Once the barriers fall, Reimu drifts idly in the air with only slight disorientation. "O~kay…"

Charging her legs with dark energy, Sendai leapt after her, slipping another mana molotov out as she ascended…

Seeing this, Reimu darted beneath her.

' _Hah._ ' Sendai thrust the molotov below herself-

Bobbing upward, Reimu flew both over the descending molotov but under Sendai.

' _You're kidding._ ' Her daughter's agility perplexed her.

Crack. The molotov shattered on the floor, and Sendai landed a few feet ahead of it.

Reimu pivoted around in the air to face her mother. "...If we're just going to go all out like this, we might as well _really_ go all out."

' _Hmm? Pretty sure three or four dark-boosted hits to you will do it, or a good slicing blow. Unless you've got_ more _item crashes..._ '

Holding a hand along the length of her gohei, Reimu closed her eyes.

' _If it's another big spell I can probably just tank it to use an item crash._ '

" _Fantasy Heaven!_ " Reimu yelled her spell out.

' _What!?_ ' Sendai's eyes shot wide open. ' _She knows that already!?_ '

Seven yin yang orbs faded into reality around Reimu, rotating and revolving around her in a ring.

"Dream Sign…" Reimu announced another spell card, the orbiting ring of yin yang orbs whirling around her. "Fantasy Dimensional Rift!"

' _Uu~h…_ ' Sendai stared up at her daughter, posture guarded.

Suddenly, Reimu accelerated to the right, her form losing focus before blurring out entirely, vanishing.

Sendai looked ahead, noticing a very ill-defined, statically lit figure of Reimu stepping towards her-

 _Thwack!_ Somehow, Sendai was hit along her flank by a gohei strike.

Whirling to face the where Reimu should have been, Sendai saw the miko whirl past her. She was unable to focus on her daughter's form, which seemed to multiply in her vision for some reason.

Observation revealed that the seven yin yang orbs orbited the actual Reimu, the mysterious doubles and blurry copies lacking them.

One of the orbs glowed brightly, while the rest remained dim, for some reason.

Slipping out the Eye of Truth talisman, Sendai threw it on to see better what was going on.

 _Woosh!_ She barely dodged another passing gohei swipe from Reimu by jumping-

 _Fwam!_ A cloud of danmaku ofuda exploded out of nothing to the left of Sendai's vision, just barely out of sight.

With the talisman on, Sendai didn't learn much other than that all of the mikos had the same magical signature, and there were mysterious clouds of magical energy growing and shrinking all over the shrine grounds.

 _Fwam!_ Just up from the top border of Sendai's vision, a cloud of ofuda-shaped danmaku exploded, raining down on the shrine grounds.

 _Thwack!_ Coming up from what seemed like the ground, Reimu swiped Sendai in the back.

The blow sent her stumbling forward. ' _Really…_ '

As Reimu accelerated ahead, once she got far enough away she faded into the darkness of the night-

 _Thwack!_ She struck Sendai in the side again, coming up out of nowhere. Three of her seven orbs were now lit alive, the other four mysteriously void of any magical energy despite floating and orbiting Reimu…

' _An orb lights up every time she hits me._ ' Sendai recognized. ' _Not good…_ '

Sliding the talisman off- as it hindered her more than it helped her- she arched back in the air…

' _I don't think I'll hurt her too badly…_ '

" _Fantasy Heaven!_ " Sendai spread her limbs out.

 _Fwoa~m…_

From her core, dark energy flowed forth, spreading across all her limbs, quickly covering her completely.

 _Woosh!_ Reimu's gohei came in from the side, the poorly defined miko's face focused.

Landing atop the gohei mid-swing, the dark miko did a handstand, using its arms to springboard off the wood rod.

Flipping into an upright position, the feral miko took to the air, body slowly building up danmaku energy as it soared through the intersecting walls of danmaku ofuda…

 _Woosh!_ Reimu swiped up at it, somehow keeping to its movements.

Whirling around, the dark being's faintly luminescent yellow eyes lined up with Reimu's, before it threw its claws down-

 _Fwoosh!_ It remained suspended in the air, the toss of its arms unleashing an expanding sphere of slashes that rended the incoming danmaku.

Reimu landed somewhere totally different on the ground, the danmaku from her spell card dissipating, yet the seven yin yang orbs still around her.

' _where_ '

...It jerked around in the air to face the miko, before zipping around soundlessly to attempt a flank.

' _found_ '

The glowing yellow eyes it had gave it away, Reimu guarding once it got close-

 _Clack!_ Her arms shook as the dark being's claws scraped her gohei, glowing purple abrasions left in the wood.

Thunk! Doing a backflip, the pitch black figure's legs slam up into Reimu's gohei, nearly disarming her.

 _fwish_. Landing and almost immediately recovering, the being lunged at nothing.

Anticipating rebuttal from the backside, it slid to the left-

 _Fwap!_ One ofuda out of a salvo of three struck it, sticking to it-

 _Thwack!_ Reimu tracked its movement and struck wide, her fourth yin yang orb lighting up.

Leaping up, the dark miko began to spin inhumanly fast, as if whirling around on an axis.

Reimu guarded with her gohei as the legs came close-

 _fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwam_. Each incision dealt by the miko's ankles mostly dug into the gohei, although a few glowing incisions made their way onto Reimu's hands and arms.

"Ghh~..." Grimacing from the sudden pain, Reimu doubled back.

Unwilling to let her get away, the dark being lunged out of its spin seamlessly, engaging her instantly-

 _Thunk!_ An erratic, clawed hand the wood of Reimu's gohei, her incoming downward strike deflected.

Doubling her arm back, Reimu tried again-

 _Thunk!_ The blow was stopped again, this time by a very precarious upward kick from the psuedo-youkai.

The gohei began to glow as Reimu's arm recoiled back, before she brought it down again-

 _fwa-Thwack!_

"Ou- nnh…" Reimu stumbled back, an expanding purple slash left in her clothing and torso.

The dark, miko-shaped being recoiled after its head was struck by the gohei, seemingly letting its head dangle limply for a moment before righting it.

She had five lit yin yang orbs, now-

 _Thwack!_ Paying her wound no expense, Reimu gave the being a sloppy inward strike.

This caused the thing to dart back, skidding across the grass as it spun away from Reimu.

"Six…" Reimu spoke under her breath, before inhaling deeply…

Many feet across the yard, the dark miko pounced in place energetically and repeatedly, before breaking into a four-legged sprint towards Reimu.

 _fwi-fwi-fwish_. As it came close, it began slashing at the air before Reimu, gliding a little across the ground each time it did so.

Reimu was behind it-

 _fwish._ She leapt back, nearly clipped when the being did a handstand and twirled, both legs outstretched.

 _Fwa-fwap!_ Two ofuda met the being's side, flaring up with holy energy.

' _burning_ ' Temporarily afflicted, it writhed as it dropped from its handstand and began sliding to the side-

 _Thwack_. Reimu gave it a passing whack as she appeared from behind it once again.

"I knew it…" She exhaled. All seven orbs were lit, pulsing with amassed holy power. "I should've done this from the beginning."

' _disable_ ' Whipping its head to face her, the dark miko's arms jerked about for no immediately observable reason as it awkwardly jaunted towards Reimu.

Holding her arms out, Reimu closed her eyes.

The orbs glowed with the colors of the rainbow, growing unbelievably bright.

The dark miko reached Reimu, and latched onto her, claws digging into her back-

Reimu yelled. " _Youka~i!_ "

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWA-_

The shrine grounds became brighter than day, pulses of blue, purple and white energy roaring out and washing over everything upon the Hakurei hill. Gloriously, shimmering waves flourished into the air, everything becoming indiscernibly bright.

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWA-_

Streams of pure white ofuda poured out from Reimu's sleeves, flowering out into the night with bullet-like velocity.

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWA-_

The yin yang orbs spun around Reimu with such velocity that they appeared to be a smoothly rotating ring of light.

 _FWOASH_

Eventually, everything comes to an end.

The magic stopped, ofuda no longer flowing and energy no longer pulsing outward. Even so, the air in their wake rippled violently, making the world all around the miko seem ill-defined, even if the only thing affected was the light particles.

Gradually, the yin yang orbs slowed to a stop, the last lights in them fading out as they too faded out.

...Thud.

Sendai fell back off of Reimu, her entire front caked in ofuda, dark energy retracting into her in some places and flaking off in others.

Reimu slowly floated down, her form translucent. Her body still held the wounds from the claws, but the dark energy that permeated from them had completely vanished.

"Seriously…" Staring down at her, Reimu relaxed. "What'll wading around in darkness do? Losing focus in a fight like this…"

…

After a moment, Sendai's arms and legs began to shift against the ground.

"What…?" Reimu blinked repeatedly. "How?"

Slowly, Sendai began to sit up, wiping the dimming ofuda from her body.

' _Everything hurts._ ' Grasping her head, she allowed her eyes to readjust to the dark of the night after she wiped a quadruple-deckered layer of ofuda from her face.

The translucent figure of Reimu drifted back, blurry white afterimages left in her wake as her seven orbs faded back in around her.

...Sendai looked up at her shocked expression, before snorting. ' _I take it this is the first time this has happened…_ '

Slowly, she shifted herself to stand back up. "If this is what it can do to _me_ , I don't _wanna_ know what it can do to a youkai…"

"But- how?" Reimu's eyebrows were raised.

Marching forward, Sendai approached Reimu again. ' _I doubt I can get hits in on her like this, but…_ '

To her surprise, however, Reimu didn't bother with moving. As the miko approached-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ Seven strings of talismans were flung forth from every yin yang orb, all moving straight out from Reimu.

Sendai continued forward as an entire stream piled into her stomach, which she grabbed onto with both arms. ' _That's nice._ '

As she neared Reimu, she tossed the ofuda into the air. Taking a few more wobbly steps, she reeled her arm back and threw it forward, towards her daughter's face-

 _Woosh_.

' _Yep._ ' Sendai blinked, then noticed where her fist went.

...After a moment, she brought her arm back. She'd punched _through_ Reimu's translucent figure, but still hit nothing.

Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwap. The six remaining talisman streams all piled into Sendai uselessly.

Brushing some of the ofuda off her left arm, she brought it back, charged it with as much dark energy as she could currently muster… and threw it forward.

 _Woosh!_ It went through Reimu's torso, the miko not even making an effort to dodge as the limb went through her, completely ineffective.

' _...Hmm._ ' Sendai blinked twice. ' _She likely can't hit me like-_ '

 _Thwack!_ Bringing her gohei back, Reimu smacked Sendai in the face.

' _What…_ ' Sendai was sent stumbling back by the blow, clutching her cheek. ' _Okay. Wow._ '

...Reaching into her sleeve, Sendai drew a mana molotov, and chucked it forward.

It flew through Reimu, before cracking on the ground behind her.

Drawing the Dragon Palace flintlock, Sendai filled it with magical energy, aimed at Reimu, and pulled the trigger-

Zap. The bolt arced towards the ground, not even registering Reimu as a target.

...Sendai let her arms drop to her sides. ' _So… she's just completely intangible? But she can still throw anything at me?_ '

Moving up to her daughter, Sendai prepares her arms. ' _Maybe there's something I need to break…_ '

She waves her arms all throughout her body, at first trying to grab the gohei, before being inserted through random limbs.

Dryly, Reimu watched on as her mother repeatedly drove her limbs into her...

...Turning to the slowly spinning yin yang orbs, Sendai moved to grapple one, only for her whole body to go through it.

' _She's literally completely invincible._ ' Sendai realized. ' _...You know, for when that explosion's not enough, I guess. Even though this seems to be the first time…_ '

"Does this run out?" Sendai questioned aloud outright.

"Not that I can tell." Reimu admitted, her form shimmering with every idle movement it took.

…

"This is probably singlehandedly the most powerful Hakurei ability ever." Sendai stated.

"I guess." Reimu wasn't sure what to make of that.

…

Sendai held her arms up. "I… concede, then."

"Took you long enough." Reimu nodded, before looking at the sky. "...Uu~gh. Noo~!"

The sun was rising, the horizon starting to take on an amber glow...

Slouching, Reimu starts to drift towards the shrine. "It's gonna take me forever to get my sleep right again…"

Suddenly, Sendai noticed Reimu's orbs were gone, and she was fully tangible again. ' _I didn't even see the revert happen._ '

"Join the club." Sendai paced behind her. "...Aren't you going to try sealing me, or something?"

Reimu snorted. "Because that's worked so well. I'm going to bed."

...Raising a brow, Sendai questioned the premise. "With the person you just fought still here…?"

"Turned out well for you." Reimu summarized the previous battle. "...Knowing my mom, she wouldn't attack me in my sleep like a coward."

Sendai gazed at her. "...Do you believe I'm your mother, now?"

...Taking a moment to reply, Reimu drifted towards the shrine's front door. "We'll see."

STAGE COMPLETE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

reimu fight

reimu doesn't like lethality except where it's mandatory, so naturally her fantasy heaven isn't lethal; it'll just leave you in a severe holy coma - w -

originally this chapter was gonna end with sendai unconscious after fantasy heaven but after some consideration it was changed to have a little more developed of an ending

this is as balanced as reimu's fantasy heaven is getting without removing traits - w -

nuke part - SWR/hisoutensoku

intangibility - imperishable night, reimu's last word

the balancers are that she can't become intangible without doing the nuke, and the nuke must be set up by landing seven separate _melee_ blows on enemies before going nuclear

i'm less worried about action being interesting in this fic, 'cause fights have clear purposes and the trend's pretty clear:

o big fights are with notable touhous and everyone gets a turn or so

o mooks hardly make for fights because sendai's burly

o fights are contextually appropriate

o fightmania is the fic's premise

...although at this point i feel like i coulda done sakuya more justice since she didn't really take sendai seriously and ended up getting taken down prematurely - w - at the same time i feel like there's not a lot sendai could do to a serious sakuya

oh well yo oh well

as always, see you all next time!


	10. INT - Hakurei Afternoons

…

"Nn~h…" Sendai stretched out, unwilling to open her eyes to what she could feel was a particularly bright morning…

' _If I'd woken up before the break of dawn, I wouldn't have this problem…_ ' Rubbing her eyes, the miko began to shift, crawling out from under the kotatsu. ' _It's probably noon right now…_ '

Crawling and rotating, Sendai got into a regular sitting position beneath the kotatsu she had occupied for the evening…

Kri-krik. Her neck cracked as she used her arms to articulate her head. ' _Always gets stiff under there…_ '

…

Reimu stepped through the now permanently open kitchen doorway, the semi-smashed frame locking the doors in an open position. The miko herself was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, too.

"Mornin'." Reimu stumbled over to the kotatsu, slipped under it, then leaned over onto it.

"Mmm. Mornin'..." Sendai leaned back, using her arms to prop herself up.

' _Waking up to the light once in awhile is nice, though._ '

…

The current Hakurei shrine maiden let out a mighty yawn. "Hooa~h…"

' _No time like the present…_ ' Slipping from the kotatsu, Sendai began to stand.

"No running..." Reimu mumbled out a threat.

"Morning runs are good for you, though." Sendai smirked, before she began stretching…

"No running." Slightly more awake, Reimu focused on the elder miko.

"Hnn~..." Sendai made some noise as she stretched her arms. "...Haa~h."

...Quietly, Reimu curiously observed her.

In the next moment, she dropped to the floor and began doing push ups.

' _One. Two. Three…_ '

Time passed as the miko did her routine morning push ups.

' _Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five…_ '

"What are you doing…?" Reimu's curiosity got the better of her.

' _Ah… what number- right, twenty five. Well, twenty seven now._ ' Looking up from the floor, Sendai smiled. "Exercise."

…

' _Thirty one-_ '

"Better question…" Dryly, Reimu continued her verbal prodding. " _Why_ are you doing exercise?"

' _Thirty three…_ ' Sendai almost stopped, grinning to herself. "Why aren't you?"

' _...Thirty six, thirty seven-_ '

Reimu sighed. "I guess it beats you trying to run away."

Sensing her daughter's dismissal of her last question, Sendai asked it again. "Why don't you exercise?"

"Why would I?" Sitting up at the kotatsu, Reimu yawned again. "Huua~... it's not like I really need it. I'm stronger than most people my size…"

' _Forty one. I was about to ask myself 'how has she not died yet'... but then I remembered last night. Forty five._ '

…

Reimu laid back down on the kotatsu, her eyes fluttering.

"Rather slow to wake up?" Sendai interrupted the younger woman's dozing.

"Shut up." She looked for something to throw, only to realize nothing was on the table. Instead, the miko settled for leaning into the kotatsu top.

"Some exercise would wake you up." Sendai grinned to herself again. ' _Fifty nine…_ '

"Ahah." Despite the helpful suggestion, Reimu was unenthused. "Yeah, sure. If I did a hundred push ups, I'd just end up going back to bed. Involuntarily."

' _Sixty five…_ ' Sendai snorted. "You don't have to start with a hundred… not like it's hard." ' _Sixty eight._ ' "Try twenty."

"Lemme get some tea first…" Reimu began to slide from the kotatsu-

"Twenty push ups." Sendai challenged. "Or are you made 'a glass?" ' _Seventy one…_ '

"I'm made of glass." Not having any of it, Reimu began to stand-

"Ha~h." Sendai smiled to herself. "I've met magicians stronger than you."

…

The comment having struck a chord, Reimu reluctantly stepped to around where her mother was doing push ups.

' _Got 'er._ '

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Reimu got down on the floor next to Sendai, emulating the bigger woman's movements.

' _Seventy eight…_ ' Glancing over at her daughter, Sendai checked her posture…

"One…" Reimu audibly counted out her push ups. "Two…"

...As Reimu progressed, her back arched higher and higher. "Three, four, five, six, seven-"

"Start again." Sendai announced in the midst of her own push ups. ' _Eighty three…_ '

"What?" Reimu glared at her mother. " _Why._ "

"Your butt's in the air." Sendai pointed out the flaws in her form. "Also, keep your feet together."

"Why~." Despite her protest, Reimu did as instructed. "All I'm doing is pushing myself up."

"If you don't keep form, you'll use your legs and back more than your arms." Sendai explained. "This is an arm exercise, not humping the floor." ' _Ninety two…_ '

"Fine. One…" With that, Reimu started over. "Two…"

' _Ninety six, ninety seven…_ '

"Three, four…" The two women did their morning push ups.

"Ninety eight, ninety nine… one hundred." Sendai finished.

"Wha- how? Already…?" They were so fast that Reimu missed them. "No way…"

Springing onto her legs, Sendai rolled her shoulders a little. "The~re we go. I feel alive again…"

"Hah. Nice joke. Six… seven…" Reimu slowed down a little, focusing on her own movements. "Eight… nine…"

' _Joke? Oh. Pfft, yeah. 'Alive again'._ '

Looking around, Sendai noticed the shrine door was open. Outside the shrine was bright sunshine, and blue skies.

' _Someone's opened the door before we woke up._ ' Sendai realized, eyes narrowing.

...Stepping forward, she kept her movements reserved as she neared the door…

"Twelve… thirteen…" Reimu was still doing her push ups.

Sendai neared the door-

"Ee~y, Reimu~..."

A stout, orange-haired girl stumbled into the shrine, waving around a purple gourd, her horns miraculously slipping in through the shrine's doorway. "We~r' outta tha' village ales! It- it went good wit' tha' sake, yeah…?"

' _...An… oni?_ ' Sendai wasn't sure what to say.

...The oni girl turned to her, before double-taking after a delay. "Woo~h! Reimu~! You go- grew _boobs!_ " ...With wide eyes, the oni lifted up her gourd, and looked inside. "Da~mn…"

Tilting her head back, the oni shoved the gourd into her mouth.

"Eighteen… nintee~n…" Reimu exhaled. "Twenty. There." With that, Reimu sprung to her feet with the assistance of her natural flight abilities.

Turning to the two women, she blinked. "...Oh, hey Suika."

"Fwaa~h!" Suika tore the gourd from her mouth. "...Oo~h. Tiny Reimu…" She turned her head to Sendai again. "Bi~g sexy Reimu." ...She looked over at Reimu again. "Tiny Reimu…"

Sendai looked at her daughter neutrally, completely confused. "...Are… oni supposed to just wander around? Did I miss something?"

"Yes, you did. Twenty years of somethings." Reimu bluntly regarded her mother. "...Let me get some tea, now. I'll answer some questions."

' _That'd be nice…_ ' Sendai looked over the oni curiously. ' _Oni on the surface. Who'd've thought it?_ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

INTERMISSION 2 - Hakurei Afternoons

The three girls sat around the kotatsu, drinking tea…

' _Mmm…_ ' Sendai smiled down at her cup. ' _Another day waking up to tea. Things're a bit different now, but that's fine._ '

Suika wasn't drinking tea, though. "Mmgh…" Head tilted back, she chugged from her gourd…

' _How much is even in that little thing…?_ ' The oni's action evoked a dry stare from Sendai. ' _She's been chugging that for the past two minutes._ '

...Finally, Suika parted it from her mouth. "Oo~h, the'h we go. Only way ta kick off a morning."

' _She's a little short for an oni._ '

"So…" Reimu spoke up. "You're closer to my mother than any doppelganger's ever been. Like… by a long shot."

Sendai gave her a slanted smile. "That so?"

Suika jerked her head back. "Whah? _Mam?_ " ...Looking Sendai over with a deliberate stare, she shook her head. "Aah. Ain't no youkai, it don't look…"

"I think we determined as much…" Reimu gave Suika a dry stare. "No youkai could take Fantasy Heaven to the face and get up to make stupid jokes about it."

"Ooh, yeh." Suika nodded, grinning merrily and jerking her gourd up at that. "Trust me, she ain't lyin'! Hahaha~!"

' _I'd ask what this oni is doing here, but I don't really feel like fighting_ an oni _within an hour of waking up._ '

...After some moments of relaxation, Reimu spoke up again. "I don't really know what to say."

' _Hmm?_ '

"...You're a lot like my mom." Reimu folded her arms. "I'm still not really ready to accept the idea that… you just _came back_. That's not a thing that _happens_."

' _...She's not wrong._ ' Sendai nodded compromisingly. "I'm about as curious as you are. It'd be nice to know how I _died,_ too, but I suppose that can wait."

…

' _We're missing something, though._ ' Sendai paused.

"I almost forgot…" Reimu's eyes narrowed, as she began looking around. "Yukari."

The two women looked around at the shrine's interior…

"She's not one to come so readily." Sendai relaxed, ceasing her half-hearted search. "I've only ever met her a handful of times."

...Reimu tilted her head. "Really? She comes by here every week or so."

' _What._ '

…

"Did I hear something about li'l ol' _me?_ "

Fwap-fwap-fwap! In the next moment, three ofuda from Reimu struck the gap youkai as she leaned out of her gap, slapping onto her face.

 _Fwap-fwap!_ Sendai threw three more, two of them striking the youkai's chest.

"Oo~h…!" Yukari simply pouted, bringing her arms up to clutch her head. "The mighty shrine maidens have defeated me~..."

Both mikos ran up to the youkai, preferred attack methods ready.

"What the hell do you want?" Sendai was ready to brawl.

"I have questions." Reimu held her gohei ready, glaring ahead at the youkai.

"Ahah…" Yukari scratched her cheek with one finger. "Well, you see-"

 _Bam!_ Yukari's head reeled back as Sendai's dark-empowered fist slammed into it.

 _Bam!_ A half-maximized yin yang orb spun into Yukari's stomach, causing her to cringe violently "Gufh…!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Crack!_ Sendai sighed as she pelted Yukari with her twentieth mana molotov.

"That sma~rts…" Yukari rubbed her scuffled mob cap. "You're going to mess up my hat."

 _Thwack!_ Reimu brought her gohei into Yukari's knee again.

"Ooo!" Yukari flinched involuntarily, but not spectacularly.

' _...For someone so fragile looking, she can take her hits._ ' Sendai glared at the gap youkai, folding her arms. ' _We're not_ trying _trying, but still._ '

…

Reimu stepped back from the gap youkai, still glaring at her.

"...Didn't want to mess up my hat, did you?" Yukari gave the two a smarmy smile as she readjusted her mob cap. "It _is_ a rather nice hat, isn't-"

 _Wham!_ "Nhuh!" Saliva flew into the air, as Sendai's arm plunged into the gap youkai's gut again.

Yukari stumbled back, before looking up at the two and smirking again. "Ha- hat's still… clean-"

Sendai slid up to her and took off her hat.

"Oo~h…" Yukari faked disdain. "Oh no."

Reimu shook her head. "It's useless. She'll let us question her anyway."

' _What? No._ ' Sendai shook her head. ' _I've been itching for a fight with this_ thing _for awhile._ '

Pocketing the gap youkai's hat, Sendai reached forward-

"Ah…?" She fell down into a gap.

' _Wooaa~h…_ ' She held her arms out as she fell down into the purple, eye-filled space, spreading her limbs to reduce her falling speed. ' _So this is what it's like on the inside…_ '

Then-

Thud. She abruptly landed next to the kotatsu, belly flopping at curiously soft velocity.

"She's right, you know." Yukari spoke smugly as she stepped up to the kotatsu, adjusting her hat upon her head again. "I'll tell you every~thing you need to know. No need to beat me up..."

...Shifting back into a sitting position, Sendai reached into her pocket, only to find the youkai's hat was gone. ' _What…? Hmm. Her gap ability… has more versatility than I expected._ '

Drifting down onto her bottom and slipping her legs beneath the kotatsu, Yukari sat her hands down onto it. "The truth is…"

...Reimu and Sendai focused on her.

"That I will tell the truth." Yukari nodded warmly.

"I hate you." Reimu shook her head.

Flipping a fan open, Yukari held it before her face. "Genuinely, however…"

The mikos focused on her again.

"I will be genuine." Yukari nodded again.

"You suck." Sendai deflated.

"But!" Yukari sat up, eyes lighting up. "In all actuality…!"

 _Wham!_ A yin yang orb fell from above, throwing Yukari's head back on impact.

"In ' _all actuality'_ , I think you should _get on with it._ " Reimu seethed at the youkai.

Kri-krik. Yukari's neck cracked as it righted itself on her shoulders. "Nn~h. Fine, fine…"

Folding up her fan, she slipped it somewhere under the table. "I was unaware the previous Hakurei miko had returned, until she'd caused enough stir in the manor."

...The two mikos gave her jaded stares.

"Genuinely." Yukari was without whimsy this time. "And, yes Reimu, that _is_ your mother."

...Face hard, Reimu huffed. "...I'm on the border between believing you and sealing you right now."

"There are things I don't lie about." Yukari switched her leaning posture… "This includes matters pertaining to the Hakurei lineage."

...Reimu looked uncertain. "How do I-"

" _Reimu._ " Yukari spoke with more definition. "I haven't need to do anything underhanded. In fact, I'd prefer things stay just the way they are."

She leaned back a little, relaxing her voice. "Why, everything's gone so smoothly. Isn't peace grand?"

' _I hate that tone of voice._ ' Sendai scowled at the gap youkai. ' _She knows something we don't._ '

…Catching an idle moment, the gap youkai leaned back and stretched a little. "Hnn~..."

"Why's she… alive, then?" Reimu asked of her.

"Oh, right." Yukari smiled. "Still working that one out. Sorry~!"

"You're useless…" Resting her arms on the kotatsu top, Reimu deflated.

"Perhaps if you wanted to figure that out, you'd seek out those familiar with the afterlife." Yukari slowly reached over for Reimu's teacup-

Reimu up her arm in the way. "You know-" She had to put her other arm down next to the teacup in the opposite direction, to stop Yukari's other arm from reaching out of a gap and snatching it. "You know something, don't you?"

"Hmm? No." Yukari shook her head, flipping her fan open again and holding it before her face. "I _would_ investigate… but since you two are just as curious as I am, why not let you find out?"

A gap opened behind the youkai. "I'll be behind you every step of the way!" With that, she slid back and into the tear in reality.

The gap closed.

…

"Just as annoying and cryptic as ever." Sendai stared at the space where the youkai was. "Albeit more casual. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing…"

' _...What did I want to do today, again? Maybe some village shopping-... or odd jobs, considering I'm flat broke. Oh yeah, I need to bring Rinnosuke his high chair back-_ '

"So…" Standing up from the kotatsu, Reimu idly shifted about. "...Hi, Mom."

Sendai stood up, as well. "Hey."

...Taking a breath, Reimu focused on her. "We… have some catching up to do, huh?"

Smiling, the mother gazed at her daughter. "...Yes. Yes, we do."

…

"Nha~h…" Suika let out a noise from the floor, prompting the two mikos to glance over at her.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The sun was in the latter half of the sky as the two women progressed onto the shrine lawn…

"So…" Reimu stood on one end of the stone path, while Sendai stood at the other. "We solve problems with danmaku, these days."

"How did you even make it popular?" Sendai jumped on the chance to sate her curiosity. "What youkai in their right mind would listen? How do you even _enforce_ that?"

"It's harder for the more nitty gritty encounters." Reimu conceded. "Even so, I've been able to solve numerous incidents against things I really had no right fighting because of it. As for how it was enforced… me and Yukari made some deals. I assume popularity just kinda kept it in place from there."

' _Yakumo, huh._ ' Sendai didn't like the sound of that. ' _Sounds like she wanted this. Peaceful resolution with no violence sounds too good to be true._ '

"What things did you fight you couldn't have just mowed down?" Sendai questioned further, her eyes examining the scenery in the meantime. "You're not necessarily weak, especially for your age…"

"Gods. Immortals. Nuclear ravens, really powerful ghosts…" Reimu took a moment to consider her previous opponents. "A celestial. Oni, the Scarlet sisters… Yukari."

' _That's… huh._ ' Sendai's attention was fully on Reimu again. "...How many of those could withstand Fantasy Heaven?"

"...Good question." Reimu was indifferent. "Under danmaku rules, though, I was able to just knock them out."

Sendai jerked her head back. "They just _let you_ danmaku them?"

Rolling her eyes, Reimu stepped towards her mother. "No~. They shot bullets too, obviously. Like, here…"

Stopping in the middle of the stone path, Reimu aimed her free arm at the Shinto arch over the hill's iconic staircase.

From her hand, two streams of ofuda whirled out as if fired from a machinegun.

The danmaku ofuda pattered against the arch, dissipating into particles of red and gold, and then nothing.

"I know what danmaku _is_." Grinning, Sendai countered. "I taught you it."

Reimu snorted. "Yeah. Well- the basics, anyway. Then comes _spell cards_."

Drifting into the air, Reimu spread her arms out. "Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"

Seven yin yang orbs spread out around her form, revolving in a ring as they began to glow with bright, rainbow colored energy…

They whirled towards the Shinto-styled arch-

 _Fwam, fwam, fwam, fwam, fwam!_ The seven orbs exploded into vibrant, violent echoes of magical power, the air itself rippling in the wake of the massive orbs as they assaulted the gate. Despite these impacts, the arch itself was fine in the end.

"I don't think that's danmaku…" Sendai watched the form of the arch slowly return to normal, the ripples made by the light orbs making it look as if the arch itself was distorted.

"...Yes and no." Reimu gave her that. "Spell cards can be tuned elementally now, and with sufficient work, shaped into either danmaku patterns or easy spell casts. Some people have both lethal and danmaku variants of each spell. I'm not a big fan of everyone having lethal spells by their waist, but thankfully no big youkai want to just kill each other."

"And if people aren't mages?" Sendai tilted her head. "What do they do?"

"Even non-magic users have had to adapt." Reimu explained. "Oni use danmaku, too. When they leave their city, anyway. Not like them throwing punches will hurt _eachother_."

"Regular humans?" Sendai grinned, folding her arms.

"...Okay." Reimu looked away. "It's possible, but right now they're kinda slow. Not like they leave the village anyway, and they got some defenders who use it. The only people they threaten are weaker youkai, anyway."

...At that, Sendai nodded. "Sounds fair enough. So, with that… you _never_ have to kill."

"Well…" Folding her own arms, Reimu floated back down to the ground. "I _do_. Only sometimes."

"Oh?" Sendai smirked. "Here I thought you were a complete pacifist."

"Mmm. If a human villager becomes a youkai, or if there's a particularly unreasonable youkai…" Reimu twirls her gohei in her hand. "I don't just seal, exorcise or 'exterminate' them. I just kill them."

Sendai nodded. "Damn straight. I guess this system reduces bloodshed, then…"

' _I don't imagine it's always used or useful._ '

"What do you do if someone attacks the shrine at night?" This question popped into Sendai's head. "It's not particularly as low-profile as it used to be, and you live alone…"

Reimu waved the notion off. "Youkai are weaker on shrine grounds. That, and that Suika lazes around here sometimes."

' _What?_ ' Sendai raised her brows. "...Since when did the shrine grounds repel youkai?" ' _Not even gonna ask about the oni yet._ '

Pausing, Reimu considered this. "...I'd have to say about a year after you died. I went into Makai and Hell, beat up people, and had a really hard time hiding at night no matter where I slept. Still, I pulled through."

' _You went where after I died!?_ ' Sendai momentarily let her jaw drop. "Hell…!? What's a Makai!?

...Reimu stared up into the sky, half-grinning.

…

A woman with poofy, long, faded green hair and horns stepped up the shrine steps, and began walking past the two.

Reimu turned to her. "...Oh, hey."

"Hello~." The woman waved at Reimu. "I thought you would've been out and about at a time like this…" Her shirt was faded red, with white clouds on it. Her shorts were white, almost pink, with faded red clouds on them.

Sendai stared at the newcomer dryly. "Now who's _this_ supposed to be…?"

The woman gave her a little salute. "Ooh, it's you! I'm Kamano the komainu!"

' _A komainu? Reimu's really moved up in the world, huh?_ '

"...What, you recognize her?" Reimu questioned the komainu whilst gesturing to her mother.

"Mmm, mmm!" Komano nodded, the large, heart-shaped necklace she had equipped swinging as she did so. "Some years ago, before you even came around, I'd stop by the shrine and help out!"

"I've never seen you before in my life." Sendai stated bluntly. "The amount of times a crowd of youkai trashed the shrine or tried to ambush me in the evening don't do you any justice, either."

"Well, it's not like I could be around all the time…" Kamano smiled sheepishly. "Especially when the shrine was just a box on a hill for so long…"

...Still skeptical, Sendai began to move towards the stairs.

"Well, have fun watching the shrine. Suika's there, by the way." Reimu waved at the komainu as she moved to follow her mother.

"Will do~!" Komano gave her a friendly wave. "Have fun!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The two were on the path to the village, walking regularly together…

"That's... a lot of coincidences…" Sendai's brows were furrowed. "So you _walked_ into this _extremely_ poisonous and volatile land full of _immensely_ powerful monsters… as a _kid_ , and _kicked_ your yin-yang orb into them, and you _lived_. You fought the _owner_ of this realm like this, and _won_."

Reimu chuckled under her breath. "...When you put it that way, it does sound a bit…" Then, she turned to her mother. "What, you never did anything crazy as a kid? Also- that was mostly the time when I invaded Hell. When I marched into Makai, I could fly and shoot and stuff."

…

"Good point." Sendai accepted Reimu's tale. "Yeah, I was a little hell raiser. But... you were _literally_ a little hell raiser."

"Also," she raised a finger, "flight. Where did you even learn to fly?"

Reimu smiled. "Before I could fly, I rode on gramps. You know, Genji?"

Sendai blinked. "Oh, yea~h! Our pet turtle! ...He could fly?"

"Yeah, he could fly!" Reimu grinned at her mother. "How'd _you_ not know?"

"Well, he's really self-sufficient." Sendai watched the village gates as they began to approach them. "It makes sense, though."

' _The sun's already starting to hang…_ ' She noticed it was in the latter fourth of the sky. ' _How annoying._ '

Eventually, the two girls made it to the gate.

The guard there was in armor, shiny plates with black accents covering all but his head.

As the two neared, he raised a large, bronze pike. "Halt."

' _...Flashier than I remember._ ' Sendai stared at the guard in examination.

"Hey." Reimu greeted him casually. "We want in."

"There are not two Hakurei mikos." He stated plainly. "You will have to turn back, or face me."

'... _I'm not even in my shrine maiden outfit. I do have the sleeves on, but…_ '

Sendai stepped towards the reel to raise the gate-

The guard shifted into the way. "I will call for backup. When I do, we will come down with the force of a thousand men."

Ignoring him, Sendai kept walking ahead-

The guard lowered his pike, poised to thrust. "You will regret- hauh…!?"

Sendai grabbed his pike as he thrust it forward, and lifted it up.

"Woaa~h!?" The man was raised into the air, still holding the base of his pike-

 _Thoom!_ The miko slammed him into the ground behind herself.

"Gauh…" The guard ended up on his back.

 _Shink!_ Easily tearing it from his grasp, Sendai thrust the pike into the dirt and continued towards the gate reel.

"First time that's happened." Sendai shook her head.

"Yeah. The guard's gotten pretty bad after you died." Reimu stated plainly, stepping up to the gate and waiting for her mother to reel it open. "They're not really a problem, though, and I guess being so trigger happy makes it hard for youkai to get in."

Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick. The gate clicked as the elder miko reeled it open, allowing the both of them to proceed inside…

As they moved into the village, Reimu spoke. "That reminds me… I did ask the human village to only capture youkai if lethal force wasn't clearly necessary. Considering they still kill _eachother_ sometimes, I don't really expect that to be enforced…"

"When's lethal force clearly not necessary?" Sendai rose her brow…

"When the youkai in question's some small girl with animal ears or something stupid like that." Reimu answered promptly. "There's probably some weirdoes who'd see that and just slaughter her."

...Sendai nodded. ' _Makes sense, actually. Not like telling them to stop will make them stop, though._ '

The presence of two mikos drew stares from the passing villagers, but the two didn't pay the passing civilians any mind as they advanced into the village center…

Sendai stepped up to the job board. "Hmm~. Let's see what odd jobs they've got…"

"Odd jobs…?" Reimu glanced over the job board, before grinning. "Is that how you kept us afloat before you died?"

"Pretty much." Sendai nodded, before further clarifying. "Well, I did some routine patrols and exterminations, and was sent to fight big things with teams sometimes. Contracts and such, and they provided for some good income until I exploded or something. Being dead kinda kills business."

Reimu snorted. "I'd figure. Incident resolution usually gets me some care packages from the village. Sometimes I mooch..."

Sendai jerked her head back. "Mooch? Who in the village would let you _mooch?_ "

"I don't do it in the village, though…" Reimu smirked at her mother. "One good example would be the mansion."

...Sendai gave the idea a grand nod. ' _Tha~t's why it's still standing! She put more forethought into it than I did…! I wouldn't trust them to not do something underhanded, but… they apparently know about Yakumo._ '

...Putting aside her realization, she scanned the job board again. ' _I wonder if there's anything easy or quick for right now. I don't really want to go on a hunt or anything at the moment._ '

A variety of jobs were passed by her vision. ' _Resource gathering trip. Youkai nest flushing. Fight some unholy combination of magical adjectives. Fight a fairy. Find a cat. Take out trash…_ '

Then, one caught her eye. ' _Brawl tournament. Prize, five thousand yen. Come fight me if you dare. Now_ that _sounds like easy money…_ ' Upon further inspection, she found multiple postings for the tournament still on the board. ' _Must be a posting for each slot, so each contestant can just take one…_ '

She snapped the posting from the board, and began walking to its address…

Reimu stepped next to her, and leaned next to her to read it… "Brawl tournament? Sounds rowdy."

Sendai grinned. "Rowdy's my scene."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Human Villagers_ ====

The two girls had found the fighting rink, held in the midst of the village's west main street. A large wood pad was in the middle of the road, and some benches were arranged around it.

The miko who came before examined the other contestants… ' _I expected more._ '

There were a total of three other contestants. There was a scrawny teenager in just his shorts, a raggedy, tipsy guy, and a burlier guy in just his shorts.

"Good fight." Reimu took a seat on a bench near Sendai, before taking a bite of a super pretzel she bought earlier…

The burly shirtless guy clapped his hands together. "Alright! Who wants to go first!?" ...Then, he smiled. "I'll go last. Wanna make this _fair_ , after all."

Instantly, the scrawny kid raised his arm. "I'll go!"

Sendai rose her arm next. "Hey. Here for the tournament, I'll go."

Snorting, the host looked over Sendai's plain attire and Hakurei arm sleeves. "Ooh? Strange fashion. Quite big, too, aren't you?"

' _I hit big, too._ ' Sendai grinned at him as she stepped onto the pad…

The scrawny guy scrambled around the pad to enter from the side opposite Sendai, before checking himself to make sure his net total of zero equipment was ready. He had messy blonde hair, no muscle or fat, and was pasty white.

' _...This doesn't feel very fair._ ' Sendai gave the pasty teen a blank stare. ' _Oh well._ '

"Hi- I mean… yeah, hi." The guy scratched his head. "Ah, uhm… we should introduce ourselves."

"I am the miko who came before." Sendai introduced herself in one sentence.

"Oh. Um…" The guy blinked a few times. "Well… I'm Endo Rai. I am the son of the village's chief financial officer, Endo Kuniaki."

' _You should've stuck to lifting weights, boy._ ' Sendai was tempted to give him a look of pity, but felt a neutral stare was more appropriate. ' _Fighting experience is good and all, but…_ '

Few villagers were even spectating the fighting event. There was a single couple stopped on one of the corner benches, eating sandwiches together.

"You may only be knocked down three times!" Loudly, the muscular man set the rules. "Ring out, three falls, or being knocked out will count as a failure! A knockout is being down for ten seconds!"

The host's voice boomed. " _Fight!_ "

"Mnn~..." The kid hesitantly stepped up to Sendai.

…

After a moment of the two idly standing, he raised his fists, glaring at the miko.

…

Some seconds later, he lowered them, staring at her neutrally again.

' _Wow._ ' Sendai was taken aback by the lack of ferocity.

Then, the guy raised his fists again, glaring anew…

' _Are you… going to attack, now?_ ' Sendai raised her guard in an attempt to bait an attack.

He lowered his arms again, reconsidering his assault a second time.

' _Really._ ' Sendai resisted the urge to chuckle pathetically…

Then, the teen took two steps back and to the side, raising an arm. "Hey- hey! Long live the village!"

He slid back into position before the miko-

Pap. She thrust her fist towards where he'd position his torso, and he slid into it.

"Hu~...!" Wincing an eye shut, he stumbled back from the miko, turned around...

 _Thud_. He collapsed to the floor, onto his chest.

' _That's not a normal level of weakness…!_ ' Sendai blinked at him in disbelief.

Stepping onto the pad, the host acted as a referee, counting out the seconds he was down. "One! Two! Three!"

' _Please stay down._ ' Sendai stared down at the kid sympathetically. ' _We don't even compare._ '

The man threw his arm out to emphasize each second. "Four! Five-"

"Oua~h…" After a small struggle, the kid gets back onto his legs, rolling his fists as he marches towards Sendai again. "Al- alright…"

The host steps off the stage as the kid approaches Sendai again…

' _Why?_ ' Sendai's stare becomes critical.

Bringing his fist back, Endo bared his teeth. "Ho~h…!" Then, he threw the punch-

It hit Sendai in the stomach. She just stared at him.

' _...Okay._ '

Bringing the same arm way behind himself, he tilted his head down. "Here I go~!" Once again, he threw his arm forward-

Pap. It made light noise as it slapped against Sendai's abdomen.

' _This just makes me sad. I think I'll just end it now…_ '

Sendai brought her arm back, readying it for an upward blow.

"Wh- he~y!" Endo held his arms out-

 _Bam!_

His eyes were wide as he flew back, watching the world around himself turn horizontal as he sailed-

 _Thud_. He slid to a stop just off of the wood pad.

"We have a winne~r!" The muscled man raised his arms into the air.

' _It was more of a challenge to not hurt him._ '

Voice loud, the host continued. "And now-"

The tipsy, ragged man stumbled onto the wood pad, positioning himself before Sendai.

"For _fight two! Go!_ " The host already started the next bout.

' _Some drunk guy. Boring._ ' Sendai walked up to the tipsy, unassuming looking fellow.

"He~y…" Eyes uneven, he pointed at her. "...Ya _cute_."

"Thanks." Reaching forward, she grappled him by the thigh and shoulder-

"Wooa~h!" He began flailing his limbs as she lifted her. "Whoa~t tha fa- aah!"

 _Woosh!_ He soared off the pad, the miko having thrown him off.

 _Thud_. He landed some feet behind Endo, who was just beginning to sit up.

…

"Well, well, well…" The muscular man finally walked onto the stage. "Seems you really want that five thousand yen."

"Mmm." Sendai raised her fists. "You could just give it to me."

He jerked his head back, taking offense to that. "...Yeah. _Okay_." Flexing, her glared at her. "Are you ready? Because I'm gonna put on a _show!_ "

Stomping up to Sendai, he began grinning. "I'm one of the best damn bar brawlers this village's _ever_ had! And who're _you!?_ "

Sendai gave him a dry stare.

…

Tensing up an arm visibly, he reeled it back. " _Lockarm!_ " Grinning widely, he threw it forward-

 _Thud_. It struck Sendai in the abdomen, causing her to jerk back a little.

His eyebrows raised-

 _Bam!_ In the next moment, he found himself stumbling back, a creeping pain aching up his jaw. "Oo~ah…! Fuck..."

Sendai stepped towards him, arms ready. ' _He trucked through an uppercut? Maybe he really is as strong as he says..._ '

Noticing the miko's movements, he walked off the pain in a circular motion, moving across the stage to both avoid her and reposition himself.

Every third of the way, he'd accent his retreat with a different flex and a yell. " _Super! Macho! Ma~n!_ "

' _Pfft. What…?_ '

As he moved towards the woman again, he brought up his arm for a highly telegraphed but clearly powerful swing-

 _Woosh_. Sendai ducked under it, before standing again-

 _Woosh_. The man had spun around and unleashed the same punch again, only for Sendai to duck under it again. ' _Woah._ '

 _Woosh_. Sendai stood and ducked once again, evading a third attempt. ' _Wow. That's actually okay. For non-moving targets, anyway._ '

...Finished with his attack, the man stumbled about. "Nn- no…!"

 _Wham!_ Sendai quickly capitalized on his cooldown after the attack, sending him rolling out of the arena with a single thrust to his side.

…

After he'd stopped on the ground, she stepped up to him and crouched. "I'd like my money…"

"Un- under the bench, th- the one I was at…" The guy pointed at it, too.

"Cool. Thanks." Standing up, Sendai progressed towards the bench, and claimed her reward. The money was held in a worn leather pouch.

Reimu joined her as she stood from the bench that held the money. "That looked like even I could do that…"

"Probably." Sendai guessed. "It's not a lot of money, but it'll do. That was pretty much legalized robbery, anyway."

With that, the two shrine maidens began stepping down the road again, towards the village square…

' _I gotta bring Rinnosuke his chair before the day's done, too. Maybe go back to that witch's place and rough her up for a table._ '

The sun was beginning to set, and a calm wind was blowing in the air…

' _This wind feels nice._ ' Sendai smiled, carefree.

"Hey! Excuse me!"

As the two neared the square, a man called out to them, somewhere behind them.

Sendai turned around to see the guy approaching them…

' _Woah._ ' Sendai sized him up. ' _...Is he eight feet tall?_ '

"Hey…" Catching up to the two, he gives them a nod. "I saw you back there, in that tournament."

' _Oh._ ' Sendai gave him a fixed smile. "Is that so? Haha."

Reimu blinked at him. "Who're you?"

...He smiled. "Oh, where are my manners? Takamaru Sharaku."

"That's nice." Sendai turned away-

"Before you go!" He reached out, not intent on grabbing her, but simply as gesture. "Tell me. How did you get so strong?"

' _Jeez. You're eight feet tall! What could you need more in the human village for?_ '

"Well…" Sendai looked around, before focusing on him. "I trained everyday. I'm pretty sure being a Hakurei had something to do with it, too."

"Yea~h." Reimu lazily waved her arm about. "I'm stronger than I should be~."

"Was it special training? _Hakurei_ training?" He sought answers. "How much does it cost?"

' _Jeez!_ ' Sendai frowned at him. "Unless you can give me a steady pay for every day, I'm not training you. I'm talking living income, here."

"...I see." Takamaru hung his head. "I wouldn't have that kind of money. Not now."

' _It's settled, then._ ' With that, Sendai began to turn around-

"One day, I wish to become the ultimate lifeform." Takamaru informs the shrine maidens of his big plan.

' _Okay, whatever dude!_ ' Sendai's expression began to become incredulous. ' _...A certain flower youkai would like to have words with you about that, too._ '

"And to do that… I will need money for training!" Takamaru yelled as Sendai marched off-

" _Hakurei!_ "

...Sendai stopped as he blurted out her surname. ' _Really, now…_ '

She turned around to face him.

He cracked his knuckles. "Why don't I lighten your pockets of that reward money?"

' _What._ ' Eyebrows raised, Sendai took an offensive stance. ' _But, you just… fine. If you wanted a fight, you could've just said so._ '

"I'm gonna shake you down!" He raised his arms above his head, grinning widely and making grabbing motions.

Sendai blinked. ' _He's…!_ '

MISTER SHAKEDOWN

TAKAMARU SHARAKU

Reimu stepped to the side of the road, still working on her super pretzel. "I'll wa~tch. I don't have any money on me, either. Spent it all on this pretzel."

' _That's a lie and you know it…!_ ' Sendai gave her daughter a grin. ' _Oh well._ _He's just an eight foot tall guy._ '

Both fighters poised, they waited for one another to make a move.

' _Eight feet tall, unassuming brown hair, plain face…_ ' Sendai looked the man over again. ' _Plain shirt and pants. He's a regular villager in all but size._ '

…

" _Horra~h!_ " Stomping forward, the man raised his arms and tucked his head in, charging at Sendai akin to the earth fairy she fought back at the mansion.

' _This…?_ ' Furrowing her brows, Sendai darted back and to the side to avoid his slow but powerful rush.

...After some moments of running at her, the man dropped his arms, lowering his guard. "Ha~h… hah…"

' _Nice job._ ' Sliding up to him again, Sendai capitalized on the opening-

 _Bam!_ Her dark-enhanced fist met his cheek-

 _Bam!_ She followed up with another heavy, darkness-imbued strike to his other cheek-

With her leg, she pushed him away and darted backwards herself.

"Nngh…" Despite the force she'd exerted on him, he only stumbled back a few steps before steeling himself again.

' _Is this going to become a trend? Freakishly powerful tall people?_ ' Perplexed, the miko watched the large man's movements. ' _Is he some kind of youkai?_ '

"You're _good!_ " Takamaru yelled out at her. "But I'm _better!_ "

' _Sure._ ' Sendai raised her guard…

With that, he marched up towards her, dust kicking up with every stomp he took.

Once he reached the miko, he brought both arms together for a massive swing. "Hrr~ _oaah!_ "

Sendai slid out of the way of the telegraphed attack. ' _The wind off of that…!_ '

The momentum from the swing was enough to almost make Takamaru fall over towards Sendai, but he stopped himself at the last moment.

 _Ba-bam!_ Sendai delivered two punches to his abdomen, rings of dark energy flourishing out from where she struck.

 _Bam!_ She delivered a third critical blow-

" _Hoa~h!_ " Bringing a single fist back abruptly, the man thrust forward with it-

Bam. The blow to her shoulder caused Sendai to stumble back. ' _Ow~. For a sucker punch, that had force..._ '

Yen coins and bills floated from the point of impact, fluttering and spinning away from her. ' _Um…?_ '

"Nngh…!" Crouching down, the man clumsily threw his leg out for a kick. "Ho _yaa~h!_ "

 _Woosh!_ Sendai did a small backward leap away from it, grinning at the wind that came off of it. ' _This is some endurance…!_ '

" _Hey!_ "

Both combatants turned to a newcomer…

' _Is that…_ ' Sendai blinked at the form of the newcomer. ' _Keine?_ '

Stomping onto the scene, Keine glared at the two. "What do you think you're doing!? Keep it in the bar!"

Takamaru huffed. "The teacher… she'll make a good test, too!"

' _This guy…_ ' Sendai stared at him dryly. ' _Still. Youkai she may be, I'm not sure if she can one on one a giant._ '

...Before Keine could reach him, he turned and bolted towards Sendai.

The miko poised herself as he neared, her legs filling with dark energy…

"Hoo~ _rrah!_ " Bringing his arms up again, he roared towards the miko-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt over him-

 _Bam!_ She used her sandal to springboard off the man's head, a circle of dark energy flaring outward as she launched herself.

The impact made him almost fall forward, but he caught himself and simply stumbled instead.

Keine stood back for a moment as she watched this action transpire, before moving towards the man. "Sir. Sir!"

Barring his teeth, the man turned to the school teacher. "You! Give me a good fight!"

"What…?" Blinking, Keine brought her arms up. "No, look! Just calm-"

Turning to Keine as she neared, the man brought both arms together for an upward swing-

 _Bam!_ The impact sent Keine soaring back, the blow striking her upper chest. Yen bills and coins flourished from her form at the point of impact, scattering across the street.

"Ah…!" Sendai's eyes widened. "Shit…"

' _I was trying to avoid that happening! Ugh… and where'd all that money come from?_ '

Thud. Keine landed on the floor some feet away, on her back. "Nnh…"

...Standing upright, the man grinned, looking down at his hands. "I'm so strong…!"

"Your fight's with me, asshole!" Sendai yelled over at Takamaru. "What's your problem!?"

"Hahahaha~!" Spreading his arms out, Takamaru took a deep breath. "I will be the _apex predator!_ Come, hit me more!"

 _Bam- bam, bam!_ In the next moment, Sendai tore into his stomach with three more darkness-enhanced punches-

" _No~w!_ " The man brought his arm down and crouched, before unleashing a mighty uppercut.

 _Woosh!_ Sendai easily leapt back from it. ' _This guy seriously needs to work on his timing…_ '

"Hnn~h…!" A womanly growl came from the floor nearby, prompting Sendai to look…

Keine climbed back onto her feet, and ran straight at the man.

The guy turned to her, spreading his arms out. "Hit me, Kamishirasawa! Hit-"

She leapt up onto his form, tackling him. "Ooah…!"

 _Thud!_ Her sudden weight caused him to tip backwards-

 _Crack!_ Keine headbutted his head the moment the back of it hit the floor.

' _Oo~h!_ ' Sendai jerked her head back at the impact. ' _Wow!_ '

...Slowly, Keine climbed off his form, stepping back and away from him.

"Oo- hnnh…" Slowly, Takamaru brought both hands to his head, nursing it.

' _He's still awake?_ ' Sendai wasn't sure what she'd got herself into anymore. ' _...And, I knew Keine had a hard head, but…_ '

"Stay down." Keine ordered the villager. "I'll have the guard here to arrest you shortly."

"Haha~..." Slowly, Takamaru began to prop himself onto his limbs, before moving to stand again…

' _Okay…_ ' Sendai stepped towards him…

"I'm not done yet…" Takamaru took the last hand off his head, revealing that his forehead was now bleeding. "I need more experience from this…!"

Sendai marched towards him.

Keine turned to her. "Miss, no! The situation's-"

 _Bam!_ In the next moment, the miko's leg slammed into Takamaru's gut.

" _Hooa~h!_ "

 _Thud_. Takamaru was sent rolling like a ragdoll by the blow, a magnificent plethora of yen bills and coins blooming from the spot Sendai struck like confetti.

…

"Miss…!" Keine glared at the miko. "Do I need you arrested, too? The fight's over!"

Sendai looked over at her and grinned. "Don't you 'miss' me, Keine."

The schoolteacher frowned. "Well, it's not like I know your name…"

...The miko raised her arms to show off her sleeves, before reaching into one and drawing a mana molotov.

Keine blinked, realization and confusion dawning on her face.

"You still keepin' up with Kourin?" Sendai tossed the molotov up and down in her hand. "...'Cause he could use some keepin' up with."

...After a moment, Keine spoke. "You're… you're not her. Who are you?"

Reimu stepped up from the side of the road, finished with her super pretzel. "Nope. It's her."

...Furrowing her brows, Keine focused on her. "This isn't a joke, Reimu. This can't be her. People don't just come back."

Reimu sighed. "I asked around. I beat her up. I tried to seal her. I kinda know what I'm talking about."

…

"Wh-..." Keine wasn't sure what to say. "...I- I need a moment."

The schoolteacher turned around and stepped away.

' _...That's gonna be a fun talk later._ ' Sendai rolled her eyes, before turning to the road again.

Villagers kept a radius around the shrine maidens and scattered money as they traversed the road…

…

Slowly, Takamaru began to rigidly, jerkily climb from the floor.

' _Do I need to put him through a wall?_ ' Giving him a jaded stare, Sendai moved towards him again-

"Wa- wait…" Holding his gut, Takamaru held up an arm. "I- I give. I lost."

...Sendai stopped her pursuit. "First thing you've said that makes sense."

"The money's yours, too." Despite the pain, he gestured to the scattered yen, smiling. "...Next time we meet, I'll beat every yen back out of you. I'll get stronger, too!"

' _Picking this all up's going to be a pain…_ ' Sendai looked over the scattered money. "Sure thing."

Swiftly, the man turned around and began briskly hobbling down the road…

"...I'd like to know why the village guard doesn't have more guys like him." Reimu thought aloud. "He'd probably be killer against the usual suspects."

"Maybe he's a youkai." Sendai crouched down and started scooping up money. "Or weird. We could just settle for weird."

' _I should've thrown ofuda at him. He's not too tough for the guard to handle, though._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The sun had almost set completely. The soft wind blowing through the trees picked up as the two girls made their way back to the Hakurei Shrine...

' _Twenty seven thousand, seven hundred yen, huh?_ ' Sendai counted the money as the two left the village. ' _Not bad. Some of it's Keine's pocket money, I think, but whatever._ '

"It's already almost night." Reimu lamented. "At least we should get to sleep easier…"

' _That's true. We got far less sleep today._ ' Sendai nodded… ' _Oh, I wanted to see if Marcus was still alive today. I guess I'll do that tomorrow._ '

…

As the two reached the shrine steps, Sendai turned to her daughter. "Is Yuuka still kicking around?"

Reimu snorted. "It'd be weird if she _weren't_. Yeah." ...Then, she turned to her mother. "Was she the one who killed you?"

Grinning, Sendai shook her head. "Good guess, but no. She forced me to fight her one on one the last time we fought. I had to burn through more than a few recovery items… and I had to sleep for awhile when it was over."

"Sleep, huh." Reimu nodded… "Yeah. You weren't dead, just sleeping."

' _Ahah…_ '

The girls progressed up the leg-rending Hakurei staircase, which Reimu circumvented by floating as she typically does.

"You should try walking." Sendai advised her. "It's good exercise."

"Tried it." Reimu shot the idea down. "Didn't like it. Would not recommend to a friend."

...At the top, Sendai spotted the high chair she'd left there.

"Hey." She stepped towards it… "I'll be back later. I just realized, I have to bring Kourin his chair back."

"What?" Reimu blinked a few times… "Oh, right. That chair's seen some things, huh?"

Snorting, the miko lifted the chair over her head. "Definitely."

"Don't fall in a hole and die again." Reimu gave her mother a wave.

She gave her daughter a grin. "I'll try not to."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Di-di~ng. The shop's bell rang as the miko who came before stepped inside…

"This late…?" Rinnosuke rose a brow, before looking up from his book. "Oh. Hey."

"I'm a little late…" Sendai plopped the high chair down in the middle of the room. "And a table short, but here ya go. Kinda got caught up along the way. Taught that mage a lesson, though."

"Did you, now…" Rinnosuke scratched his cheek. "Is she alright?"

Sendai rose a brow. "Oh? Yeah. Kinda thrashed me, but it wasn't anything a potion couldn't fix."

"Ha~h. Is that so…" Stepping around the counter, Rinnosuke moved towards his chair. "Thank you."

Sendai gave him a smile. "No~ problem."

"Before you went, I wanted to tell you…" Lifting his chair, the shopkeeper began taking it to the back room. "That mage… she's Marcus' daughter."

...Sendai's jaw slowly lowered as he took the chair into the depths of the store.

' _That… makes a lot of sense, actually. I can see why I didn't see it earlier, but… huh. Wait, Marcus got laid!? How?_ '

Moving to the back room, after the shopkeep, Sendai beamed. "No shit, hu~h? Marcus finally got some!?"

Rinnosuke winced at her volume. "...Do you have to say that so loudly? Yes, he… 'got some'."

Chuckling, Sendai moved to the tiny table in the middle of the room… and stood before it, unwilling to break another tiny chair. "Wo~w. He alive or dead?"

"How blunt…" Rinnosuke stared at her with veiled amusement. "Alive. He has a shop in the village, somewhere. Kirisame goods, or something along those lines. I haven't talked with him much in recent years."

Sendai huffed. "Why no~t? What, you guys all retire _immediately_ after I died or somethin'?"

"...I mean, pretty much." Rinnosuke nodded compromisingly. "Keine got that school in the village she wanted. Marcus got his shop… and I've got mine. We live our own lives, now."

' _...That sounds like something I should be happy about._ ' Sendai had a mixed face. ' _For some reason, it's bittersweet. Dying probably does that..._ '

Rinnosuke noticed this expression of hers. "What's with that face?"

"...Wasn't it fun?" The miko questioned her friend. "When we traveled, hunted youkai, bitched about the village..."

From here, Rinnosuke realized what the conversation was about, his face hardening. "...Yeah. Those times made me who I am. But… that was then. We can't do that anymore."

"Says who?" Sendai put her arms on her hips.

"I have responsibilities here." Rinnosuke gestured to the walls of his shop.

…

Sendai's expression was dry. "How many customers did you have this month?"

"...About _five_." Rinnosuke furrowed his brows, judging the number… "No, six. It was six."

"Good." Folding her arms, the miko put her leg on the table. "Those times made you who ya are, huh? So's that why you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself?"

The shopkeeper tensed up.

...After a moment, he replied, shifting his eyes off of her for a moment. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just _relaxing_."

"You can relax when you're dead." Sendai prodded him verbally. "I'd know, too."

"You _would_ joke about that…" Shaking his head, Rinnosuke stepped away from the high chair he set next to the table. "...Let's say I _did_ go along with this craze of yours. Where do we go from here?"

"Get the gang back together, obviously." Grinning, the miko cracked her knuckles. "Find out who killed me, so I can kill them. Or die again, whichever happens first."

…

Sighing, Rinnosuke focused on the miko. "...Fine. I'll go… tomorrow morning. The others won't be so receptive, you know."

"Hah." Sendai's grin widened. "Oh, I'll find a way. I'm _persuasive_."

"I'm well aware…" Parting his hair with his hand, Rinnosuke looked at the wall beside the miko in thought… "It _has_ been awhile since I've done… anything."

"Hahaha~!" Sendai laughed.

...With that, she began moving for the back door. "I'll be at the shrine, Kourin. Gonna run a few errands before I clock in for the night."

"You do that…" Rinnosuke stepped towards a shelf buried by junk. "I've got some… thinking to do."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Thirty two thousand, seven hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

talking with reimu - w - and i guess human villagers fight

 _THAT TOOK TOO LONG TO WRITE_ but that's my fault - w - i blame summer and me and me and summer

this was a fun chapter though, had some VILLAGER SMASHING, some fun times with REIMU, got SHAKEN DOWN…

oh yeah, to answer that one guy's review about fantasy nature…

i'm aware of the Imperishable Night interpretation of the ability and how it entails leaving reality, and i'm also aware of how the Grimoire of Marisa portrayed it largely as reimu slipping away and just kinda letting the danmaku kick ass

i decided to take the limiter on the ability from the fighting games SWR/Hisoutensoku mostly so that reimu was not just… an UNTOUCHABLE GOD completely anyway

i wanted to give her a little balancing so that her viability as a protagonist isn't based soley in honor, especially where the nitty gritty of my gensokyo's interpretation/fanon is concerned

seven melee hits with her gohei to activate an unholy nuke of SWR/HS fame, followed by her card from Imperishable Night, including phasing out and everything

i say i balanced her but she still gets a legendary non-elemental magic nuke off after seven hits so i think that kinda makes up for the limiter

basically i acknowledge how canon did it but i wanted to do it differently :3 that's kinda what i hoped my previous AN would imply but i'm happy to clarify yo

anyway…!

yeah

meeting up with rinnosuke again was a fun time - w - and now we got… a _new goal_ yo, and a new excuse for an arc of combat!

my rationale for sendai's party choice is both some works relating to sendai i've seen in the past and me wanting to draw parallels with those in some ways; and also because i don't imagine, with the way i've balanced her, that she could take on _everything_ on her own

we've seen how remilia just kinda played around with her - w - and when/if we get around to like… fighting equally strong noobs, a party would be a better edge for evening the playing field

sendai said something similar herself during her fight with remilia; i had this planned! ho ho!

and i think that is enough talking for a 8.5ish thousand word chapter

as always, see you next time!


	11. 3-1 - Where Humans Live

Di-di~ng.

The miko who came before stepped into Kourindou, clad in her hakama, black leotard and red cloth apron. "He~y."

...Staring up from the book in his hands, Rinnosuke flipped it shut. "Here already…?"

"I sorted my sleeping times out, almost woke up like usual…" Inhaling, Sendai took in the brisk morning air. "Nnn~. Got my outfit fixed, too. That puppeteer was kind of a pain, but she's good about business. Got a discount for her trying to kill me, too."

"I can't believe this is actually happening." Donning a worn out looking backpack, Rinnosuke stepped out from around the counter. A dull looking short sword was strapped to his waist.

Smiling, the miko looked him over. "What're you planning on doing with that sword? You _are_ better built, now…"

"I found it awhile ago. I haven't actually really used it, but…" He patted it with his arms. "It's better than being unarmed."

"If you say so." Sendai looked down at her hands. Promptly, she looked over at Rinnosuke again, this time expectantly…

"Yes, I packed potions." Grinning, he tugged on his backpack straps. "Six regular potions, three ethers, and some panaceas. Some water, food, and a gun."

"A _gun?_ " Sendai gave him a skeptical look. "I almost forgot those existed. Weren't they just pieces of junk when the guard used them for awhile?"

Rinnosuke steps into the midst of the room, glancing around the shop to give his security measures a last once-over. "This one's different. It's from the outside."

"Oo~h. The _outside_." Smirking, Sendai walked up to the nearest pile, and plucked the toaster she saw before off the top of it. "Known for its useful devices. Like this porta-furnace thing."

"...It _does_ only have one bullet." Rinnosuke concedes. "Its design is rather menacing, though. Some individuals will likely recognize it and respect it."

"Uh huh." Sendai sat the toaster back on the pile… "Oh, right. Doesn't everyone use danmaku now?" Grinning, she realizes how Rinnosuke's small armory contradicts her daughter's preferences. "What're you all geared up for?"

...Rinnosuke adjusted his glasses, looking towards the door. "I'm rather hopeless when it comes to danmaku. I'm not really big on the whole flying thing, either."

' _Hopeless at danmaku…?_ ' Sendai rose a brow. ' _It's not like you're magically incapable, though._ '

...After a few moments, Rinnosuke sighed, his gaze resting on a beam of sunlight reaching into the shop. "Alright. All I'll need to do is lock the front door when we get outside. I've got wards and defense measures set up around the shop…"

Sendai moved for the door. "Heaven forbid someone tried to take your _horde_." ' _...Marisa Kirisame, huh?_ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 3 - Under the Ayakashi

STAGE 1 - Where Humans Live

Morning in the Human Village, a miko and a shopkeeper stepped up towards the gate inside…

The man at the gate looked up, sighting the miko. At first, he didn't move…

"I haven't been to the village in some time." Rinnosuke admitted. "The last time I was, though, they were… less than hospitable. Keine was nice, at least."

"I'd hope so." Sendai gave the guard ahead a dour stare.

Recognizing the miko, he raised his pike. "St-... stop!"

' _Is this the same idiot from yesterday…?_ '

 _Woosh._ In a moment, the miko closed the distance between herself and the guard.

Eyes wide, he tried to rip his lance back-

 _Click!_ His gauntlet-clad hands clicked against the shaft as the weapon was torn from him, the miko stealing it.

She pivoted around-

 _Woosh!_ She chucked the pike into oblivion, the nearby trees consuming it.

"Damn it!" Running on adrenaline, the guard moved to punch her side-

She grabbed his fist with her hand.

…

Gritting his teeth, he brought up his other arm-

Adjusting herself, the miko awkwardly crossed her arms to grab the other fist.

…The guard futilely tried kneeing the miko repeatedly.

"Just let us in." Sendai was done toying with the guard.

"Fine…" Dropping his resistance, he relaxed his limbs and progressed towards the reel. "You won't be so lucky inside, though."

"Uh huh." Putting her arms on her hips, she waited for him to reel up the gate.

Cr-cr-cr-crea~k…

...Once it was open, and as Rinnosuke caught up with her, she lunged forward-

 _Bam!_

Thud. The guard fell onto his side, knocked unconscious by the blow to his jaw.

Crouching down, Sendai grabbed his leg. ' _I'll just pull him inside so he doesn't die out here._ '

"Are… we going to be safe inside?" Rinnosuke eyed the guard owlishly. "Compared to the dirty looks I'd got a few months ago, this is…"

"Me and Reimu were here the other day, and it was all good. Aside from _this_ guy…" Sendai got the guard to the door, and thrust him inside with a powerful tug. "There."

Once inside, the two progressed further into the village…

Gazing idly at the incredibly simplistic, almost plywood houses along their sides, Sendai asked questions. "Where would we look to find Marcus?"

...Rinnosuke scratched his cheek. "Aah. His shop… hrmm."

...Sendai stared at him dryly. "You _really_ don't know where it is?"

"Keine would know." Grinning sheepishly, Rinnosuke gave a slow nod. "She knows the village like the back of her hand."

' _...I guess he really hasn't been here in awhile._ ' At that, the miko looks to the path ahead.

"Akyuu, too." He added. "Her home is rather pronounced, so I'm sure we could find it easily."

"Akyuu?" Sendai raised a brow. "Who?"

...At that, Rinnosuke tilted his head back. "I mean Hieda no Aya. She goes by Hieda no Akyuu, now."

' _Oh! Her!_ ' Sendai recalled her instantly. ' _She'd remember me, too._ '

Guards give them glances, and villagers whisper words about them, but they continue down the middle of the path…

"Keine runs a schoolhouse, now." Rinnosuke states plainly as the progress. "Not on this street, though. If we reach the main street and go straight, we'll find it on the right along the road."

' _Sounds simple enough._ '

The two passed through the square readily, giving the stalls some passing glances as they went straight.

Clo-clop! Clo-clop! Clo-clop!

Ahead, a man clad in a fancy, dark robe cut straight across the main road, swerving through two different streams of moving villagers to switch from one alley to another.

' _A horse!_ ' Sendai blinks at it as it passes by her. ' _...Where do they come from? I never see horses in the wild around the village._ '

"A horse…?" Rinnosuke has similar bewilderment. "I don't think that should be possible."

...The event having passed, the miko and shopkeeper continued forward, not giving it too much further thought.

"Where's the school…?" Sendai held a hand over her face to block the sun.

"Just ahead, about. Not much farther." Rinnosuke provided.

' _On the upside, the normal villagers aren't as antagonizing as they used to be. Then again, I was dead for awhile._ '

...Eventually, they sighted what looked like the edge of a brick-walled perimeter, a large, open gate connecting it to the road.

"There it is." Rinnosuke pointed to it. "That should be it."

" _Should_ be." Sendai criticized his language. "Then we actually find out it's just a really secretive bakery."

Grinning and shaking his head, Rinnosuke pressed forward with her…

' _...Actually, is that Keine at the gate right there?_ ' Sendai sighted the teacher's familiar clothes. A grin emerging on her face, she began to raise her arm-

"Aa- aah…!"

A young girl, clad in a tattered white sundress, darted through villagers on the opposite end of the road. Her messy hair was a curiously light shade of brown.

"Nnh…!" She almost trips as she pushes her way past people, glancing behind her and almost daring herself to make a dash across the road to get on the side nearest the school gate.

Cl-clop! Cl-clop!

From a nearby alley, a horse emerged, the robe-clad rider from before scanning the crowd and bringing the horse to a gait as it waded through the people nearest the alley…

Freezing in place, the stout girl whips her head back to gaze at the horse, before committing to her decision to dash across the road.

...Noticing this, the rider reeled his horse back, and pressed forward-

Clop- clop… clop- clop…

As he aligned himself into the midst of the road, where there was the least villager obstacles, the child dashed straight down the road towards the school gate-

Cl-clop! Cl-clop! Cl-clop!

 _Shi~ng!_ The rider drew a long, uneven sword from around his waist.

' _Um…_ ' Watching this scene, Sendai began power walking to keep up with the distance between the kid and the rider. ' _Is that kid about to get run down in broad daylight?_ '

"Ow- ow…" Stumbling, continually running, the child neared the school gate, reaching her arm out. "Ka- Kashimawa~! Kamawashi…!"

" _Stop!_ "

Keine ran forward from the gate side she was stationed at, springing into action after her initial moments of watching the horse approach.

Cl-clop! Cl-clop, clop, clop…

The horse slowed to a stop as Keine marched into the way, the child sprinting past her-

"Anh…" Tripping onto her limbs, the child quickly sprang back up to get inside the gate proper.

...The man riding the horse began to try and bring it around her, only for her to strafe back towards the gate and stand in its midst, denying passage.

"That child is an unholy demon." The man spoke plainly, looking down upon the teacher from his horse. "I'm sending it back to hell where it belongs."

' _Pfft._ ' Sendai chuckled at his words. ' _Okay..._ '

"She's just a kid!" Keine yelled at the horse-mounted, robed man. "Did you even look at her!? She's clearly not older than _eight!_ "

"I am guiltless." Frowning, he sheathes his blade… "She ran, I pursued."

"This isn't how you should be enforcing things…" Glaring up at him, Keine moved her limbs restlessly, before deciding to stay where she was. "You're getting nothing done killing innocent people."

Her words caused him to furrow his brows. "My conscience is clean."

"Sure it is." Shaking her head, Keine allows herself to wind down a little, staying resolutely in place. "...You can lie to yourself, and you can lie to your men. But you never can run from, or hide what you've done, from _me._ "

...The aged man's expression sours, his stoicism finally broken. "Accursed omnipresent _beast_. If the Hakurei miko still held faith in her people, this town would be no place for _glorified infiltrators_ like you."

' _Oh, hey._ ' At that, Sendai began stepping forward…

Once she approached the two, the man looked down at her...

"Oh…?" He blinked twice, before beaming. "Hmm? What is-" Then, he composed himself, lowering his expression. "...It seems the Hakurei god is on my side today, Kamishirasawa."

Keine's eyes were locked to Sendai's form.

"Miss Reimu Hakurei," The man addressed Sendai, "May you kindly allow me permission to conduct a search of this premises? All of our ethic and work, put forth by the town, points to-"

"Name ain't Reimu." Sendai waved him off. "Go away. I'm not here for you."

...Returning to his stoic expression, the aged man persisted. "Well… if it is Kamishirasawa you're here for, surely I may be of assist-"

"Nope. I'm good. Go away." Sendai shut down the fancily dressed guard.

…

After a moment of not going away, the elder put his thoughts into motion. "What _exactly_ do you mean by… not being named Reimu?"

"Do you guys not get trained to follow directions?" Sendai verbally punished the guard for making her request he go away again . "My name isn't Reimu, and you need to _go away_."

"Hrm…" Frowning in distaste at her jeer, he began to pull his horse away. "Reconsider your actions, Hakurei. You may do well to find yourself on the correct side of history."

' _Who the hell is this old fart?_ ' Putting an arm on her hip, Sendai watched him trod off… ' _When I was alive, I don't remember any guards who spoke like that. Maybe he was just some flunky when I was around._ '

...After he was gone, Rinnosuke approached the two.

Keine took some steps back. "Kourin? What're you doing here, too…? Do you know what's going on with…" She pointed at the miko. "Who is she?"

...Looking over Keine's shoulder, the miko noticed the child sitting against the gate wall where Keine was previously. She was catching her breath, and wiping her eyes.

Put on the spot, Rinnosuke searched for answers by looking around helplessly. "...She's… how should I put this-"

"What's good, Keine?" No longer focusing on the child, Sendai gave her old friend a wave. "It's me."

Narrowing her eyes, Keine stepped back. "Okay. What do you mean, 'it's me'? How many people would even believe a lie that poor?"

"A lot of people." Sendai informed the teacher, before smacking her fist into her open palm. "Usually takes a little work, but people are understanding."

...Narrowing her eyes at Rinnosuke, the teacher raised her dukes. "Kourin, what did she do to you…?"

"Verbally manhandle me." Rinnosuke monotoned, before fumbling with his backpack. "I'm going to guess there isn't going to be any talking this out."

"Talk." Keine demanded of him.

...Not one to disappoint, he gave an attempt. "She stopped by my shop and exemplified her power. Additionally, Reimu gave her a background check at some point, or so I heard…"

"I never thought Reimu could be fooled by a doppelganger…" Keine began to glower at the miko.

' _I never thought I'd be accused of being a doppelganger on a daily basis._ ' Sendai began to raise her arms offensively… "This is about what I expected."

...Looking back at the child, Keine threw an arm back. "Chiyo! Get inside, and lock the doors! ...And, tell everyone I'll be there in a moment."

"Ah- ah…!" Getting up from her seated position, the child began sprinting for the school's doors.

' _A moment, huh?_ ' Sendai grinned.

Facing the miko again, the teacher glared. "For everyone's sake… I'll make a feast of your history!"

 _Clang._ As the woman stepped forward, the school gate behind her slammed shut audibly.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Keine Kamishirasawa_ ====

…

Rapidly, the villagers on the road outside the school began to trickle, and eventually, no more came.

' _...Things just got quiet, all of a sudden._ ' Sendai glanced at the road curiously. ' _...No one's coming?_ '

She glanced back at the teacher, only to find the gate behind her was replaced with a brick wall. ' _Um?_ '

Rinnosuke leaned against the wall nearby, taking a neutral position in the fight to come.

"This fight is between us." Keine annotated. "To everyone else, this segment of road never existed."

' _...That's gotta be inconvenient for a lot of people._ ' Sendai blinked. ' _A segment of a major road just mysteriously disappears? Wait, she said_ never _existed..._ '

"Origin Sign," Keine's hands began to glow with blue energy. "Ephemerality One Hundred Thirty Seven!"

...One of her arms began glowing blindingly bright, as she slid into the middle of the road, skidding past Sendai.

' _Woah. Fast…_ ' Sendai had dodged, believing the acceleration to be an attack at first.

 _Bwo~mp!_ As Keine slid into the midst of the road, she cast an arm to the left of her, back at the wall she accelerated from. From this arm came immense, eye-straining waves of light, which roared towards the wall-

 _FWAM_

When the wave of light struck it, it exploded and flourished brighter, an explosion of red danmaku bullets flooding the road.

Sendai began running towards Keine, keeping herself low as to avoid as many of the danmaku bullets as possible. ' _Danmaku, huh? I always pegged you as more of a physical fighter, though..._ '

"Hu- woah, woah, _woa~h…!_ " Rinnosuke scrambled away from the wall, the bright red pellets immediately dissuading him.

 _Bwo~mp!_ Before the miko reached her, Keine unleashed another wave of brutal light, the energy floating into the houses to her right-

 _Bam! Bam!_

Two darkness-enhanced fists met the teacher's guarding arms, causing the teacher to take a few steps back-

 _FWAM_

The bright wave of energy landed against the houses, flourishing and becoming a brisk wave of blue orbs, casting the road in a glorious purple between the colors of all the small bullets present

 _Bam, bam!_ Sendai tried to strike lower this time, to avoid the teacher's crossed arms.

"Ngh…" Despite being gut hits, the school teacher was only sent sliding back-

 _Wham!_ Sliding up to the teacher as she slid back, Sendai delivered a dark uppercut to her chin. ' _There…!_ '

Keine flew limply up into the air. The miko's uppercut threw her even higher than her launched opponent.

...Sendai allowed herself to soar down behind her, passing the apex of Keine's ascent-

Two arms interlocked themselves with Sendai's from behind. ' _What-_ '

 _Woosh!_ In a fluid motion, the school teacher flipped around using the miko's arms as leverage, before their torsos slammed into one another's, leaving them almost face to face.

Sendai saw Keine's neck, the teacher's head reeled back, just before their bodies connected-

 _Bam!_ Her forehead met Sendai's.

"Nn~..." Sendai shut her eyes for a moment. ' _Woah- ow~._ '

 _Thud_. The force from the blow threw the miko onto her back, albeit freed from the teacher's arms.

 _Thud!_ The miko raised her arms defensively as the school teacher pounced on her, one darkness-accented arm being used solely to stop an incoming headbutt.

Fierce, plain brown eyes glared down into the miko's.

...This entanglement resulted in the two able to do very minimal. Sendai began poising herself to roll the teacher over-

-only for Keine to leap off of her, distancing herself again.

...Sendai thrust her legs up, allowing herself to flip off of her arms and onto her sandals again. ' _She's actually gotten pretty good. She was always pretty smart, but I didn't think she'd become this competent at fighting..._ '

Keine's previous spell card promptly expired, the purple glow speckling the road coming to an end.

"Land Sign…!" Keine held her right arm up… "Three Sacred Treasures, Sword!"

 _Fwa-Shi~ng!_ In her right arm, a short, crudely shaped blade composed of blue danmaku energy flared to life.

"Three Sacred Treasures, Orb!" Keine held both arms out-

 _Bwoo~m… Pop!_ A rough looking, translucent green megatama formed before Keine's neck, held in place by a band of green light. After it formed, blue, misty energy began flowing into Keine's form…

"Three Sacred Treasures, Mirror!" She kept her left arm held out-

 _Cli~ng!_ A plate-sized, octagonal mirror formed in her left hand, though she held it like a shield. It was red and, like the other artifacts, translucent.

' _A danmaku_ armory?' Sendai grinned at the visual. ' _That's actually pretty creative. I'm willing to bet they throw bullets everywhere._ '

With the armory complete, Keine slowly accelerated towards the miko.

Sendai carefully, quickly strafed around to avoid directly confronting her for the time being.

Keine swung her sword-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwam!_ Despite the sword being seemingly shorter than even a short sword, the slash radius was elongated by a dense, immense spread of blue, kunai-shaped danmaku pellets.

Sendai was at first unimpressed. The projectiles that neared her turned out to be icy cold, however. ' _Ow. That's at least a little more meaningful than the weak stunning that danmaku usually tries to do-_ '

Keine raises her mirror shield, which glimmers brilliantly bright-

 _Fwoa~m!_ Three huge, fireball-styled danmaku orbs roared out, red kunai emerging from them in a spiral pattern.

The projectiles loosely homed in on the miko, but despite their sluggish speed, their size forced Sendai to use an accented leap to get out of the way. "Hup…!"

Fwa-fwa-fwam! The orbs detonated on the dirt road, leaving a huge pool of unrealistically red flames in their wake.

Drawing a yin yang orb from her sleeve, Sendai maximized it. ' _I don't think I'll get any farther just punching her in the face._ '

 _Bwroa~r!_ A spread of huge, green orbs shot from Keine's magatama necklace, forcing Sendai to make an emergency leap back again.

 _Wham!_ Sendai punched the yin-yang orb with a dark fist, sending it rocketing towards the teacher-

 _TI~NG_

Keine guarded with her mirror, the orb sent rolling back in the exact way Sendai sent it forward.

Bam! She was forced to sidestep her own projectile. ' _Those tools of hers are pretty practical, too._ '

Keine began to accelerate towards her again, the air cleaved by her short sword blooming into a malevolent gush of frosty kunai.

 _Bam!_ Sendai crouched and leapt, kicking up a cloud of dust beneath herself as she got a height advantage over the armed teacher…

 _Woosh!_ With a kick, she accelerated down-

 _Clank!_ Her sandal came down on the mirror shield, the teacher guarding against the attack.

Grinning, Sendai slipped a mana molotov from her sleeve as she springboarded off the shield…

 _Crack!_ Once the miko had distanced herself, the teacher lowered her guard and ended up ignited by holy flames.

Raising her shield up, the teacher charged it with magical energy while she burned…

 _Fwoa~m!_ Three huge fireballs once again rolled out of the shield, spreading out-

 _Bam!_ Kicking her legs against the ground beneath herself, the miko propelled into the air over the teacher. Reaching into her sleeve, she readied a yin yang orb…

Keine stared into the blaze, face hard…

Sendai fell past her, dropping the heavy orb behind herself as she did so-

 _Bam!_ After falling six feet, it hit Keine's head, causing her to flinch but little else.

' _That's a hard head! I didn't think it'd be that hard…!_ '

...Thud. The orb rolled off the teacher's head, as she began looking around wildly, her shield ready-

 _Bam!_ Sendai kicked her in the back, a dark ring flourishing from the point of impact. She was sent twirling forward. "Uah…"

' _There. Got a good hit…_ '

...Coming to a stop near the brick wall again, Keine huffed. "Land Scheme! Three Sacred Treasures, Country!"

Fwoo~m- _Froa~r!_ The forms of the magatama and the mirror began to fade, as the sword grew and took on the colors of its fellow artifacts, the three colors resulting in a brownish combination…

With the completed blade, Keine soared towards the miko, touching down to give herself leverage for her swings. "Hua~h!"

Woo~sh. The massive, wide swing of the blade was slow, but Sendai ran with the blade's momentum to avoid it-

Fwam-fwam-fwam-fwam-fwam! The swing created a huge gush of icy kunai in its wake.

 _Bam, bam!_ Closing the distance between herself and the teacher, Sendai delivered a few hits to her side, before striking a pose. " _Vol Fulger!_ "

 _Zap! Zap! Zap!_ The electrical sphere that engulfed her clipped Keine from her sheer proximity.

"Nnn~..." Keine shut her eyes, the electricity running up her form and into the solid, earthy danmaku blade.

 _Bam, bam!_ ...As the orb of electricity dissipated, Sendai returned to pounding Keine in the side.

" _Haa~h!_ " Bringing the blade up, Keine allowed gravity to swing it for her, tilting it in the direction of the miko-

 _FWAM_

As it struck the ground, a flourish of flaming kunai flared forth.

' _Ow, ow, ow!_ ' Sendai was ignited with danmaku flames from the wall that slammed into her. ' _This hurts worse than regular fire…!_ '

Drawing a mana molotov, she tossed it into the air, feverishly darting back from the schoolteacher. " _Hydro Storm!_ "

...Once it reached the apex of its toss, the molotov disappeared.

...Then, it began pouring, heavy holy drops cleansing the village road.

"Aah- nnh…!" Keine's eyes went wide, her eyes shutting as she took a rigid stance in the middle of the road.

The flames running along Sendai's body were extinguished. "There…"

...As it rained, the miko idly patted the places she was faux-burned, the stinging sensation still pulsing in her limbs.

Soon, the water came to an end-

 _Fwi~sh_. Keine's massive weapon dissipated, the teacher kneeling on one knee for a moment. "Ah- ah… ha~h…"

...After a moment, she began to stand up again.

Sendai watched her take solid posture once more. ' _Really? She still has energy after all that…?_ '

Spreading her limbs out, ascending into the air, Keine initiated another spell card. "Pseudo-History! The Legend of Gensokyo!"

...Sendai took an offensive posture again-

FWOAM

Instantly, a deliberate, immense web of thin red lasers enveloped the entire road segment. The beams pulsed, spread, and flowed, all originating from three points around Keine.

 _Fwam, fwam, fwam!_ Limbs spread out, all-encompassing spreads of red arrow danmaku roared out from her form.

This resolute, factual display of violence painted the road, sky, and buildings in pulsing, monochrome red. ' _...Wow._ '

Brandishing ofuda, Sendai carefully circulated around her current location, taking care to dance around any actualizing beams or thick arrow walls that came at her.

 _Fwap- fwap- fwap!_ She tossed three ofuda through the laser web, into the history teacher.

...From her location, she could see the ofuda begin to glow. ' _Huh. Considering what she is, I didn't think ofuda would work on regular days…_ '

 _Vzzt!_ A laser formed in the midst of Sendai, coursing through her.

" _Aa~gh!_ " She was caught off guard by the sudden pain, which slammed her whole body all at once. "Nn~h…!"

' _Damn!_ ' She takes deep breaths once she's out of the beam, ignoring the arrow-shaped danmaku pelting her as best she can. ' _Jeez!_ '

Fwap-fwap-fwap! She threw a few more ofuda at Keine, before frowning. ' _This card needs to be done!_ '

" _Thousand Talismans!_ " Ofuda were readily supplied to her hands by her sleeves, allowing her to unload on the stationary Keine.

 _Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwap!_ The lasers consumed some of the holy seals, but very quickly, Keine was overwhelmed.

 _ZAP_

Abruptly, the road was once again shone upon by regular daylight once more.

' _...My eyes still see red._ '

...Keine softly drifted down, her hair frazzled and expression worn. Ofuda fluttered off of her, only now uselessly, after they'd made their mark on her.

' _...That usually doesn't happen._ ' Sendai blinked at her old friend. ' _It's almost always one or the other._ '

" _Future!_ " Reeling her arms back, Keine began to drift into the air again. " _God's Realm!_ "

' _You're kidding me…!_ '

Taking a similar posture to before, Keine spread her arms out. This time, she looked exponentially more worn than before, her clothes disheveled and her limbs heavy…

Fwam. Fwam, fwam, _Fwam,_ _FWAM_

The pattern emerged similarly to the previous card. Lasers of glorious blue streaked across the village road. Unlike the red ones however, these did not flourish; their entire length always at full power or no power.

 _FWAM FWAM FWAM_

Very quickly, sunlight was blocked out by the blue and white lasers, the road immeasurably bright.

' _Okay…!_ ' Drawing a Chronicle of Gensokyo, Sendai blindly tossed it into the air, posing. " _Holy Spark!_ "

The tome became nine, all copies whirling to form a octagram above the miko's form, spinning through the almighty blue lasers…

Red, solid bullets that Sendai never saw in this fight began feeding themselves into her form, but she kept her stance despite the growing ache.

VRRRRRRR~

The rainbow beam of holy annihilation pierced the blue beams. Instead of demolishing them, however, the beams merely passed through one another.

RRRRrrrr~...

The holy spark began to fizzle out into the similarly holy web of lasers. ' _I'm still blind!_ '

Reaching into her pocket, she feverishly drew a mana molotov, before reconsidering. ' _If holy didn't work…_ '

Carefully avoiding the paths of the lasers, Sendai realized there was a pattern…

' _They cross through the middle, but only once do they go straight down, unlike last time…_ '

The only obstacles were the actual projectiles coming from Keine.

Maximizing a yin yang orb, Sendai held it before herself and began running ahead. ' _Let's go…!_ '

 _FWAM, FWAM, FWAM_

All along the way, she darted and leapt through quickly alternating flares of holy beams, the mighty magic making navigation of anything except the beams themselves impossible.

Red bullets pattered off the orb, as the miko did her best to close the distance…

 _FWAM FWAM FWAM_

As she got closer, she found herself blocked by a massive, orb-shaped complex of generating beams.

' _I can get around it if I time it…_ ' Sendai stared into the bright white energy with wide eyes. ' _No wonder they don't go down the middle often, if they generate right there._ '

...Once she gets her opportunity- ' _Now!_ ' -she takes it, dashing through the point where two large beams met before they actualized into their spread cycle again.

Finally nearing Keine, she kicked into the ground-

 _Bam!_ -and rocketed up towards her in the air, charging her arm with dark energy as she neared her, her other arm still holding the orb up with assistance from her momentum. ' _You want history!?_ '

 _FWAM_. The proximity to Keine allowed Sendai to hear just how loud the spread of basic red bullets itself was-

 _BAM_

Sendai punched the orb into Keine's face and upper torso, the Hakurei relic spinning as it tore into her. ' _If your head's hard, I just need to hit it harder!_ '

 _Bam!_ Sendai punched it again-

 _Bam! -_ and again-

 _Bam! Bam! Bam!_

 _Bam._ She began to fall, and got one clumsy last strike in, causing the orb to roll up and off the teacher's face.

All the danmaku vanished.

...Thud. Sendai landed on her legs. They immediately buckled, and she fell onto her side awkwardly. "Ah- shit, shit…"

... _Thud_. Before her, Keine landed on her back, unconscious.

Thunk. The Hakurei yin yang orb embedded itself into the soil near the two girls.

…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

' _I should've used a potion…_ ' Sendai reflected. ' _I didn't really have a good moment to, though..._ '

…

Rinnosuke casually stepped up to them, casting aside a large panel of plywood he was using to defend himself. "I see you two had fun."

"Sc- screw off…" Sendai was cranky. "Feed me."

"Mmm." Reaching into his backpack, Rinnosuke drew a health potion. "Here." He tossed it into the air-

Fwi~sh, di-ding! It faded out in the air, before appearing over Sendai's form as a drop of mint green liquid, splashing onto her form.

…Slowly, the miko began to crawl onto her limbs. "Aa~h. Thanks…"

Pulling out another potion, Rinnosuke stepped up to Keine. "No problem."

He made similar tossing motions-

Fwi~sh, di-ding! The potion's contents became one with her.

…

"Nn-nnh…" Keine groaned.

...There was a flux of villagers due to the sudden re-instatement of the road's history. They gave the two wiped out girls passing glances, but most seemed indifferent.

Stumbling into a standing position, Sendai breathed. "Haa~h… hnh- ah…"

' _I was feeling remorseful about not being able to get back into my daily training, but if I keep getting into these crazy fights every day I'll probably make up for it and then some._ '

Keine shakily raised to her own legs, rising slowly so that they'd keep balance… "Nh- aah...!" Rinnosuke intervened to make sure she didn't fall back over.

Once the two girls composed themselves, they faced one another.

"So…" Sendai exhaled. "Lemme ask you again. What's _good_ , Keine?"

Keine snorted. "...I feel like I got trampled."

"Good." Nodding at that, Sendai began to unsteadily tread towards the school. "Place has seats, right?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Grinning, Keine took deliberate steps towards the gate. "...Kourin, could you get the gate?"

"Sure…" Rinnosuke proceeded towards the school gate…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Inside the plain school building, the two women sat themselves down in one of the back rooms positioned at the front of the building.

"It took you an entire fight to realize who she was…?" Standing near the table, investigating the room, Rinnosuke broke the ice.

"...I got a little carried away." Keine held her hand to a glass of water, which was on the wood table before her. "That, and she took some time to pull out her tricks. I should've realized from the beginning…"

Sendai waved it off. "It's no big deal. Skepticism can be a good thing." ' _Especially in Gensokyo._ '

"...Yeah." Lifting up her glass, Keine took a greedy gulp from it. "Nnh…"

...Setting the glass back down, she began asking the miko questions. "So… you're just _back_ now. What happened?"

"No clue." Sendai shook her head. "Asked Yakumo. She supposedly doesn't know either."

"Aa~h." Keine furrowed her brows. "So she says."

"Right?" Sendai grinned. "Whatever. I'll find out sooner or later."

"How did Reimu take it? You being back and all." Keine wondered, setting her glass back down on the table… "When I saw her with you, she seemed to be taking it well enough."

"Pretty regularly." Sendai supposed. "When I'm around, anyway. She's probably _some_ kinda mixed about it. Especially after she was so certain I was a doppelganger for awhile..."

"Oh? So I'm not the only one who made that mistake…" Glancing at Rinnosuke, then back at the miko, Keine continued. "How did you convince her?"

"We hit eachother really hard." Sendai grinned.

...Keine sighed.

Holding up a book he'd found on a wall-mounted counter, Rinnosuke idly thumbed through it.

"Why'd you come here, anyway?" Eying her glass, Keine continued her questioning. "Did you just feel like stopping by?"

"Pretty much." Sendai admitted. "Also… I'm tryin'a get the gang back together. Do some exploring again."

...Keine smiled. "I would love to, but I can't."

...Sendai nodded at that. "It's alright."

Rinnosuke snapped his head from the book. "Say _what?_ "

...Both girls turned to him expectantly.

"For what reason does she get off scot free and I don't?" Casting the book back onto the counter, he held an arm to his chest.

"I can see that this school's actually useful for something." Sendai remarked dryly. "Your shop's more like a glorified house."

"Well-..." Rinnosuke tried to counter that, before stalling…

"Please…" Keine gave the miko a dry stare. "Kourin does his best, you know. It's not like he could get a job at the village… especially nowadays. I manage this school, but I pretty much always have to be alert when it comes to the town council. Our leadership isn't necessarily in the _greatest_ of hands, right now."

...At that, Sendai stared down at the table. ' _True._ '

Looking back up at Keine, then at Rinnosuke, she smirked. "I mean, sure that shop's a way of stayin' _afloat_ , but I'm pretty sure if ya stick around with me, you'll make some good coin a lot faster. These really big name muggers or something have been coming up to me recently…"

Keine's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! The shakedown artists, correct?"

Sendai rolled her eyes. "'Shakedown artists'. _I_ was a shakedown artist. These people just go around pretending to be oni."

...Rinnosuke stayed quiet, unsure of who they were exactly referring to.

"Anyway, I made like, thirty thousand yen." Sendai nodded. "It was a good day. Helped me pay for this fixed costume, too..."

"Um…" Keine spoke up. "Seven thousand of those were mine. You see, those shakedown artists… every hit they inflict on someone disarms them of their money."

Sendai's brows rose. "I need this ability."

Grinning, Keine shook her head. "Apparently, the drawback is that when they're beaten, they drop all of _their_ money. I got hit _once_ in that last encounter, and…"

' _Still need that ability._ ' Sendai was indifferent to the drawback. ' _If I lose all my money in a stupid fight I can just go punch some people and make it all back._ '

Reaching into her pocket, Sendai took the seven thousand yen Keine requested. "Here."

"Thanks." Keine received it, the money sliding across the table to her.

...Standing up, Sendai stretched. "Aa~h. Also, 'cause I've been _late_ to the party for awhile, it'd be nice if there was someone with us who kept on the up and up."

"Hieda no Akyuu's published some new editions of the Chronicle of Gensokyo in your absence." Keine smiled. "You should get an updated copy."

' _Oh, yeah! Hieda…_ '

Meandering towards the door, Sendai asked a final question. "Do you know where I could find Marcus?"

Keine blinked. "...South main. Near the end, watch the left. It's pretty obvious."

' _Oh. I thought it'd be harder to find than that._ '

"He's not as limber as he used to be." The teacher cautioned her. "He's not up there, but surely he's even more vulnerable than he used to be."

' _Oh, boy._ ' Sendai took this information in… ' _He was plenty vulnerable before, too._ '

"Alright. See ya, Keine." Smiling, Sendai gave her friend a wave. "Maybe we'll catch up some time."

' _Just a week ago, she was still a kid…_ '

"Will do. Make it a weekend!" Keine gave the miko a polite wave as she stepped out.

…

Rinnosuke slowly trotted after the miko.

"If you guys ever need a hand in a matter pertaining the village…" Keine spoke to him as he left, as well. "I wouldn't mind tagging along then. It is my duty to defend the village at all times, and… strength in numbers, right?"

Rinnosuke looked back at her with a smile of his own. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko: _Marcus Kirisame_ ====

The sun hung high in the air over the village, not a cloud in the sky.

' _I'd've asked Keine what her history powers were about, but that can come later._ ' Sendai quietly examined the storefronts as she went along the road. ' _If I stopped and questioned everything, I would've been dead a lot sooner._ '

...She came to an abrupt halt outside of a certain storefront.

Neon, glowing, blinking shapes were hung on a sign above the shop. The shapes were neon outlines; a neon yellow star, a blue crescent moon shape, and a red arrow pointing down at the shop's door.

Just below that was a long banner along the storefront, reading 'Kirisame Magic Shop'.

…

Sendai pointed up at the blinking, glowing neon sign. "Kourin. Can you use your purpose-detecting powers on that?"

With dry amusement, Rinnosuke shook his head. "I don't think I need to. I have eyes."

She marched up to the shop's door-

Di-di~ng. A bell rang as she swung the door open, proceeding inside.

"Ooh?" The aged man at the counter perked up, grinning widely. "Good business today-... aa~h, huh." He trailed off, seeing who entered the store.

"What's goin' on, ya old windbag?" Sendai marched into the store confidently.

Gaining an enduring grin, Marcus shook his head. "...I don't think I'm old enough for the dementia to start kickin' in, am I?"

Rinnosuke stepped into the store behind the miko. "I don't think so."

Marcus chuckled at the newcomer. "Oh, wow. They got one 'a _you_ now, too? Hahaha!"

...Rinnosuke reconsidered. "On second thought, yes, you have dementia."

"So~..." Clapping his hands, Marcus looked over the two. "What's the story this time? Gensokyo under attack by really aggressive leaves're somethin'? Reimu step into a big bear trap an' ya came back from the dead to run to me 'n' request I give 'er CPR or somethin'? Yukari takin' a nap again?"

Sendai gave him a dry look. "Would you believe us if we said we weren't doppelgangers?"

"Fuck no." Marcus grinned, shaking his head. Then, he pulled a big, grey tube from under his desk. "And fuck _you_."

 _Fwoa~m!_

Sendai ducked under a solid blue laser that was fired from the tube. Reaching into her sleeve, she drew a mana molotov.

She stood again-

 _Bam!_ Rinnosuke elbowed her out of the way, allowing himself to fall to the floor as he did so.

' _Woah what!?_ ' Sendai blinked at the sudden sensation of movement-

 _Fwam!_ The laser Marcus fired rebounded from the opposite wall and returned to the tube. "Hahaha~! That one's a _fun_ one!"

Glancing between Rinnosuke and him, Sendai realized what happened. ' _Oh, right. This is Marcus we're talking here…_ '

She lunged forward-

 _Crack!_ -and smashed the mana molotov on the desk.

Flinching back, Marcus's eyes widened at the holy flames that resulted. "Aah…?" Curiously, he reached his hand into it, allowing it to ignite. "...No shit?"

"Want a holy spark up your ass, too?" Sendai pulled out an outdated Chronicle of Gensokyo. "Because I can do that."

...

Waving the holy flames from his hand, Marcus dropped the laser bazooka tube and extended his arms to his sides. "What the hell _happened…!?_ "

Sendai grinned. "I don't know! I'm alive again."

…

Shaking his head, Marcus leaned over onto his counter, resting his head on an arm. "Every time I think I can just stop questioning things, something ridiculous happens. What _is_ the story this time? And if you say anything about Yukari, we're gonna have problems."

"Honestly?" Sendai tilted her head. "Woke up in a field."

...Marcus blinked. "And?"

"I went to that mansion and fought people." Sendai added. "I have no idea what came before that."

Marcus let his arms flop to his sides. "...That's so scarily mediocre that I believe it."

Rinnosuke got up from the floor rubbing his elbow and side…

Marcus smirked, pointing at him. "What's his story?"

Sendai capitalized on this opportunity. "He got his furniture stolen by a witch, then tried to attack me because I was a doppelganger, so I destroyed his security system. I got him a chair back, though, so it's all good."

"Hah. A witch, huh?" Marcus nodded grandly. "You oughta invest in a witch protection plan. I got just what you need!"

"No thanks." Rinnosuke shook his head. "I think I'm protected enough as it is."

"You know, your daughter turned out _exactly_ how I expected her to." Sendai put her arms on the counter, leaning onto it.

"Is that so?" Marcus reinforced his nod. "Hehehe. She's a real rebel, ain't she?"

The miko snorted. "Being thrust into the atmosphere by a broom wasn't on my to-do list." ...Then, she followed up. "Speaking of thrusting, it's pretty impressive you actually managed to have _sex_ with someone."

"Pfft- hahaha~!" Marcus laughed grandly at that. "I know, right!? Hahaha~!"

' _Jeez…_ ' Sendai chuckled with him. ' _As unfazeable as ever._ '

"...So~." Marcus stood upright, placing his hands on the desk. "You guys makin' your rounds? Y'see Keine yet?"

"Saw her, fought her." Sendai provided. "We're cool now."

"Oo~h?" Raising a brow, Marcus nodded. "Not a day dulled, huh?"

"...It's really something just suddenly seeing everyone _older_." Sendai admitted. "I feel out of the loop."

Marcus snorted. "'Cause ya _are!_ Y'even get the color 'a the wagon that hit'cha?"

Sendai wasn't sure what he meant. "Say what now?"

"Plannin' on kickin' the ass 'a the asshole who offed ya?" Marcus rose a brow. "Whoever that was."

Sendai blinked. "...I don't actually remember how I died."

Marcus let his eyes drift to the ceiling. "Oo~h, here we go. The fun part, huh?"

"Right?" The miko shifted her posture, her arm on her hip. "...I remember the day before, though. It... wasn't even anything special."

Marcus's eyes locked with hers. "What did you do that day?"

"Fed Reimu. Trained. Fed Reimu. Bed." Sendai recalled. "Then, I woke up in that field near the lake. I _knew_ I'd just come back from death, too. At the time, though… I didn't even remember the _month_ before I died."

…

"I was the one who found your corpse, y'know." Allowing his grin from earlier to become lopsided, her continued. "It wasn't pretty."

' _Oh, good. That just makes me feel more frustrated about it..._ '

"At the same time…" Marcus looked down at the counter. "I never had the drive to look much into it, but… it didn't particularly look like you put up a fight, either. Y'were all bent up, but there were no tears, no cuts're blood outside 'a where your limbs were all smashed."

Sendai raised her eyebrows. " _You_ didn't have the drive?"

He got a small grin off of that. "Not like I knew where to start. I couldn't let it haunt me, either."

"Where'd you find me?" Sendai furrowed her brows. "We could start looking from there."

"On the shore off the lake." Marcus provided. "Not in the water or even near it, though. Patch 'a grass right _next_ to the shore. None 'a the grass was kicked up're nothin', just you lyin' back first in a puddle 'a blood."

' _Good._ ' Sendai's expression was dry. ' _I typically always kept energy on my limbs while on patrol. It's not like something could just instantly kill me without totally blowing me apart. I woke up with the lake in view, but not right next to it, so it's not like I woke up where I died._ '

"That helps. I guess." Sendai tilted her head back and forth… "Anyway, I've been going around gathering the gang back up. Keine can't come with though."

Marcus jerked his head back. "Oh? What, we gonna beat things up again?"

Sendai nodded. "Well, yeah. Shoot the shit, try to find out what happened to me…"

…

Marcus broke into a grin, moving to go around the counter. "Ah, what the hell? Might as well!"

Rinnosuke felt the need to interject. "What about your shop?"

The mage shrugged. "Eeh. What about it?"

"Aren't you going to lose customers?" Rinnosuke pressed. "Closing indefinitely cannot be good for business."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "What'm I runnin', a diner? 'Sides, I don't get consistent customers anyway. Only place that sells good magic crap, too! I'm like the second hand of second hand shops. People only come in 'cause their favorite thrift store was outta sparklers, 'cause magic is _sca~ry!_ "

Once around the counter, he was the first to progress towards the front door. "Now get out so I can lock the place up, 'n' arm the _mines_."

Sendai snorted.' _The mines...?_ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Hieda no Akyuu_ ====

The three walked up to the gate of the Hieda estate. It was situated in the midst of a tall, beige brick wall which surrounded the entire estate, but was the tallest in the front. The estate's entrance itself was situated upon a pleasant looking side road, separated from the hustle and bustle of the main roads.

Instantly, the guards there tilted their lances in the way of the already shut gate. "What business do you have here?"

"We're here to see the Child of Miare." Sendai announced. "I am the Hakurei miko."

"And them?" The left guard tilted his lance forward in gesture to Sendai's party members.

"Cohorts. Villagers." Sendai stated plainly.

The rightmost, armored guard spoke up. "One of you is a youkai." He narrowed his eyes at Rinnosuke. "What are you playing at?"

' _So much for the proper way._ ' Sendai began to crack her knuckles…

Reaching into his backpack, Rinnosuke sighed. "Hold on."

...Sendai glanced at him curiously, before he pulled out his pistol.

The guards tensed up. The one on the left furrowed his brows… "A gun?"

Frowning, the rightmost one held his lance offensively. "Firearms are seldom used outside of guard squads, and by savvy tavern owners. All we have to do is keep him out of range."

Determined to put on a show, Rinnosuke smirked, putting more variance into his voice. "That is what _you_ think. I'll have you know that this is a multi-shot _life silencer_ , youkai forged and kappa engineered."

"Kappa…?" The right guard was now wary. "Shit. They always said this guy was good with objects..."

' _Good with objects._ ' Sendai's expression became vain at the extremely generic intel…

Rinnosuke aimed the pistol at the left guard. "And it doesn't _miss._ "

"Ah- rgh…" Locking up, the guard raised his lance half-heartedly. "So what!? You gonna shoot me!?"

The right guard cautiously stepped forward. "Never forget, Toyoaki! We took this job knowing we would be expected to lay down our lives for lady Hieda!"

...Sendai raised her arms behind her head, staring into the sky. Marcus grinned ahead at the scene, standing back unassumingly.

Rinnosuke wore a cheesy sneer. "With this weapon, the amount of my fellow youkai I've punctured is on par only with…" Pausing, he looked over his weapon. "The tengu!"

Bending his arm, he shows off a small splotch of rust on the side of the gun. "This is the blood of the twenty seventh tengu I've encountered."

…

The guards had jaded expressions.

Rinnosuke pointed the gun at them again. "Seriously though, if you don't drop your weapons, you're both gonna die. And then more people will die anyway."

Cla-clack. The lances clattered on the dirt floor.

Rinnosuke looked over at Sendai, tilting his head towards the guards.

With that, the miko stepped up to them…

"What… what do you want?" The right guard scrunched his face. "What do you want with-"

 _Clonk!_ In one smooth motion, the miko slammed the guard's heads together.

Thu-thud. They fell to the ground in a small pile before her.

"You _really_ need to work on your acting skills." Sendai looked back at the armed shopkeeper. "You're lucky that was probably the most action they'd ever see in their careers."

Exhaling, he began to put away his gun… "I thought I'd give it a shot."

' _A shot._ ' Sendai realized there was a veiled pun there. ' _Oh, no._ '

Marcus chuckled. "That gun even loaded?"

" _One_ bullet." Rinnosuke restated. "I don't plan to use it, either. As you can see, it can be distracting, though."

' _It's distracting alright._ ' Stepping forward, the miko touched the gate-

Cla-clang. The gate was locked.

' _Really._ '

Noticing this, Rinnosuke moved forward. "One of the guards probably has-"

 _Cla~ng!_ Sendai struck the lock with a darkness-enhanced fist. The gate whined and squealed as it swung open.

"-the keys…" He finished, slouching. "Nevermind."

Moving forward into the estate front lawn, the miko felt no remorse for devastating the gate lock. ' _Hieda's got money to spare. Just look at this place…_ '

The house itself was long, ornate and decorated. The front lawn held multiple hedge creations, as well as a plethora of smaller ornate hedges arranged symmetrically; their axis of symmetry being the front path leading up to the long, sectioned house ahead.

' _She was probably a gardener for one of her lives…_ ' Sendai stopped in the midst of the path inside, looking around.

"Follow me." She began walking into the house. "I know where she should be." ' _This place doesn't look like it's changed much._ '

A maid dressed in pink stepped into the midst of the porch ahead. "Oh! Hello~!"

...While the shrine maiden's allies caught up with her, she waved at the maid. "Hey. We're here to see Hieda."

...The maid bowed. "Sorry~. No can do!"

' _Cool._ ' With that, she kept pressing forward-

 _Woosh!_ As she neared the maid, the girl stood up straight and unleashed a wide kick through the air, just short of the miko's face. "Hehehe. Mistress isn't accepting visitors right-"

 _Bam!_ The maid was blown aside by a similar kick, except this time it came from Sendai, and didn't miss the maid's face.

...Thud. After spinning limply through the air, the maid flopped onto her back on the side of the porch.

Rinnosuke flinched. "Uhm… is she alright?"

Sendai snorted. "Yeah. These maids can take a beating, if you don't knock 'em out right away."

' _Still into ninja maids, I see._ ' Giving the fallen maid a passing glance, the miko continued further inside…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The three came to a wide room, with an open view of the outside yard, some cherry blossom trees, and a big fireplace.

"I shoulda come here with a bag." Marcus nodded at the paintings and vases. "This place is loaded."

"...I don't think we should be stealing from the Child of Miare." Rinnosuke recommended skeptically.

In the middle of the room, Akyuu was seated on a big fluffy chair, eyes shut and legs crossed.

"...Hello." She opened her eyes, smiling at the three. "I was told we had… _visitors._ "

Sendai stepped forward, and held a sleeve open with her hand-

Thunk. An outdated Chronicle of Gensokyo fell out, flopping to the floor. "Here. Book."

Thu-thu-thunk. Five more rolled out from her sleeves-

Thu-clunk-thud-thud-clunk-clunk! Sendai created a pile of identical copies of the Chronicle. "Books."

Akyuu sighed in relief. "...So it really _is_ you."

Smiling, the miko propped her arms on her hips. "Good. I would've felt bad if I had to fight you." ' _...Also, she's a little girl now. I was dead so long that Hieda had enough time to get killed and reincarnate._ '

"...Truth be told, I was a little nervous." Akyuu smiled widely. "I don't really do fighting…"

' _That probably contributes to you dying inconspicuously every time you hit thirty._ '

"Akyuu now, was it?" Sendai stepped up to the little girl, and kneeled next to her. "How old are you, little girl?"

Akyuu gave her a dry stare. "Twenty two, actually. While this body doesn't grow quite like some of my others… it's rather cute, don't you think?"

"I suppose so." Standing up, Sendai put her arms on her hips. "So… you were like two when I died then. What age was I when you first died?"

"You were eighteen." Akyuu nodded, smiling. "That was the year where, once I hit thirty, half of the village's bandits organized a coup on my estate and plundered my corpse. Fortunately they left the books intact, almost in their entirety. A few of my favorite maids died, though I doubt they'd have remained employed in my absence anyway. It's still a shame they got caught up in it."

"Aa~h, yeah…" Raising her arm, the miko scratched her cheek. "That was so long ago. I'd only just remembered the whole 'dying at thirty' thing earlier that night, so I came running. I made a lot of money that night, but I was pretty pissed I couldn't save you."

Akyuu waved her hand. "Oh, don't be. I'm pretty sure if you saved me, I would've tripped and broke my neck before the night was over. It wouldn't be the first time that happened."

...As Marcus and Rinnosuke stepped up, the young looking girl turned to them. "Marcus Kirisame. Rinnosuke Morichika."

Marcus smiled, extending a hand. "Hey there, little lady. How goes the chronicling?"

Akyuu shook his hand. "Well enough. Is your shop still faring well?"

"Quite!" Nodding, he propped his arms on his hips. "I have once again managed to make just enough to pay the property tax for this month!"

"...I see." Akyuu promptly followed up. "Such is how you've managed to gather the money to decorate the place."

...Smirking, Marcus gave a knowing shrug. "Well, if we ain't talkin' above the table deals…"

...After a moment, the Child of Miare asked a more pressing question. "Why is the miko who came before alive again?"

Marcus shrugged. Rinnosuke scanned the room idly, and Sendai responded. "That's what she'd like to know."

...Closing her eyes, Akyuu exhaled. "It is regrettable that I was absent during the time you expired. Perhaps I could have given it more proper investigation, but as things are, all I've managed is to amass a brief summary of your passing."

"A brief summary?" Sendai rose a brow. "How's it go?"

"You died." Akyuu summarized.

...Sendai blinked. ' _Oh._ '

Grinning, the chronicler followed up. "Sorry, there's more than that. Your body was found thirty to fifty feet from the Misty Lake. Every limb connector was broken, bent purposefully to the snapping point, including your neck. Aside from the broken joints, you sustained no other visible injuries. In the condition you were brought back in, you had just lost enough blood to be dead, even though you died far sooner. Your body experienced a natural decline of mana after death, hinting that you didn't participate in combat before you died."

Rinnosuke's face was focused. "Do you know of many things from that era that could so readily inflict instant death?"

Akyuu shook her head. "Anything with abilities so severe and subtle hadn't, and wouldn't have been, seen around the lake during that timeframe. The miko who came before was also known to be good about retreating from problematic fights, surprise attacks, and ambushes, making it unlikely that she was destroyed by a heavy physical attack. Her body was warm the following days leading up to her burial."

Marcus looked up from the floor at that. "...Now that never really sat right with me. Bodies don't just stay warm like that."

"She was buried two days later, following brief examination. Dark energy remained in her body up to the burial." Akyuu finished. "She's… currently buried to the right of the Hakurei hill, in the woods." She looked over at Sendai. " _Allegedly._ "

' _This is surreal._ '

...After a moment, Sendai looked around at her party. "We should go find my grave."

"That's what I was thinking." Rinnosuke agreed.

Marcus grinned. "Payin' respects to the fallen, huh?"

"Before you go…" Akyuu stood up from her fluffy chair, and began moving across the room. "Let me give you the latest chronicle. I've made some updates…"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Outside the human village gates, the miko flipped the latest Chronicle of Gensokyo open as she proceeded down the path with her party. In the sky, the sun was starting to hang in the later half...

"Whoo~ie…!" Marcus spread his arms out. "First time gettin' outta the village in awhile…!" Looking at a nearby tree, he pointed at it. "Kourin, use yer uh, purpose-detectin' power, tell me what those are!"

Rinnosuke shook his head. "...You know, I actually tried to detect the purpose of a tree once. I really just ended up with a feeling, rather than an actual describable intent."

"S'probably 'cause trees're _grown_ , not _made_." Marcus remarked.

"I have similar results with other plants and living beings." Rinnosuke added to that idea.

' _...There's a lot of new people in this book._ ' Sendai had her brows furrowed as she thumbed through the pages. ' _This used to mostly be about youkai types and places, along with some lore, but now…_ '

...Holding up the book, she also noted its size. ' _This thing's at least twice as heavy, too. I could probably club a guy to death with it. She's gonna have to start releasing in volumes at some point._ '

As they neared the Hakurei Hill, Marcus and Rinnosuke began to move to the right of it, ignoring the incline.

' _Guess my grave's somewhere over here._ ' Sendai followed behind them. ' _...I should visit my mother's grave at some point, too. If the rock's still around, after all this time._ '

"It's about time I visited this grave." Marcus spoke as they moved in the direction of it. "Went awhile without payin' my dues, yeah?"

Rinnosuke snorted. "We will never forget the life she is currently living."

...Within moments, the three reached the grave-

"Holy _shit!_ " Blurting out, Marcus bolted forward. Rinnosuke ran after him.

' _Ah…?_ ' Sendai looked up from the chronicle.

In the late day's sun, she could see a large, circular and rather neat looking hole. At the very edge of it was an uprooted stone, her name inscribed on it.

...Darting over to the two, she looked at the large pit in the soil. Grass hadn't begun to overtake it yet, indicating its freshness.

Rinnosuke let out a deep sigh. "...It's not like I didn't expect this… but this isn't very promising."

...Marcus held his arms out, staring into the deep, fresh hole with wide eyes. "Fuck!"

...Sendai quietly stared at the large pit. ' _A little big for a body. Also… really deliberate looking, too. This wasn't done with a shovel._ '

A moment later, Rinnosuke shared this idea aloud. "It's rather precisely dug, isn't it?"

Marcus still had his arms held out. "Fu- actually, yeah. I was thinkin' they just didn't know where ta dig at first, but…"

...As they grew silent, they stared at the hole.

A fresh breeze rolled through the trees. The shimmering of leaves provided quiet, subtle background noise.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Thirty two thousand, seven hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Four Potions - Low tier restoration items. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

Three Ethers - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

Three Panaceas - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(eightteen slots remaining)

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

Two Hi-Ethers - Expert mana restoration items. Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

keine fight, marcus "fight", akyuu """"""fight""""""

a lot of authors post-chapter guff but this was already 10 k words without it so - w - i'm fine with big post-chapter summaries past certain word limits

keine won't always be excluded but she's got things to tend to that are a bit more pressing than the other party members - w -

we got our akyuu """"fight"""" yo, which consisted of sendai pouring books on the floor :3

the hieda lineage has some shaky background information but i'm generally choosing to have her reincarnate rather frequently

historically hieda no are was supposed to reincarenate every 100-150 years but uuuhh gensokyo's only 130 years old and has had multiple generations of hieda (unless those listed were supposed to be the generations between years 700-2017 but how tha fuck did she wind her loli ass up in gensokyo in like 1880-somethin' then)

although considering the estimates by our timeframe gensokyo is either very late 130s or 140

...now that i think about it akyuu probably reincarnates a lot less frequently than i interpreted but i still feel like that'd kinda make the chronicle of gensokyo business really weird if she pretty much only existed in gensokyo as akyuu

honh

rinnosuke _will_ be able to do more than hold people up, but generally he's less capable than sendai and marcus; good ol support class yo

marcus is the _magical artillery_ of the operation yo; fragile but hits like a tractor trailer if you don't do anything about him

and sendai is in fact a tractor trailer

...and by that i mean team tank XD

oh yeah the exchange with keine / poofy robe man is reminiscent of the exchange between the pastor and judge claude frollo from disney's variant of the _Hunchback of Notre Dame_ , up until a point - w - mostly because that was a fun movie and parodying it here a little was fun (and i listened a lot to Jonathan Young's metal covers of _The Bells of Notre Dame_ and _Hellfire_ ).

as always, see you all next time!


	12. 3-2 - Phantom Lawn Concerto

The miko who came before stood over the hole in the earth, arms on her hips.

' _...Aside from how fishy this hole is, we don't really have any other clues._ '

"Well…" Marcus Kirisame scratched his neck idly. "That's that, then."

Raising a brow, Rinnosuke turns to him. "Hmm?"

"We've gotta keep our eyes peeled." Slipping his hands into his brown trouser pockets, Marcus nodded at the hole before them. "Awful audacious leavin' the hole all lined up like this. Rea~lly fucking… _bold_." Then, he shakes his head, looking at the sky. "Wait- come to think 'a it…"

Turning to Sendai, he grinned. "You'd think Yakumo'd at least keep random assholes from digging ya up."

' _I didn't really expect respect. Keeping my grave safe would've been nice..._ '

"Unless…" Marcus took a shot in the dark, "Yakumo was the one who did this."

…

Rinnosuke's brows were furrowed. "I have no idea if this gravesite was monitored, but I think we should take a few steps back before we jump to conclusions."

"I said that well knowin' Yukari kept this place under wraps." Marcus argued, relaxing his posture. "Like, the place is obvious, but-"

"I've always just been able to walk into here." Rinnosuke countered blankly.

Marcus gave him an enduring grin. "Lemme _finish_ \- it's probably some kinda illusion magic. Didn't you feel… you practice magic, yes?"

"...Loosely. " Rinnosuke gave him a lopsided smile.

Rolling his eyes, Marcus stared at the hole. "Yukari basically told me this place had protections and she was watching and crap. So if _anyone_ dug it up-"

"Aww~h, Marcu~s…"

The three turned to see the gap youkai. In the midst of a large gap, she was lying fully dressed atop a mattress. Her arms lazily splayed out along her sides as she lied on her stomach and looked ahead at them. "Thinking ill of little old me?"

"You knew about this?" He pointed at the hole accusingly. "Start talkin'."

...After a lazy moment, Yukari rose onto her elbows, her cleavage emphasized as it emerged from under her.

"We~ll…" She scratched her cheek, blinking sleepily. "I'd noticed the grave was dug up two evenings ago, when your miko there fought that vampire. The ruckus was enough to make me curious…"

Drifting from the bed, she allowed it to slide into the gap behind herself, before the gap itself closed, leaving her with the party. "Admittedly, I didn't check this place religiously, so imagine my surprise. Aside from the hole's shape, there's virtually no trace for me to follow, either. It's quite the mystery…"

"Yeah, an' I'm sure ya know the answer." Marcus verbally prods her, stepping away from the hole in the ground.

"Mhmm~." Ignoring his skepticism, she continued. " _You_ were the one who dug it up, clearly~."

Jerking his head back, Marcus blinked. "What…? Why the hell would I-"

"Pointing fingers, Marcus! It's the sign of the guilty!" Yukari pointed her finger forward at him, smiling with faux innocence.

...Sighing, Marcus shifted his posture anxiously. "Yeah, real clever. I'm still not convinced, ya-"

"I'm pretty sure that's just her way of saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Interjecting himself into the conversation, Rinnosuke spoke solidly. "...As healthy as skepticism may be, Yukari's probably the last person we really need to be accusing. Despite her nature."

' _It'd be weird for her to just revive me._ ' Sendai spectated the conversation quietly, for the time being. ' _I don't think I was a particularly noteworthy Hakurei, when she could've revived someone like the first, if there's such a thing._ '

"Thank you, Kourin." Yukari gave the shopkeep a smile.

Sendai stepped forward, before relenting on engaging the youkai. ' _Really?_ She _calls him that?_ '

"...I've been trying to get in touch with some important faces, but they've been a touch busy." Tilting her head, Yukari looked the party over… "There _are_ some dead people you could talk with. They might know _something_ of value to you."

' _Dead people?_ ' Sendai blinked at her, before glancing around the remote clearing. ' _...Even if that's an alright idea, I doubt she's going to line us up with anyone helpful._ '

"...You mean one 'a them ministry people?" Marcus guessed.

"No~pe." Adopting a carefree smile, Yukari held a hand to her chin. "Well, that's who I'm _trying_ to get in touch with. For now, however, I'd like to think a friend of mine has a few leads…"

"A friend of _yours?_ " Sendai inserts herself into the conversation. "Do you even have friends?"

"Oo~h…" Yukari wilted in ingenuine disdain. "You hurt me. My feelings are fragile, you know? Im a developing seventeen year old!"

' _What? Yeah, okay. Do you even have feelings?_ '

"Almost as fragile as the dirt under your feet." Unfurling a fan, the youkai hid it behind her face, the early day's sun skimming her through the forest canopy.

' _...What's that supposed to- oh no you don't-_ '

 _Woosh!_ Sendai uppercut midway through falling down a gap, only to ascend into another gap that was created above her.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - Phantom Lawn Concerto

 _Thud_. Sendai landed on her rear. ' _Really!? Ugh..._ ' Feverishly, she looked around, before noticing everything around her was black. ' _What…_ '

...Relaxing, she noticed she was sitting atop a smooth, flat stone surface.

"Where in the…" Marcus was nearby, stumbling to his legs with equal fervor, before taking cautious steps away from the stairs behind them. "Woah."

"...Oh." Rinnosuke gazed up at the large gate before the three of them, still on his rear.

Springing off of her arms and onto her legs, Sendai sized up the gate. ' _Big._ '

Tall, shining and ethereal, the grey, almost luminescent blue gate stood between the three and a shimmering veil of pale light.

…

"Where… did she put us?" Sendai looked behind herself…

A long, stone staircase stretched down into the darkness. At the other end was another gate, sky visible past it but only through it.

The dark space around the staircase was illuminated by swirling lights of energy. ' _Spirits…? So bright, too._ '

"Wha~t the fuck…" Marcus casually panned his head around. "S'this a funny way of killin' us or somethin'?"

Rinnosuke snorted. "...It's a little offbeat to be that. This gate…" Stepping up to the gate, he raised his arms, and attempted to exert force on it… "Hnn~gh…"

' _Oh, geez…_ ' Dryly, Sendai stepped up to the gate, charging her arms with dark energy. ' _This thing's as tall as some trees, and the bars are as thick as your arms. What'd you expect?_ '

Moving next to him, she pushed-

-only for the both gate doors to open on their own, causing the both of them to stumble forward. ' _Ah…?_ '

"Wo- woah…!" Rinnosuke barely kept himself from falling forward, stumbling further.

Once the gate was open, a flourish of colors met the miko's eyes. A bright, grey sky was accented by flourishing cherry blossom trees, which lined both sides of the path ahead.

The stone path led up to a shrine-like structure, although it looked large, mansion-esque, and to extents, aged.

' _...Huh. She might not've sent us somewhere too weird after all. This is pretty._ '

...Marcus had a similar reaction. "Alright, I dunno what's goin' on anymore. Cool place, though."

Rinnosuke held a hand to his chin, composing himself as if he hadn't stumbled clumsily earlier. "This place… could this be-"

 _Brrp!_ A trumpet blared in the midst of the otherwise breezy silence.

Sendai snorted. ' _Ah…?_ '

"Hey, he~y…!" A girl's voice came from the nearby cherry blossom trees. "Don't _do_ that…!"

"Hahaha~!" The rambunctious laughter of a different girl was audible over the faint, idle wind of the realm. "C'mo~n, Lyrica~!"

"Get back here!"

Before the three, two ghostly figures emerged from the line of cherry blossoms to the left. The apparition in red was a girl with short, light brown hair, a keyboard floating around her as she chased the other ghost out onto the path.

The other apparition was clad in white clothing, a trumpet floating just by her face as she escaped from her red-clothed assailant. "No~ can do! We're goin' home!"

 _Woosh!_ The white-clad ghost ducked and her trumpet ascended, both dodging the wide swing of the keyboard sent forth to bludgeon them.

"...Can we do this peacefully, for a change?" A third ghost, this one clad in black with short blonde hair, floated out onto the path behind them. "The cherry blossoms are blooming again, you know."

Floating into the air, Lyrica rose her keyboard above herself telekinetically, poised like a greatsword-

 _Woosh!_ The white-clad, white-haired ghost spun out of the way of a downward swing. The momentum of the slash left Lyrica spinning in the air…

This display caused the black-clad ghost to exert more authority. " _Girls!_ "

"Aww~h…" Slouching, the trumpet ghost floated up to her… "We saw the cherry blossoms when we came i~n. We came, we saw, we-..."

Approaching them, Sendai gave them an examining stare…

...After blinking at her for a moment, the white-clad, trumpet-toting ghost hid behind her taller friend. "We've been seen! Mission abort!"

Smiling lopsidedly, the ghost looked the miko over… "Oh, hello. You… wouldn't happen to be Reimu, would you?"

' _We're in Gensokyo, then…_ ' Sendai assumed. "No. I'm her mother."

The ghost giggled. "Hehehe~. You… look more developed than I remember. Was it something you ate?"

Her gaze turning dry, Sendai tried to clarify. "No, I'm… who even _are_ you? Where is this?"

...The ghost held a hand to her head. "Today's just been from bad to worse…"

' _...What's that supposed to mean?_ '

"Hey." Rinnosuke stepped up to them.

Her spinning having ceased, Lyrica dizzily looked over everyone. "Aa- aah…"

"How you girls doin'?" Marcus sauntered over, relaxed. "Really, where the hell are we?"

...The black-clad ghost gave them funny stares. "Good. I… suppose. What… brings you here?"

"Yukari." Sendai summarized. "Now who are you?" ' _...And how do these two know you?_ '

"...I'm Lunasa." The ghost gave her a somewhat confused smile. "Lunasa Prismriver."

"Merli~n!" Emerging from behind her back, the white-clad ghost waved at them grandly. "I'm sure you all know me already! Except for the ones who don't…!"

"Lyrica." The last sister drifted down from above, her balance regained. "You're _sure_ you don't know us, Reimu?"

' _Wh- pfft…_ ' Sendai chuckled. "I'm trying to tell you-"

"When was the last time Reimu had _these?_ " Marcus pointed at Sendai's chest.

"It's not like there's two Hakurei mikos, now." Furrowing her brows, Lunasa drifted forward to get a closer look at the shrine maiden. "...And if there were, we'd probably be asked to play at the baby shower, so we'd know."

...Shaking off the notion of her daughter having a child, Sendai asked another question. "Where is this?"

"Hakugyokurou." Rinnosuke evaluated their location. "...Between the cherry blossoms and these three, I'm pretty sure this is the Hakugyokurou of myth."

"You'd be corre~ct!" Beaming at them, Merlin held her arms behind her back… "But, I don't think any of you are dead, or artists."

...Marcus patted his chest, grinning. "Whaddaya mean? Demolitions is an art form as any!"

Gaining a smirk, Merlin darted forward and spoke in faux-whisper to Sendai. "Not an artist."

Lunasa pouted. "No, really. Who are _you?_ "

Sendai met her gaze. "I'm the miko who came before. Not… not after. That's not a thing yet."

' _Does Reimu have a boyfriend? ...I think I would've noticed by now._ '

...

The three ghosts just gave her jaded stares.

Slouching, Marcus scanned the ghosts. "I don't think they took your word for it."

Quietly, Lyrica turned to her black-clad sister and spoke in whisper to her. "I thought they were joking…"

"Apparently _not_." Lunasa sized up the three on the path before them. "Hrrm…"

' _...I guess they're ghost performers._ ' Noting their instruments, Sendai watched them sway in the air. ' _That's cute. I guess they've played in the village, or these guys wouldn't know them._ '

As the two sisters spoke in hush, Merlin floated up to the miko.

"Hey." She spoke gingerly, glancing at the other two party members… "Do you know about _timed hits?_ "

Sendai blinked at her, before her gaze became sardonic. "You could say that, sure."

Flinching back with faux-shock, Merlin clung to Lunasa. "Ah- sis, sis!"

"Ah- what is it…!?" Lunasa looked between her and the miko with alarm.

"She-" Merlin pointed at the miko repeatedly. "They know about timed hits…!"

…

Lunasa sighed. "Right. Well…"

Parting from her sister, and floating into the air, a violin came out from behind the blonde ghost. "We've been asked to test your combat prowess."

Lyrica's keyboard twirled before her as she slid to the left of the path, her sister Merlin drifting to the right…

...Sendai blinked. ' _Really? Um.'_ Raising her fists, she looks over the ghosts. "You sure about this?"

...Noticing Marcus and Rinnosuke beginning to smugly retreat, Lunasa spoke up. "As a _group_. We were asked to test your _group_ combat prowess. That means you two."

"Aw, shucks…" Marcus re-sauntered up to the girls. "I'd feel bad puttin' holes into you nice girls. Who asked ya to fight us? I'll fight 'em."

Lunasa smiled at him. "Yukari. And, the mistress of this estate."

"Nevermind." Marcus lifted his grey, tubular bazooka up from out of nowhere. "Sorry not sorry, ladies…!"

"Look, I don't… really do fighting." Rinnosuke scratched the back of his head. "You see-"

"Guy, I fight with a trumpet." Merlin interjected. "I know girls with trumpets are bad news, but if you can't fight a girl with a trumpet, I dunno…"

...Sighing, Rinnosuke slipped a hand into his backpack. "Well…"

Like this, the three had a standoff with precarious proximity to one another.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Prismriver Sisters_ ====

' _In all honesty, I could take all three on myself…_ ' Running her eyes over the ghosts once more, she brought up her arms to adopt an offensive posture. _'Still, I'd like to see what Marcus and Kourin can do now. This inconvenience is actually kind of convenient._ '

Drawing a rather crude wood wand, Rinnosuke holds it up. "Alright."

Both arms firmly on his bazooka, Marcus grinned at the girls. "...We might wanna see how they fight before we try bein' smart." Then, he let a hand slip from his armament, into his pocket. Drawing what looked like a dreamcatcher, he charged it with magical energy.

...Then, he turned to Sendai. "Go beat 'em up!"

' _Good plan._ ' Cracking her knuckles, she looked over at the girls…

"Just because this is formality…" Lunasa immediately drifts up into the air, over the battlefield. "Fake Strings! Pseudo Stradivarius!"

"Doesn't mean it will- ah- Trumpet Spirit! Ghost Clifford!" Merlin remained in her position, readying her horn…

"...It will be- my line sounds stupid now that you messed up." Lyrica gave her sister an enduring stare. "Key Spirit! Bösendorfer Divine Performance!"

 _Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwam!_ As her fingers laid down on her piano, an orb comprised of many shifting arrow danmaku bolts flourished around her, shielding her completely. Yellow and red arrows revolved in a constant swirling sphere around her, expanding-

 _Vuuu~m!_ Lunasa's bow gently slid across her violin's strings, danmaku in the form of music notes, colored red and blue, fading to life across the path.

 _Vrrr~t!_ Merlin blew into her trumpet, ghostly streams of white energy emerging and flourishing outward wildly, before slowly convening towards Rinnosuke's position…

' _Each noise they play makes me feel weird._ ' Sendai observed the danmaku bullets as they began blooming-

"Oh- well we're just gettin' right to it then, huh…!?" Marcus eagerly jaunted backwards, away from the expanding orb of warm danmaku that Lyrica unleashed.

Tensing up, Rinnosuke waved his wand as the ghostly lines Merlin sent out neared him-

 _Fwoom_. A single, lopsided brown bullet unevenly whirled out towards the trumpeter, drifting to the side of her…

Hastily, Rinnosuke leaped back as far as he was able as the ghostly waves of energy closed in on his position-

 _Fwam- Fwam- Fwam- Fwam!_ The waves exploded into violent, aimed lines of red danmaku arrows, the big red rush forcing Rinnosuke to haphazardly toss himself out of the way. "Whoa~h…!"

... _Bwomp_. The blue and red musical notes around the battlefield popped into small scatter shots of similarly colored, round bullets.

Every one of these bullets was aimed towards Sendai's position, but they moved slowly.

' _...Hmm?_ ' She gave them bored looks, before charging her legs with dark energy-

 _Bam!_ -and punishing the ground beneath her as she leapt, closing in on the ghost with a dark uppercut.

She smiled at the miko warmly. "Silly girl. Physical attacks don't work on-"

 _Slap!_ As the miko closed in on the ghost, she slapped a single talisman onto her face.

"Ah…" She blinked-

 _Zap!_ The ofuda sent a jolt to Lunasa's system, before she spun back and away from the miko, the ofuda drifting off of her face in the process. "Ah- ouch, ow- ow…!"

' _It slipped off._ ' Sendai observed. ' _Something's either weird about them, or about here._ '

"Lunasa!?" Both the sisters immediately roared out of their danmaku patterns, though the danmaku was left active as they moved.

Weaving through the lanes created in Lyrica's orb as it expanded, Marcus had an idea. "Alright- here we go…"

...Panting, Rinnosuke glared at his wand, before reaching for his pockets again with his free hand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Lunasa rubbed her forehead where the talisman previously stuck to her. "It's just her ofuda. Don't get hit too often."

 _Vrrr~t!_ Merlin blew into her trumpet alone, sending the scattered bolts of ghostly energy out towards the three…

' _When she plays on her own, it… forces me to feel happy. Weird._ ' Furrowing her brows, Sendai leapt-

 _Fwam- Fwam!_ Her ascent allowed her to soar over the ghostly lines that initialized into danmaku streams below her.

"Deja vu…" Lyrica glared down at the miko…

...Then, she began rushing towards her. "If she's so powerful, I'll take her down first!"

"No, wait…!" Lunasa followed after her sister to ensure her safety.

Drawing his pistol, Rinnosuke aimed it at the ghosts. " _Freeze!_ "

Lyrica and Lunasa slowed to a halt, staring at the pistol at first blankly.

"Are you…" Lyrica blinked in disbelief.

Lunasa finished her thought. "Pointing a gun… at _ghosts?_ "

Landing, the miko looked up at them… ' _Hitting them with my fists won't do any good, especially since I can't do holy magic nearly as well as dark._ ' So, she drew a mana molotov. ' _Magic attacks should be just fine, though._ '

"Here!" Marcus slammed his bazooka into the ground-

 _Fwish_. Cyan energy ran up Sendai's form. ' _Woah. Okay…?_ '

She tossed her molotov forward-

The sisters evaded it easily, allowing it to miss as they continued to stare at Rinnosuke in disbelief.

' _No really, how._ ' Sendai doubletook. ' _They weren't even looking._ '

"And…!" Glaring at the ghosts, Rinnosuke waves his wand as he aims at them with his gun. " _Goodbye!_ "

 _Fwam!_ A mint-green muzzleflash came from his pistol, but he didn't pull the trigger.

 _Fwish!_ Lyrica's form is briefly bombarded by mint green energy. " _Aaa~h!_ " She screamed, but mostly from surprise.

"What…!?" Lunasa turned to her with wide eyes, before looking back at the shopkeeper in further disbelief-

 _Fwap- fwap!_ In this moment, Sendai lobbed two ofuda up at the ghosts-

Thunk, thunk. Lyrica was shielded by Lunasa's violin…

"That's _it!_ " Merlin roared, whirling up into the air. "No one hurts my sisters!"

"Um…" Rinnosuke spoke up. "I didn't-"

 _Vrrrt- vrrr, vrrr~!_ Merlin played her trumpet.

Suddenly, Sendai's thinking became clouded. ' _Wh- what…? Their music!_ '

...Drowsily, Lyrica wobbled in the air, the earthy magic taking its toll on her. "Uu~gh…" Her eyes blinked, heavy.

 _Vuuu~m!_ Lunasa played a chord on her violin once again, decorating the battlefield with danmaku bolts as she neared Rinnosuke…

He aimed his gun at her, solely to intimidate as the gun itself didn't actually mean much. "I- I'll, um, shoot you!"

Sendai brought up her ofuda-

 _Woosh- woosh- woosh!_ The volley she sent whirling out at bullet speed was strafed by Merlin.

 _Vrr, vrr vrr~. Vrrr~, vrr vrrr~!_ Merlin kept playing her trumpet…

"Ugh…" Bringing a hand to her head, Sendai began to grin. ' _It- it's unlike anything I've ever heard…_ '

Rinnosuke began to chuckle due to the music. "A- ahah…"

 _Fwam!_ The blue and red music notes in the air all unleashed their wrath, becoming generic variants which homed in on Rinnosuke, with double the speed they had engaged Sendai with.

"Ahah- hahah…!" Laughing involuntarily, he began to move out of the way, awkwardly holding his tools up as he sprinted in the opposite direction of most of the danmaku bolts.

" _Graviga~!_ " Lunasa extended her violin out, the tip glowing a bright purple.

 _Fwoa~m!_ An immense, black and purple sphere of dark and spacial energy came down and enveloped Rinnosuke-

Thud! The immense force pressed him to the floor. "Gack…" His tools flopped onto the grass before him.

 _Vrr- vrr- vrrr~...!_ The sound of Merlin's trumpet worked its way into their heads.

"He- hehehe…" Smiling, Sendai felt the darkness along her limbs flicker. ' _Stop! Fight it! What the hell…!_ '

Dreamcatcher glowing brightly, Marcus held it in his grinning teeth as he held the tube bazooka up, pointing it at the trumpeter. "Hehehe~!"

 _Fwoam!_ He launched a cyan, ice-accented laser up at the poltergeist-

 _Bam!_ The laser's force launched Merlin, but the ice didn't affect her so much. "Woah! Ah- hey…!"

...Once her playing ceased, Sendai's dark enhancements flared with energy again. ' _Ah! Man, flying enemies are annoying. Especially ghosts with potent mind control statuses..._ '

Lyrica began to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Wh- what happened…?"

...Looking around, Sendai saw Rinnosuke lying on the ground, danmaku bolts grazing his back as he helplessly was pressed to the ground. ' _Ah! Kourin!_ '

Lunasa began drifting closer to him. "You're going to tell me _exactly_ what you did to my-"

 _Fwap- fwap! Woosh._ Two ofuda struck her back, the sensation of being struck keying her in on the presence of a third projectile-

 _Zap!_ Once the ofuda initialized, she whimpered. "O- oouh…" Then, the holy papers slipped from her form…

...Once the danmaku passed, Rinnosuke found himself begin to be able to get up again. "Aa- aah…"

"He- hey!" Lyrica drowsily called out to her teammates. "Idiots! Get back over here!"

Instantly, her teammates all whirled up to her side with amazing velocity.

' _They really care about each other, huh…_ '

...As the ghosts talked in hollow whispers amongst one another, this gave the miko's group time to strategize themselves.

"Alright…" Marcus was the first to speak, as Sendai looked back to make sure Rinnosuke was okay. "Here's the score! Their instruments- they debuff ya basically! Pluggin' your ears don't work, but if they play all at once it don't matter so much other than make ya feel pretty!"

...Sendai watched Rinnosuke get up and dust himself off. _'Cool, he's alright. How'd he get on the ground? Probably dodging the danmaku..._ '

"...I forgot how it went, but one makes ya sad, one makes ya glad, and one makes ya bad!" Marcus barked out what he knew about the Prismrivers. "So just I dunno- fuck 'em up!"

Sendai snorted. ' _Nah, we'll just have a tea party. I'm trying, old man._ '

As Sendai began to ready an attack, the ghosts parted from their formation, prompting her to relent. ' _Let's see..._ '

They all spoke at once. "Noisy Sign! Live Poltergeist!"

Merlin and Lyrica's instruments floated into the air as they themselves coasted out to their sister's sides. Lunasa brought her violin up, and played some chords-

 _Vuum- Vhiir- vu vu vu vu vhii~r!_

The strings Lunasa played made Sendai very conscientious of how serene the battlefield they ended up in was. ' _...Something's weird. Stupid violin. Why does this music sound so good, too?_ '

Music notes of varying colors came out from the ghost, gently floating into the air in swooshes…

Then they reached a barely luminescent border a set distance away from Lunasa-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ The streams of gentle, melancholic notes exploded into violent, bright, rainbow colored orbs of energy that roared after Sendai with great speed and reach.

' _Woah- crap!_ ' Bringing up her arms, Sendai shielded her body.

Danmaku bolts bombarded her form, cyan sheens of energy running across her skin as she tried to wade through the least dense portions of Lunasa's volley-

 _Brrt- brrt- brrt- brrt!_ Merlin made noise-

 _Dun-nun-nun-nun-nun_. Lyrica did, too.

 _FWAM- FWAM- FWAM_

Random, violent splashes of plain red bullets launched themselves from the two, accenting the pink of the adjacent cherry blossom trees and making Sendai blink. ' _Oo~kay…_ '

The sheer density of the bullets caused the other two to yell. "Woah! Woa~h- holy _shit!_ " Marcus's speed compared to the bullets was like that of a drunk man fighting a swarm of bees.

Rinnosuke laid back down on the ground, covering his head…

' _Ah, this must be Marcus' latest magic defense ward…_ ' Sendai noticed the danmaku stung horribly, but wasn't as impactful or as crippling as it normally was when it swamped her.

...Kneeling down in the waves of red bullets, Marcus brought his bazooka up, aiming it into the crazy mix of neon bullets. "Wo _o~w…!_ "

Replicating a copy of the latest Chronicle of Gensokyo, Sendai tossed it forward-

 _Woosh- woosh- woosh_. It began flying in a spiral in the air around her, the pages left swirling in its wake almost immediately torn apart by danmaku bullets.

' _That's nice._ '

 _Bam!_ Pounding her legs into the ground, Sendai escaped the maelstrom by ascending into the air.

 _Fwoam!_ A red beam of fiery energy roared up at the Prismrivers.

"Hua~h!?" Merlin was both thrown back by it, and also set ablaze. "Fi- fire! _Help!_ "

"What do you- what!?" Lyrica double took, noticing the beam had ignited her fellow spirit. "Uhm- come here!" 

"Ow- ow, ow…!" Merlin roared up to her sister, who held her hands over her-

Fwi~sh. Lyrica extinguished the flames with a mere bellow of her arms. "Aa~h…" Her sister sighed.

 _Woosh!_ Sendai kicked through the air to get closer to the phantom ensemble...

 _Vuu~m!_ Lunasa strummed heavily as the miko closed in, huge yellow musical notes spiralling out from her in anticipation…

As Sendai approached her, she felt strangely sad for some reason. ' _Huh…_ '

Slipping through the gaps in the notes, Sendai reached Lunasa, who glared up at her in turn-

" _Vol Fulger!_ " Once in melee range, Sendai arched her limbs back and unleashed her body-encapsulating electrical storm, making sure she was practically clipping Lunasa before she did so.

 _Fwa-Zap, zap, zap, zap!_ The spell's short radius managed to shock the ghost violinist due to Sendai's deliberation.

"Ee- _eeahn!_ " As the electricity flickered out, the ghost was thrown back violently, her form lit up with lingering webs of energy.

" _Hey!_ " Bringing up her keyboard above her head, Lyrica approached the miko before she fell-

 _Woosh!_ She brought her keyboard down-

Sendai hugged onto it, wrapping her limbs around it. ' _Thanks._ '

"What- hey!" Glaring at the miko, the pianist brought her hands up, as if readying to play the air. The keyboard quickly shifted so that Sendai's back would face her-

 _Fwoom!_ Sendai lit on fire. ' _Ah- ouch, fuck…_ '

 _Fwam!_ A noise came from the sea of bullets on the ground...

 _Fwish!_ "Woa~h…" Merlin's eyes went wide as everything seemingly slowed down for her, mint green energy bombarding her form…

 _Fwuu~sh!_ A beam of watery energy plowed into Lyrica, sending her rolling away. "Wh- whaa~h!?"

...Still burning, Sendai felt herself pulled along after the performer, clinging tightly to the instrument. ' _Fuck I hate burning- aa~h…_ ' Her dark energy flared loosely along her flank, providing something for the fire to eat away at that wasn't her skin or clothing…

As Lyrica stabilized herself, Sendai stood up-

 _Fwap- fwap- fwap!_ Three ofuda struck the keyboardist, before-

 _Fwoosh!_ -she springboarded from the keyboard, sending it hurtling towards the ground with a dark accented leap.

' _Ouch- eeh…_ ' Soaring through the air, Sendai tried to gain as much velocity as possible, so that the fire would be put out by the air…

 _Bam!_ Her kicks eventually caused her to touch down on the shrine manor's roof tiles, still largely aflame. ' _Ugh- shit-_ '

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Another blast of water energy roared across the path's length-

 _Splash!_ Sendai was slammed into by the column of water, extinguished and pressed into the roof. "Oof! Nnh…"

...Readjusting her scorched outfit, the miko cracked her knuckles again. ' _Alright. Apparently getting close to them just to be close_ is _a bad idea._ '

Convening together, Lunasa and Lyrica lined up back to back, the black-clad sister facing the miko and the pianist looking over the mage and shopkeeper.

...Merlin slowly drifted up to them. "A- aah… I'm… tired…"

' _If I beat up another one and Kourin makes it tired immediately after, that should send it to sleep._ ' Sendai considered her options… ' _Can you knock out a-... well, from experience, ghosts_ can _be knocked out. Actually, why do they get tired? Must be something about spiritual energy. There's a reason only holy attacks and magic work on them._ '

"Noisy Funeral!" Lunasa yelled out the name of another spell card, before hovering higher into the air, looming over the path…

Lyrica grabbed onto her keyboard's edge with her hands. "Stygian Riverside!"

Merlin equipped her trumpet similarly, after a delay. "Sty- Styg rivers…"

 _Vuu~m, vuu~m. Vhi- vi- vi- vi- vii~r!_ In the air over the clearing, an immense sphere of bright, yellow danmaku arrows began to bloom from Lunasa as she played her violin.

 _Fwii~r!_ A bright, blue laser extended from Lyrica's keyboard as she held onto it, turning it into a laser sword.

... _Fwii~r!_ Merlin did the same, a laser extending from her trumpet.

Marcus made for the nearest cherry blossom tree, giving the slowly expanding sphere of danmaku death a compromising stare as he hid.

The chords from the violin made Sendai melancholic. ' _...Hmm. How're we gonna do it this time? This feels really familiar for some reason… but it's not._ '

Instead of engaging the people on the ground, Lyrica ascended, spinning around as she swing her beam sword wildly into her sister's gently flowing danmaku.

As the blade passed through the bolts, they became almost solidified crystals of danmaku magic, flaking outward from the points of contact sporadically.

Like this, the sisters suppressed Marcus behind a tree-

"No, no, no~...!" Rinnosuke feverishly ran in a circle on the ground below, the idea to hide not coming to him as readily.

Sendai stared at the magic maelstrom, furrowing her brows. ' _For some reason, it seems like getting strategic hits in on them doesn't do much. At least, not fast enough. If I knock that violin player from her perch up there, maybe Rinnosuke can put her to sleep. I just gotta~..._ '

Looking down at Rinnosuke-

 _Bam!_ Sendai launched herself from the roof, gaining heavy horizontal momentum as she flew into the danmaku bolts with abandon.

' _Marcus's magic ward is getting weaker. Guess it runs out..._ ' The miko winced as she soared through crystal-like bullets, the sensation of small solid objects pseudo-smacking against her at high speed irritating her skin.

...As she neared the ground near Rinnosuke-

Thud. She rolled on landing, immediately springing up and running towards him.

"Agh- nngh…!" Crackling with danmaku energy, the shopkeeper sloppily aimed his pistol up at the ghosts. "Da- damn it-"

Thud! Sendai grappled him as she sprinted, their bodies slamming against one another. "Huaoh!?" He locked up for a moment, before realizing what happened.

"Kourin!" Sendai yelled at him. "I'm gonna hit-... her!" She pointed up at the violinist, forgetting her name. "When I do, shoot her!"

"Wh- what…!?" Rinnosuke didn't quite catch that.

"Sleep magic! Violin!" Sendai simplified her strategy.

"Okay!" He got that, though.

Sprinting down the stone path, she shielded the man with her body as she lugged him bridal-style to the far end of the path, near the gate that lead out of the realm.

Leaping to a skidding stop near the cherry blossoms at this end of the path, Sendai plopped him down unceremoniously-

Thud. "Aah…" He rubbed his back as he began to get back up…

Pivoting around and thrusting herself back onto the path, Sendai stared up into the midst of the danmaku maelstrom as it shifted color from yellow to purple, going through the colors between...

Merlin swung her trumpet around with her sister, having collected more of herself again. "Whee~!"

Glaring up into the colorful hellstorm, Sendai's ofuda began traveling up her sleeves… " _Thousand Talismans!_ "

 _Woo- woo- woo- woosh!_ As her arms alternated their repetitive revolutions, two solid streams of talismans whipped up into the storm above.

' _I don't really know where she is, so…_ ' Blinking rapidly before the great light, Sendai slightly altered her aim as best she could…

 _Fwhii~r!_ Lyrica's keyboard beam sword flared in the air above, the only thing visible aside from the fierce solid light. ' _She's going for the ofuda!_ '

 _Fwoa~m!_ A solid beam of frosty energy extended from behind a nearby cherry blossom tree, firing up into the danmaku and causing the light of Lyrica's beam sword to jerk about.

 _Woo- woo- woo- woosh!_ The miko's arms began burning as she replicated ofuda and hurled them with speed that would rival a machinegun. ' _C'mo~n…! I can't hear over the impacts over all of this..._ '

 _Fwhii~r!_ Merlin's laser trumpet flared, reinforcing itself as she also moved to intervene on the stream of traveling ofuda as best she could-

 _ZAP!_

...Lunasa's danmaku vanished, the ghost slowly drifting back in the air as holy energy danced across her form. "Oo- ooh…"

Lyrica was furious at her enemies. "You _morons!_ Stop hitting her!"

' _...I mean, you challenged us._ '

"No can do!" Rinnosuke yelled, drawing attention to himself. "I will end this fight with _one shot!_ "

"No! _Don't!_ " Snarling, Lyrica brought her still laser-charged keyboard broadsword up and whirled towards him.

' _Kourin, you idiot…!_ ' Sendai leapt to guard him, grinning as she did.

 _Fwam!_ A green muzzle flare poofed out of his pistol.

 _Fwish!_ Lunasa was highlighted by the mint energy. "Aah…"

...After a still moment, she shut her eyes and slouched over in the air, unconscious. Her violin began to fall, but Merlin quickly intervened to keep it floating, dividing some of her magic to it.

' _She must have some energy if she floats perfectly fine even when knocked out._ '

...Lyrica closed in on their position.

 _Fwap- fwap!_ Sendai sent two ofuda out to meet her-

 _Thunk!_

...Stopped abruptly, Lyrica glared at the miko in furious disbelief.

Holding onto the keyboard while the laser energy was still active- danmaku energy pouring into her body- Sendai began pulling on it…

 _Woosh!_ Rinnosuke was forced to duck as Sendai spun around, taking Lyrica with her.

"Yo- you…!" Clinging to her weapon, the ghost seethed.

 _Woosh!_ Spinning around again, picking up speed, Sendai blinked rapidly, teeth bared as she lugged the keyboard. ' _Danmaku~...!_ '

 _Zap!_ Lyrica's form flared with holy energy from the two ofuda, before they fluttered off of her. "Nnh…!"

The keyboard played random, powerless notes as the two hung onto it. "I- I won't- let you get away…!" Tears streamed from Lyrica's eyes as she held on, the holy energy from before causing her form to actualize-

Sendai let go.

"Aaa~h!" Lyrica screamed as she flew away-

 _Bam!_ The holy energy leaving her vulnerable, her side slammed into the tree. "Ngh!"

Cla- clack. The keyboard roughly but not violently landed past the tree next to her. ' _Good. Don't really wanna break their stuff._ '

...Looking up at Lunasa, Sendai began to walk-

Thud. Her legs refused to comply, dark energy fiercely contesting the rampant danmaku in her body from her last stunt. "Aa- anh! Nnn…" As such, she just tipped forward and barely stopped herself with her arms.

' _Shit, shit, right, forgot. Wow._ ' Blinking, she found her other limbs similarly locked up. ' _That was a creative application of danmaku, too. That stuff's just way too dynamic…_ '

…

With Lunasa unconscious, and Lyrica crying and battered next to the tree, the only ghost left in the sky was Merlin.

...Brows furrowed and eyes fluffy, she looked over everyone.

"He~y!" Marcus called up at her. "You done wit' the lasers and the bullets ye~t!? How about we settle this over Chinese Checkers!?"

' _Marcus, you haven't used an actual spell in this entire fight yet. Well, put me out with that water blast and staggered the ghosts a few times- and that really wimpy magic defense buff- but otherwise you've just run around and hid._ '

Sendai huffed. "Ol- nhh… Old ma~n!"

...He looked over at her. "You can be player three, if ya want."

"Fuck." Sendai was not in the mood for games, both figuratively and literally. "Cast _something_ …"

...He raised his hand, and his finger lit up like a sparkler. "Heyo~."

' _Marcu~s…!_ '

Thud. Sendai tried to spring up, only to flop forward onto her belly instead. "Ooh…"

 _Brr~ brr brr! Brr~ brr brr!_ Merlin blew into her trumpet, unamused and unwilling to comply.

' _What, is her attack gonna be to make me laugh at Marcus' crappy jokes?_ ' Sendai grinned involuntarily, her body unable to resist the infectious tones.

 _Brr~ br br! Brr brr~, br br br brr~..._

The sounds of Merlin's trumpet persuaded Lyrica to haggardly raise from the floor. "Me- Merlin…"

...Lunasa began to drift down, vaguely recovered from her condition, her expression weak and movements slow.

Marcus threw his grey tube aside, adjusting his loose robe, grey undershirt and loose fitting brown pants.

Rinnosuke was next to Sendai, looking down at her. "Are you okay?"

" _Def-_ definite- ah..." Sendai attempted to give him a wise remark. ' _Reimu, what_ is _danmaku…!?_ '

He began to slide out a potion. "Take it easy, now…"

' _I'll take it easy when I'm dead. Wait- uugh..._ ' Sendai rolled her eyes at herself.

 _Brr~ br br br brr~!_

' _Speaking of…_ ' Sendai let out a quiet chuckle at the horn's sounds. ' _Noisy thing._ '

His dreamcatcher in his right hand and nothing in his left, the magic man stared up at the Prismriver sisters as they began to arrange. "Al~right, al~right…" Rubbing his hands together, he addressed the ghosts. "Say, girls! Whadda you know 'bout _magic?_ "

"Great Funeral Concert!" Merlin began yelling out the next spell card.

Lyrica's keyboard rose from the floor, leaving the sister with all three of her ensemble's instruments.

Lazily, Lunasa and Lyrica began to take formation behind her, forming a triangle in the air.

"I- I… can play." Lunasa held out her arms. Her instrument floated over to her…

"Gim- gimme my stuff, Merlin." Lyrica was less out of it, beaten up but not debuffed into incoherence. She was also granted her instrument…

...Smiling, Marcus looked over at Sendai. "Looks like they're gonna have a show…!"

 _Di-di~ng!_ Rinnosuke quick-casted his potion on Sendai. ' _...Oo~h. Yea~h._ ' Taking a deep breath, she climbed onto her legs. "I needed that…"

Watching her get up, Rinnosuke began to move for a nearby tree for cover. "I could see that. Perhaps we should… find cover."

' _Yeah, sure._ ' Giving the mage a dry look, Sendai began moving for the trees with her friend. ' _We can always force feed him potions if he screws it up. These ghosts are actually pretty strong..._ '

Lunasa called out. "Ghostly Wheel!"

Lyrica joined her, both speaking. "Concerto Grosso!"

" _Wonderous!_ " All three spoke the final word of the spell card.

' _Ghostly Wheel Concerto Grosso: Wonderous._ ' The miko furrowed her brows. ' _That's… verbose._ '

...Slowly, the three apparition girls began to revolve-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwam…_

In the center of them, bursts of danmaku of all colors began to bloom out, as they began playing their instruments in unison, the noise of the danmaku partially blotting out the sound.

Fwi-Fwi- _Fwhii~r!_ Each girl erected a laser from their instrument, which stopped short just of the sister ahead.

As they revolved, the blooming danmaku that passed through their lasers crystallized, and began to rain to the path below in solid clumps...

Before the massive, glowing crystal storm, Marcus raised his arms-

 _Fwa~hm!_ A translucent, fluid-like wall of non-elemental magic appeared before him, energy visibly running along it-

Crack- pap- pip- pap! Crystals began to bombard it, but he arced it upward in a way that'd defend against the coming rain of bullets.

 _Fwhii~r!_ Each sister created a secondary laser that stretched out from their triangular pattern, making it more of a laser shuriken in the sky rather than a triangle…

The shield the mage hid under grew brighter with each impact that struck it, its form rippling but growing in intensity.

...Sendai saw Marcus shrug beneath his shield, before holding his arms up-

 _Whoo~m- Whoo~m- Whoo~m!_ Three colorless bolts of energy leaked out of the shield, slowly homing in on the vague area where the sisters were-

 _Boom! Boom! Boom!_ The orbs exploded into magnificent flashes of light. The Prismriver's formation was unaltered, but the danmaku they were launching was thrown about wildly by the blast's immensity and vague force.

Ignoring the icicle-like danmaku chunks that fluttered past his shield and got a few lucky strokes on him, Marcus brought his hands together, which now glowed a deep blue-

Fwoo~, _vooish!_ The energy that had spread out and created vague light in the air now began pulling together, creating a vortex of magical energy in the epicenter of the Prismriver ensemble.

This collection of mana muffled the spawning of the danmaku inside, allowing the sister's music to be heard.

' _Woah…_ ' Sendai jerked her head back. ' _...I'm not sure what to say. I've never heard anything like this… and, it's not as annoying when they're playing together. It's pleasing, for some reason._ '

...As the central orb of light began to change to a grey due to the massive amount of magic withheld in it, the sister's lasers began to flicker out.

As the Prismrivers descended gently, their flight capabilities partially failing on them as their forms flickered with waves of curious blue energy-

"Hnn~h…!" Marcus seemed to strain his arms as he lifted them…

 _Fwoo~sh_. The orb went up a little further into the air, before dissipating into vague light.

"Oh- oh, shit…" Marcus blinked at it, before crouching behind his shield-

...Gradually, the cloud of light in the air began to glow brighter and brighter.

...Noticing the Prismrivers near the ground, moving sluggishly, Sendai sprung from her position behind the cherry blossom trees.

' _I'm pretty sure that cloud of magic's going to rip this whole clearing a new one._ ' Accenting her legs with dark energy- as well as her arms, so she could grab the sisters- she rushed forward-

Thud! She latched onto Lyrica, before-

Thud! -sliding into Lunasa-

"No- no…!" Merlin held her trumpet out at Sendai, and blew into it.

 _Brrt!_ A blue laser shot out-

 _Fwash!_ Sendai jerked her head to the side, a clump of her hair frozen solid. ' _I'm trying to save you!_ '

 _Thud!_ Pivoting around, barely clutching Lunasa with one arm, she thrusts herself into Merlin, before making for Marcus's shield.

"Back here!" He yelled out for them, seemingly feeding the shield energy with his hands.

 _Bam!_ Slamming her sandal into the rock, the miko swiveled around at full sprint to get behind the barricade-

 _Fwii~p!_ The cloud of light energy began flashing shades of blue.

Marcus's jaw dropped. "Holy _fuck!_ "

' _What?_ '

Booo _OOOOO-_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

' _I can't see._ '

…

The miko's vision returned.

...The magic shield before her was the size of the entire path, swelled with violent looking navy blue energy.

"Aa- aah…" Marcus's body began getting jerked around-

Fwi- _ZIP_

The shield accelerated into the ground at high speed. ' _Ah…? Where'd it go?_ '

… _Thoom_. A bare cherry blossom tree nearby fell over, sparks of blue energy dancing around the points of incision. On further inspection, Sendai could see a deep mark in the ground, too. ' _Oh._ '

...Marcus exhaled loudly. "Woo~ie. Been some time before I had ta work with that much mana! Wow! You girls sure know how to- ah…" Turning to Sendai, he tilted his head.

Lunasa and Lyrica seemed to be asleep.

"Omf!" Merlin bit down on Sendai's arm.

' _Ouch!_ '

Thud. The miko dropped the three in a pile-

Clank- clang- clonk! Their instruments fell from above onto her head, having been carried along by Merlin out of Sendai's vision.

' _...Ow._ ' She rubbed her head. ' _That hurt less than the bite. I'm good with impacts, alright with incisions, but punctures? Ugh._ '

"I~'m pooped." Marcus plopped down on the floor, too. "Man. I was never one for that whole 'danmaku' thing. Wish I coulda tried out my cards a little, though…"

' _You have cards?_ ' Sendai gave him a jaded stare. ' _That battle would've been over instantly if he actually took it seriously. We can't afford that kind of carelessness this day and-..._ '

Stopping her train of thought, the miko reconsidered this. ' _Actually, Reimu's pretty careless. And… so is pretty much everyone I've fought._ '

...She looked back down at the performers her party vandalized. ' _Times really have changed, huh? Back when I was alive, screwing around meant a cute plant youkai ate your guts, a ghost possessed you and turned you into a prostitute, or getting crushed by something big. Could things really have changed so much in twenty years?_ '

"Fucking magnets…" Marcus lied on his back, on the one segment of non-smashed stone pathway. "Ho~w do they _work?_ "

"...What?" Sendai didn't get what that had to do with anything.

"...Oh." Sitting up, he looked over at her. "You see- to neutralize their spell card- I just simply… collected some mana with a shield, and then aa~h- sent it up and spread it around. And I used _that_ to like, get all intermingled with their mana and- I had to charge it with-... ah, do you know how ions have-"

"I'm good." Sendai declined his explanation. "You made things explode magically. Try not to make it nearly kill people next time."

"Aah- but, ions have positive and negative charges!" Marcus insists on explaining. "The same concept applies-"

"Noo~." Sendai grinned at him, shaking a finger. "No. You made a big explosion, and you'll make it less big next time. If you kill _me_ by accident, that'd be the most anticlimactic thing ever."

Grinning back, Marcus shook his head. "...Oh, alright. Well, in _simpler terms_ … I took their mana, spread it around, took their mana for realsies, and, uh, it was a lotta mana and I couldn't really do a lot with it. Now, if I were in my _prime_ -"

"Boy." Sendai referred to him on impulse. "... _Old man_ , rather."

...Marcus let his arms flop to his sides. "I don't have grey hairs yet, lemme tell ya…!"

Rinnosuke cautiously stepped up to the five from behind a now bare cherry blossom tree. "...It seems safe to come out."

"No, it's not." Sendai turned to him. "Go hide."

...Not bothering to respond to that, he looked around the scarred battlefield. "You know, I don't think the people who live here will be happy."

Sendai looked down at the Prismrivers. "You think?"

...Shaking his head, he clarified. "Not them."

"Hmm?" Sendai turned to him questioningly.

"They don't live here." Rinnosuke provided. "...I think."

"We- we don't live here…" Merlin moaned out from the floor in clarification.

"Thank you." He gave her a thumbs up-

"Who lives here, then?" Sendai blinked at the front of the shrine-esque mansion, which now had its entire front face trashed. ' _What do you mean, 'they don't live here'? Did they just hop dimensions to get here? Is there some secret ghost paradise I never heard about?_ '

...The soft sound of a straw basket dropping to the floor was heard across the clearing.

The three looked up to see a girl with short, greyish white hair and a green dress staring out at them. Her arms were locked in place in disbelief, eyes wide.

' _Oh._ ' Sendai slowly grinned. "...Hi~?"

...Gingerly, she turned to the one tree Marcus's rogue shield took down. "Nice… garden."

…

Slowly, the girl began to walk into the clearing.

"You- Youmu!" Rinnosuke held an arm up. "I can explain this!"

Marcus sprung onto his-

Thud. He fell back down, and slowly clambered to his legs again. "Stupid- legs ain't what they…"

Standing back up, he smiled… "Hello~, Youmu! Aah…" Looking around, he points at Sendai. "...She did it!"

' _Thanks._ '

Scanning the miko's form, then the phantoms, and finally the surroundings, Youmu starts stepping forward…

"Who are you?" She addressed the miko who came before.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Thirty two thousand, seven hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Three Potions - Low tier restoration items. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

Three Ethers - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

Three Panaceas - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(nineteen slots remaining)

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

Two Hi-Ethers - Expert mana restoration items. Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

prismrivers fight!

went in being like "what can they do", went out being like "that's probably the reason they're the boss before youmu in PCB" XD

that and thi was a nice opportunity to test out group fighting tactics and stuff; the prismrivers didn't take sendai's party seriously at first either - w -

took a little longer to write than normal etc i blame everything and me

i've also made the prismrivers out to be not-too-shabby elementalists, as indicated by their dresses. lyrica's fire, merlin's ice, and lunasa is _SPACE_.

additionally, their instruments can evoke emotions, but each requires sustained playing to get it across. lyrica's _emptiness_ , merlin's _MANIA_ , and lunasa… is melancholy - w -

so they've got a lot of attack options, their only problem is _cough_ they don't carry healing items _cough_ they're very overprotective of one another and that can lead to baiting

that and they like fighting with danmaku as does everyone who's not a random frikoff youkai or sendai… or _rinnosuke_

...although they're also immune to all physical attacks, barring holy ones and by extension magic-imbued weapons and objects, but holy works best; so does purely magical damage (as long as it's not of their element of course)

i wonder if layla was a masterful elementalist

...you know what i'd like to see someone make a layla explorathon fic XD that'd be some awesome shit yo, and i feel like the concept of the prismriver manor and the prismrivers themselves could be really cool to explore

sadly i have too many things on my plate to craft another monstrosity from the dust but i'm shootin' that idea out to yall out there too, don't be afraid to plunder it 'cause i wanna see it (and since we're in the realm of fanfiction all copyright law is pretty much out the window _pls don't sue me ZUN kthx this sentence is not legal advice or a statement that can be used against me in a court of law_ ).

alright phew threw salt over my shoulder now the lawyer boogeymen can't get me

aa~h- oh yeah i included the post-chapter summary again because this was like a solid 8 k words minus it so whateva

as always, see you all next time!


	13. 3-3 - Garden of the Dead

"...I am the miko who came before."

Standing in tattered, vaguely singed clothing, the miko who came before gazed upon the resident of the mansion-esque shrine before her.

Eyes narrowing a sliver, Youmu blinked. "Is… that so?"

"Quite so!" Stepping up, Marcus gestured to the miko formally. "Why, look at those family features!"

...Youmu scanned the miko's body, before turning to him. "How do you know she's not a doppelganger?"

"'Cause if she is, I'm 'onna eat my shoes and choke to death." With a smile and a nod, Marcus turned to her. "...Aa~h, it's not like _you'd_ 'a known her personally, though. Guess we can't prove it to ya-"

Youmu huffed. "I'm- I'm not that gullible, you know."

' _We~'re gonna fight. That's just how it goes._ ' Sendai stared at the girl in anticipation for the fight to come. ' _She's pretty fragile looking, though. Hopefully she's not some archcasteror something..._ '

Running her eyes along the girl's body, she noticed her swords. ' _Or a spellsword. Who'm I kidding, she's_ gonna _be a spellsword._ '

"You wouldn't be scanning my form with those eyes, if you weren't preparing for a fight." Frowning, Youmu took a few steps back. "What do you want from us?"

' _Oh, whoops. She was giving me a similar look, should've figured she knew what was up._ '

Smiling, Sendai cracked her neck a little. "Nn~h… there's really no way around it, is there?"

"Around what?" Youmu glared at her.

"Fighting." Sendai revealed. "You won't believe me no matter _what_ I do. How often are doppelgangers even a _problem?_ "

...Youmu relaxed a little. "We- well… I- I met a couple of me after… Aya's paper, when it got published with an embarrassing article about me, some got the idea to be me from it, but they did it really badly. And, Reimu and Marisa've told me horror stories, and-..."

Looking up at Sendai, she threw an arm around onto the sheath of her blade, and popped it open an inch with her thumb. "You- you didn't hear any of that! You just want to learn more about me, before you try to become me...!"

' _Surprisingly honest answer._ ' Sendai nodded in approval. ' _Shameimaru's still running that stupid newspaper, huh? Tengu..._ '

"Well, if that's your excuse…" Sendai looked over her ripped clothes, before shifting about. "Ready when you are."

...Youmu blinked. "What?"

"You wanna fight?" Sendai smiled at her, taking an offensive posture. "I'm ready."

"Ah…" Caught off guard, Youmu backed up further…

...

After looking to the side, Youmu snapped her head back to Sendai. "I'm not about to just let you walk away after… this." She gestured to the blasted surroundings.

' _Uh huh. Marcus broke everything, again._ '

"You…" Slowly, Youmu riled herself up again. "What do you want!?"

…

After a moment, Sendai decided. "Answers. I want answers."

"I'm the one asking questions."

 _Shi~ng!_ Youmu drew her katana, which shimmered brightly in Hakugyokurou's gloom. "What do you _want?_ You wouldn't attack our home for answers."

'' _Our' home?_ '

…

"Speak!" Raising her voice, Youmu glared at the miko. "What do you _want!?_ "

Sendai sighed. ' _Truthfully…_ ' "To find out what the hell Yukari's up to, sending us here." She gestured to her companions.

The two men had found a seat near one of the barren cherry blossom trees, opting to sit the oncoming fight out. The Prismrivers seem to have been located near them, too. ' _Oh. Probably for the best. It's more honorable, this way. They probably need to catch their breath, too._ '

...Looking back at the samurai, Sendai noticed her bring her blade up into a combat stance.

"Naturally you'd use an excuse so poor…" Baring her teeth, Youmu reinforced her aggressive posture. "I need to be more decisive. Let's put an end to this."

Taking a deep breath, Sendai reinforced her own offensive posture.

"The things that cannot be cut by Roukanken, forged by youkai, are close to none!"

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - Garden of the Dead

In the realm's vague gloom, the two women watched one another…

…

' _She's waiting for me to move. My posture's really aggressive right now, so she's expecting anything._ '

…

Due to the miko's stillness, Youmu began to bring her sword down to her side again, poised for a wide slash. "Okay. I'll end this with one move. I won't hurt you needlessly."

' _Big words. She's readying herself for something._ ' Filling her legs with dark energy, Sendai watched the samurai.

…

Youmu took a long inhale. From behind her, Sendai saw a white blob of some sort float out.

' _She's tensed up. Now!_ '

 _Bam!_ Smashing her legs against the already torn up path rock, she ascended-

" _Zantetsuken!_ "

 _SHI~NG!_

...Sendai searched the ground for the samurai girl, who was now somewhere completely different. Pivoting around as she fell, she saw…

Youmu was behind the cherry blossom that Sendai was standing before.

...Slowly, the tree's upper half began to slide, cleaved cleanly in two with a single stroke.

 _Thoom!_ It collapsed in the wreckage of the other downed tree next to it.

' _That's a sharp sword…_ '

 _Clack!_ Sendai's sandals loudly touched down on the stone as she rolled to divert her momentum, the shattered stones beneath abrading her skin and clothes on landing. ' _Path ro~cks..._ '

...Turning around, the swordswoman began to calmly step around the tree stump, progressing towards Sendai deliberately but easily. ' _What was that about not killing me? That last slice of yours probably would've instantly killed me._ '

...Drawing an ofuda, Sendai flung it forward at the glob of white she saw now hovering around the girl-

 _Fwish!_ Instantly, Youmu responded by spinning her sword in a disc before herself, creating a cyan barrier from the speed of its spinning-

 _Ti~ng!_ The ofuda was reflected-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai was forced to lean out of the way of her own ofuda. ' _So much for simply keeping a distance._ '

Smoothly, Youmu returned her sword to a default posture at her side, stepping calmly towards Sendai again. "I see you've noticed my ghost half. You'll not get a chance to touch either of me."

' _Ghost half?_ '

"Come." Suddenly, Youmu brought her blade up and gripped it with both arms, holding horizontally it at head-level.

…

As a mocking gesture, Sendai drew the Dragon Palace flintlock, charged it with mana, and aimed it at her-

 _Zap!_ It sent a small bolt of electricity at the samurai before she could react. "Ha…!?" It largely only startled her, however.

' _Quit trying to bait me. You're armed, I'm not._ ' Sendai slipped away the flintlock, reinforcing the dark energy in her legs.

...Steeling herself, Youmu took the hint and ran forward at Sendai, blade ready.

' _If I jump, she'll follow._ ' Unblinking, the miko paid attention to the samurai's movements. Filling her legs with dark energy, she poised to jump…

Bringing her arms back, in a sudden movement the samurai began to thrust her arms forward, intent on catching the miko with an abrupt body-powered pivoting slash-

Dropping onto her rear, the miko tried to execute a downward kick on the swordswoman-

 _Woosh!_ Leaping over the miko's legs, Youmu twirled around in the air, bringing her blade around-

 _Bam!_ Sendai kicked the ground to push herself back-

 _Shing!_ Youmu's blade kicked up pebbles from the tile of stone below, cleaving through it as she unevenly rolled in the air over where the miko was.

Landing unevenly on two legs and one arm, Youmu abruptly slid back from the miko. ' _Damn. She's got reflexes._ '

 _Clack!_ Youmu's shoe kicked up dust as she thrust towards the miko again-

"Hnn~!" Charging her arms with dark energy, Sendai used what was left in her legs to thrust herself backwards from the tip of the blade, before-

 _Woosh!_ -rolling over her arms and extending them to do a handstand-

 _Clack!_ -which transitioned to her landing on her feet again, face to face with a samurai ready to swing her blade wide.

 _Thud!_

...Having thrown herself forward in a rush of adrenaline, Sendai grabbed her by the arm. ' _Can't swing at me like this!_ '

Baring her teeth, Youmu brought her head forward-

 _Bam!_ -headbutting the miko.

' _Ow._ ' Sendai blinked off the momentary sting and disorientation, noting that Youmu had to do the same. ' _Good job._ '

...Sendai reinforced the darkness in her arms, intent on forcing the swordswoman's arm into submission. Youmu stumbled back quickly to prevent this grapple from hurting her-

The 'ghost half' floated from around her head and gently floated into the miko's face. ' _Hey…_ '

...It began to glow. ' _Oh, fu-_ '

 _Fwa~sh!_

...Thud! The miko found herself land on her rear as her vision began to return, prompting her to smash her arms into the ground to gain the momentum to thrust herself up and onto her legs. ' _Great. So she_ is _a spell sword._ '

Postured neutrally again, Youmu calmly stepped towards the miko. "I admire your skill."

' _Thanks, I guess._ ' Sendai raised her arms defensively…

"It's no good when you can't go on the offense." Bringing her blade back, Youmu seemingly readied for another Zantetsuken.

 _Fwish!_ Flinging her arm, Sendai sent out another ofuda-

 _Swish!_ Reacting on impulse, Youmu cleaved it into two, her build up foiled by her own reflexes.

Ofuda began pouring from the miko's sleeves, as she brought her arms up. Quickly, the glowing seals began combining, shifting and folding to construct a two-handed origami axe in her arms. ' _Here we go. She'll probably try to intimidate me by cutting it in half, but whatever._ '

Once the axe was fully formed, she took a few steps towards the swordswoman. ' _Actually, that gives me an idea._ '

...Youmu allowed herself a small smile. "That weapon… I almost feel bad for you. It's so big…"

"It's the holy god axe thing." Sendai hyped it up. "Forged by gods and stuff."

Snorting, the samurai brought her sword back. "I'm afraid… it won't help you!"

 _SHINK_

Rushing forward, Youmu delivered a precise slice to the hilt of the axe between Sendai's two hands, splitting it atwain.

Letting go, Sendai briefly allocated as much dark energy to her left hand as she could-

 _Pap!_ -and slapped it into Youmu's face.

"Nh…!?" Restraining herself from yelling, Youmu brought her sword up-

 _Woosh!_ -and unleashed a threatening, defensive slash in the air shy of her own face-

 _Bam!_ This move allowed Sendai to thrust with a well-prepared dark right fist, a ring of black expanding into the air where her knuckles met the samurai's face.

"Ghuh…!" Youmu allowed herself to float back and spin as she was launched, before her natural flight abilities stopped her and righted her.

"Nnh…" She was left with a bruised right cheek. "I- I was careless…"

' _No kidding._ ' Sendai smiled back at her. "Don't try too hard to be all business, now."

...Youmu furrows her brows at this, before readying her blade again. ' _Hah._ '

…

Her shoes tapped against the uneven rock as she bolted towards the miko again, seeming intent for a thrust at first-

 _Bam!_ Pounding her legs into the ground, Sendai thrust herself forward at her as the samurai neared.

 _Woosh!_ Youmu sloppily tried to transition from her thrust to preparing a wide slash, to a thrust again as the miko closed in on her, only for the shrine maiden to slide to the side of her.

Arms up, Sendai marched after her as she pivoted around-

 _Woosh!_ -and stood shy of a wide slash.

Progressing forward offensively, Youmu quickly unleashed a downward slash-

 _Woosh._ The miko slid to the right of it, and tried to jab her arm forward-

 _Woosh!_ -only to pull it back when Youmu brought her blade just before her own face for another defensive, semi-panicked slash.

 _Woosh._ Sendai did a short hop back to evade another wide slash.

' _That blade gives so much defense._ ' Jerking around, evading slashes and making faux jabs to trigger Youmu's defensive responses, the miko looked around for targets…

Her gaze rested on the 'ghost half' from before, which was circling Youmu's form. ' _Oh yeah…!_ '

...As it passed around again, Sendai-

 _Woosh!_ -evaded one more downward slash, and instead of going for the samurai's face as anticipated-

 _Bloop._ -she inserted her arm into Youmu's ghost half, running dark energy through it. ' _Oh! It's… not solid. Real soft, too. Figures._ '

"Ee- eep!?" Youmu froze up from the sensation, eyes wide.

' _Oh!_ '

 _Pap!_ Sendai struck the girl in the upper chest with an unaccented jab. "Nnh-"

 _Wha-whack!_ Continuing this, she thrust two alternated jabs into the girl's stomach. "Ghn- _Ghu~h_ … _!_ "

...As Youmu recoiled from the gut blows, Sendai brought both arms back, charged them with dark energy-

 _Bam!_ -and clamped them around the girl's head, striking both her temples simultaneously.

 _Clack!_ Jerking her legs into the ground with her knuckles still against Youmu's temples, Sendai brought a knee up.

As she descended, she kept the knee held out, but also began to pull Youmu's head towards it with her vice-like pincer-

 _Cla- Bam!_ Youmu's body bent forward, her head slammed into the miko's knee the hard moment she landed, the vice grip released just after.

With a jolt, she seemingly stood back upright… before stepping backwards-

 _Thud- clack, clack._ She fell onto her back, sword clattering at her side.

' _There._ ' Sendai huffed. ' _...Took a little more doing than I-_ '

Youmu's body began sliding backwards, before floating up and doing a backward flip to reposition itself. Her nose was bloody, and her eyes were beginning to puff up.

' _Still good…?_ ' Crouching down, Sendai grabbed Roukanken from the floor. ' _Well, without this she shouldn't be so handy._ '

...Thrusting an arm outward, Youmu pulled on the air.

Sendai held onto the sword for dear life-

 _Bam, bam, bam!_ -slamming dark-charged feet into the rock below in order to propel her body away from the swordswoman. ' _Why's this thing telekinetically bound…!?_ '

...Youmu's ghost half began floating towards her. ' _Oh don't you dare-_ '

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ It fired globs of ill-defined, pink energy out at the miko.

On impact, they pushed the miko back, the sword slipping from her hands in the process. ' _No! Hrrm..._ '

...She felt her limbs. ' _Also, danmaku? Don't tell me…_ '

Catching the sword effortlessly, Youmu held it into the air with both arms. "He- Hell God Sword!"

Sendai snorted. ' _Her voice is nasally because of the blood in her nose. You might wanna lay off on the fancy attack names..._ '

Her ghost half parted from behind herself, drifting further back along the path…

Bringing her hand up, she pressed it against her nose.

 _Splip._ She snorted audibly, discharging a small stream of blood from it, before returning her hand to her poised blade.

' _Classy._ ' The miko grinned at her.

The samurai drifted forward and onto the left end of the path, causing Sendai to jerk herself back, just in case.

"Divine Flashing Slash of Karma Wind!" With that, Youmu began to bring her sword back, as if readying for a Zantetsuken-esque maneuver.

' _Cut that attack title in half and you'll be good._ ' Sendai filled her legs with dark energy, readying to deal with the fast attack. ' _She's not facing me exactly, though. Different technique, maybe?_ '

 _Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-fwam!_ The ghost half she left behind unleashed a thick wave of purple bullets, their width comparable to that of three people.

' _A distraction?_ ' Sendai didn't take her eyes off the samurai, only briefly noting the immense light emerging to her side.

Then, it seemed as if everything slowed down.

Her eyes scanning the swordswoman's form, Sendai noticed her making subtle movements. ' _The way she's shifting her blade and her legs…_ '

Singed, crushed cherry blossoms were whisked from the blasted dirt nearby, fluttering around her legs.

The light beside the miko began to grow stronger, more bullets filling the area-

Youmu was gone.

' _What!?_ ' Having not seen her move, Sendai jerked her head to the right to find her. ' _Oh…?_ ' Idly, she checked her body. ' _Did she cut me in half…? No, doesn't seem like it..._ '

Five lines were drawn in the air, perfectly spaced out amongst one another as the thick danmaku bullets rolled through them-

 _Shi~ng!_

Instantaneously, the faintly luminescent lines returned to invisibility, the immense spheres shattering into a flourish of pink and red orbs of many smaller sizes.

' _She cut the bullets…!_ ' Backpedalling, the miko noticed how thick the wall of oncoming danmaku was…

 _Bam!_ She stomped both legs into the ground to slide back, and only after gaining significant distance did she find the bullets acceptably weavable.

She clipped one of the small red orbs-

 _Fwam!_ It exploded into a small red magical reaction against her skin. ' _Ugh._ '

 _Shi~ng!_

Somewhere ahead, beyond the first wall of bullet hell, Youmu cleaved five lines into another wave of bullets, another small hellstorm unleashed.

' _Am I supposed to just run away? What the hell..._ ' Scanning the immense tidal wave of pink and red bullets, the miko searched for an opening, before laying her eyes on the samurai.

As she slipped through the furthest bullets-

 _Fwa- fwam!_ ' _Great._ ' -clipping a few on the way, she kept her focus on the samurai…

Then, things seemingly slowed down again as she focused on Youmu's form… ' _Uh?_ ' The bullets around her seemingly slowed, too, as well as her movements.

Eyes still on the samurai, Sendai waded through the bullets. The cherry blossoms around Youmu's legs kicked up once more…

Then, she returned to the right side of the path in a single instant, five lines drawn in the air amidst the slow, big orbs.

Drawing a mana molotov once she was past the danmaku wall, the miko grinned at the swordswoman who was immediately setting up for another slash.

' _You know, when I was growing up, the strongest youkai just ran up to you and beat you up. Now they shoot all these doom orbs and shit…_ '

 _Shi~ng!_ The lines drawn from Youmu's previous slash vanished, the orbs shattered into an impossible, red and pink non-elemental nuke of clumped bullets.

' _Wait for it…_ ' Hugging the far end of the path, near Youmu, the miko feverishly tap danced her way into the midst of the wall-

Then, after gazing at Youmu's still form for long enough, she was rewarded. As the swordswoman's technique began, time seemingly slowed once more to allow Sendai to make impossible dodges through the rest of the wall. ' _There..._ '

Once through, she chucked her molotov at Youmu, which also flew in slow motion…

 _...Crack!_ It slowly shattered against the samurai's flank-

Then, Youmu was gone.

Jerking her head to the other end of the path, the miko grinned, the girl's form alight with holy flames. ' _Slow motion burning probably feels great._ '

Undaunted, Youmu steeled her pained expression-

 _Shi~ng!_ The orbs exploded into a nuke of pink and red once again.

' _How much mana…_ ' Legs pulsing with dark energy, the miko bounded across the exterior of the tidal wave, before reaching the vaguely possible edge nearest Youmu. ' _How much mana does she have!?_ '

Focusing on the samurai's form, Sendai bared her teeth and feverishly dodged back and forth in the midst of the bullets-

Things slowed down again, Youmu's form shifting…

' _Ah-_ _here..._ ' Impossibly, awkwardly bending her body, the miko proceeded through the rest of the wall with a swift movement-

 _Fwa~m…_ A bullet slowly exploded against her skin in slow motion. ' _Wo~w, that actually is worse when time is slowed..._ '

Once she was through the wall, the miko sluggishly tossed two ofuda-

 _Fwap, fwap!_ Slowly extending forward, they landed on Youmu-

Then, she was gone.

Turning to the samurai's new position, Sendai flung two arms up-

 _Fwap- fwap!_ Two more ofuda struck the swordswoman-

 _Zap- Zap!_ Holy energy bombarded Youmu's form in two waves, causing her to yelp. "Anh!"

With that, the remaining, big multi-person sized purple orbs vanished along with the lingering pink and red orbs.

' _Finally._ '

...Bringing her hand up, Youmu tugged on the ofuda two at a time, since each wave was aimed at two different points on her. With a little effort, she removed both from herself.

' _Yukari, who the hell are these youkai?_ ' Her stare becoming jaded, Sendai continued to watch the girl… ' _Why do they have partial immunity to Hakurei talismans?_ '

...Taking a deep breath, Youmu brought up her blade once more, her pose more practical. "Human God Sword!"

' _Ah…_ ' Filling her legs with dark energy, Sendai took a defensive posture.

"Acceptance of Eternal Truth!" Crouching down, Youmu brought her blade to her side with an inhumanly swift motion.

Fwii~r. The blade became intensely reflective, glimmering violently as it seemingly elongated in a moment to be the width of the path, mist-like energy coming off of it. ' _Oh._ '

Slower than the rest of her slashes, Youmu brought the grand katana across the ground-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai did a short leap over it.

...Upon landing, she saw the results. ' _Her blade's back to normal, but…_ '

The rocky, ruined path below her was now foggy, a layer of magical energy emanating from the ground. Some of the jagged rocks along the path had their tips cut off by the cut.

Slowly, diamonds of soft white danmaku began to emanate from the floor, drifting straight up into the air.

' _Ow- ow._ ' The miko was forced to move as two bullets spawned immediately under her. ' _It's better than setting everything on fire, at least. I think..._ '

Bringing her blade back behind her head, Youmu also brought her other arm back behind it…

 _Fwi~sh_. Five red lines of huge red danmaku were drawn in the air as she swung her sword into the air, before meeting at her sword.

Then, she brought it forward-

 _Fwoosh!_ Her intricately telegraphed downward slash sent out a splash of three danmaku streams, all aimed at Sendai.

 _Woosh!_ Leaping aside the quick bullets, the miko ran along the middle path. ' _The way those two outer spreads arc makes her downward slash an edgeguard. Swordplay on a level I never thought possible._ '

 _Fwi~sh_. Dodging along the side of the large harassment field she'd created, Youmu brought her blade up for a grand downward slash yet again-

 _Fwoosh!_ She unleashed another spread aimed at the miko with it, orbs nearly the size of her whirling past her as she grazed what was practically a segmented beam.

Nearing the swordswoman, the miko drew two more ofuda, and hurled them forward-

 _Woosh!_ Dodging to the side, Youmu brought her blade up again.

 _Fwi~sh_. As the five clusters of danmaku energy gathered to her sword, some white bullets emerged from the rock below to protect her-

 _Bam!_ Plowing through them, Sendai kicked her in the chest.

"Uu- hnh…!" Soaring backward, Youmu flailed her blade downward-

 _FWAM_. A wild splash of uneven danmaku orbs spiked out, forcing the miko to launch herself back. ' _Ouch! Fff~... I'm alright, I think._ ' As the pain faded, she unscrunched her face. ' _Yeah, I'm good._ '

Her legs began to ache from the danmaku spawning beneath her. ' _Passive damage works too well…_ '

Landing on her legs, Youmu brought her sword back again…

 _Fwi~sh._ Once again, the rush of red bullets began charging it. ' _Really? You wanna try that again?_ '

Bringing out a Hakurei yin-yang orb, she began to maximize it. ' _I wonder…_ '

 _Fwoosh!_ Bringing her blade down, Youmu sent out another straightforward spread at the miko, before skidding to the side and setting up again.

"Hup!" Leaping to both avoid the spread and to get out of some passive damage, Sendai kept the orb half-maximized. ' _When she gets ready, I'll chuck it at her…_ '

 _Fwi~sh._ Youmu's blade collected from five danmaku streams again-

 _Bam!_ Leaping, Sendai punched the now maximized yin yang orb into the air, a dark shockwave emanating out from the point of impact.

It whirled around in the air, before coming down towards Youmu's head-

 _Shi~ng!_ Her downward slash cleaved straight through the spiralling orb, the danmaku only coming out of her blade in a small spurt because of it.

 _Thunk_. The remaining halves beaned her in the head, but with marginally less force than they had as one, only making the swordswoman flinch and grit her teeth.

Running up to her, Sendai was intent on finishing the spell card. ' _Let's go…!_ '

...Noticing her approaching, Youmu brought up her blade defensively, ready to parry.

Slowing down the miko noticed this-

 _Bam!_ -and stomped the rock below to stop herself. ' _Wait…_ '

 _Bam!_ Stomping the ground again, she dislodged part of a smashed tile, and bent down to quickly lift it. ' _U~p we go._ '

Bringing her blade down, Youmu sought to capitalize on this opportunity by thrusting forward-

 _Shink!_ Youmu's blade met the rock's midst-

 _Pap!_ Letting go, she gave the girl an impulsive jab to the face. ' _Not quite how I planned, but alright._ '

"Nnh…!" Darting back disproportionately to the blow, Youmu scrunched her nose and cupped a hand to it...

' _Hah. Is that a weak spot, now…?_ '

Thunk- thunk. The rock tile was now in two pieces, broken from the abuse the two girls gave it.

The white, foggy presence along the floor faded, as did the gentle white danmaku. Sendai sighed… ' _Finally. It wasn't a big deterrence, but…_ '

"Heaven God Sword…!" Youmu brought her blade directly before herself, rainbow energy immediately running up it.

' _This girl can go at it, I'll give her that._ ' Raising her eyebrows, Sendai stepped back… ' _Hasn't really given me much other than cool light shows so far, though. She was doing better when she was just running at me with her sword._ '

"Three Kons, Seven Hakus!" Suddenly, the colors along Youmu's blade began to flow up and down it with great speed-

Time slowed down for the two girls. ' _Another technique…_ '

Spinning in place, the samurai brought the sword up and out-

 _FWAM_

A rainbow of danmaku arrows exploded from Youmu, flaring out wildly. In the midst of them, a spread of enormous red orbs flared out, albeit aesthetically compared to the complete bombardment that was unleashed.

' _What is with these non-elemental nukes…_ '

Running to the side of the path, the miko brought out another yin yang orb. ' _This isn't even that different from her other one, strategically._ '

Youmu barely moved as she brought her sword up again, which began glowing once more.

The momentum of everything slowed, allowing the miko to make herself a path through the shell of rainbow hell the samurai had unleashed. ' _Okay…_ '

Maximizing the yin yang orb-

 _Bam!_ -the miko launched it forward.

 _FWAM_

As it neared her, she unleashed another unholy rainbow storm, forcing Sendai to leap back-

 _Whack!_ The yin yang orb pinged off of the swordsman, throwing her off balance for a brief moment. "Aanh…"

Drawing ofuda, Sendai began randomly chucking them into the maelstrom. ' _Take my holy papers. Take them…!_ '

... _Fwap!_ Only one of six hit Youmu through the danmaku.

 _Zap!_ Holy energy ate at her, but didn't evoke an audible response.

' _I can't see it, but she's probably taking the ofuda off, too._ '

...This brief lull in activity gave a moment where Sendai was able to backpedal away from the wall, weave through its scattered remnants, and still sight Youmu preparing to start again…

 _Fwap- fwap!_ From over here, two ofuda met her-

 _Zap!_ "A- ah…" Stumbling from the holy energy, Youmu unevenly gazed around towards the miko's position, before ripping the ofuda off with fervor and bringing her blade up.

The remaining danmaku dissipated. ' _There. Now that she's all worn down..._ '

"Yo- you're…" Youmu spoke, her voice weak at first, before she began again with more resolve. "You're not using danmaku."

...Sendai just tilted her head at her.

"I… I could never lose to someone like you." Steeling her blade again, Youmu glared at the miko.

...Saying nothing, the miko began moving towards her. ' _I've already won. With her movements slowed and body heavy…_ '

...Taking two uneven steps backwards, the girl bared her teeth. "Yu-... Yuyuko-sama is counting on me. Someone like you… could never understand that feeling!"

Sendai snorted. ' _You're a little_ too _decisive for your own good. Who taught you discipline?_ '

As the miko neared her, she brought up her arms, pounding her fist into her open palm.

Youmu's gripping hand shook, knuckles white.

"Six Realms Sword…" Gaze strained, legs subtly shaking, she raised Roukanken as if it were a heavy blade. "A Single Thought…"

' _Let's not._ ' Sendai power walked towards her, intent to end this.

"And the _Infinite Kalpas!_ "

 _Fwoom!_ Youmu took to the air of the miko with a grand leap.

Looking up, Sendai flared dark energy into her legs-

 _SHING_

An octagram was cut into the stone in a wide radius around the miko, only the blade's immediate impacts audible-

Touching down before the miko, Youmu rushed forward-

' _Holy-_ '

 _Woosh- woosh, woosh!_ Sendai performing another handstand assisted backflip to avoid a series of deliberate, wide slashes.

 _FWAM_

Purple, arrow-shaped danmaku flared from the octagram around the two en masse, creating an inescapable barrier around the rugged arena.

 _Fwam- fwam- fwam!_ Sendai winced as streams of purple arrows were launched into her from Youmu's ghost half-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai jumped over a low slash, intent on kicking Youmu in the face-

 _Bam!_ Instead of getting hit, Youmu jerked herself back, slamming her back against the floor and rolling away-

 _Fwoom!_ She took to the air again-

 _SHING_

Youmu cut a nonagram into the stone around the battleground, renewing the barrier.

Landing, her sword glows with red energy-

 _Fwam, fwam, fwam!_ Sendai cartwheels out of the way of three random shotgun spreads of red orbs-

 _Woosh!_ -before jumping over a quick and dirty horizontal slash from Youmu. She attempted to kick down again-

 _Cling!_ Youmu parried the blow with the flat of her katana, allowing herself to skid back. "If I can't take you at one hundred percent…"

' _Ah…_ ' Sendai leaned out of the way of a charge from the girl's ghost half, before darting back dangerously close to the danmaku barrier-

 _Fwoosh!_ Youmu leapt into the air again-

 _SHING_

A decagram was cut into the stone around the battlefield, pink energy revealed beneath the stone, forming a magical barrier.

"I'll have to give it more than one hundred percent…!" In the next instant, Youmu was before the miko-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai did a short leap back, and kicked at her-

 _Bam!_ Youmu was struck, but used the momentum to flip and whip her sword back around-

 _Thud!_ Sendai performed a rough roll away from the blade's tip. ' _Fuck…_ '

 _Woosh- woosh!_ Scrambling to dart away from the unbelievably fast slashes, the miko backpedalled-

Spinning around, Youmu brought her katana around for a solid blow.

' _Can't dodge…_ ' Sendai saw the blade coming. ' _Horizontal, can't catch…_ '

...Filling her face with dark energy, she kept her eyes open with all her might. ' _I can catch it!_ '

Youmu's blade connected with the shrine maiden's head.

 _Cli~ng!_

...Dark energy flaring from the miko's mouth and through her teeth, her jaw pulsed in agony as she clamped onto the blade. Her lips were bleeding freely, cut into by the impossibly sharp blade, but the momentum was stopped flat.

... _Fwoom! Fwoom!_ Dark energy pulsed into the air in shockwaves, the miko's grip reinforced as she resisted death. "Hrr~gh…!"

Slowly, the blade began to shift deeper, Youmu exerting her body weight into the handle. "Hnn~h…!"

Arching back, her body threatening to push her onto the ground due to her attempts to go with the blade's momentum, Sendai knew where her legs were. From here, she could see Youmu's glaring, tear-filled blue eyes…

Bringing up her left leg, she crossed it over-

 _Whack!_ -and kicked Youmu in the right temple. "Ngh…!?"

This moment of respite allowed the miko to pull Roukanken from the samurai's clutches with her dark maw.

Rolling around on her arms awkwardly, she felt the blade slip from her mouth as she landed on her knees. ' _Like hell!_ ' Bringing her right arm up, she thrust it with a burst of dark energy to grab it-

Instead, she hit the bottom of the handle with her palm, sending the sword rocketing out and to the left, towards its wielder. ' _Ah!_ '

 _Shink!_

"Nnn…" Eyes wide, Youmu stumbled back, Roukanken embedded one third into her stomach.

...Thud. After a moment, her hands clamping to the blade until they bled, she fell backwards.

The decagram barrier around the arena faded out.

…

Sendai heard the clacking of someone's shoes as she rested her gaze on the fallen samurai.

"That's enough! _Hold it!_ " Rinnosuke sprinted into the scene, face hard as he ran up to Youmu and crouched next to her. "Youmu!"

' _Wha- what?_ ' The events seemed to catch up to the miko on a delay. ' _Why would he-... oh. Oh._ '

"Are you okay!?" He yelled into the girl's face inadvertently.

"A- aah…" Wincing from his volume, she looked up at him with teary eyes. "I'm-... no- not done…" With a shaky jaw, she dug her arms into the stone below, slowly trying to arch into a sitting up position-

" _Aah!_ " With a jolt, she flopped back down. "A- aanh… nnh…"

"Hold _still._ " Rinnosuke kept her down with his hand. "Let me just-"

 _Shi~nk_. With careful precision, Sendai pulled Roukanken from the girl's bleeding bowels, and cast it aside. "Potion. _Now._ "

"Ri- right." Taking the potion he had on hand, Rinnosuke popped it open, brought it up to Youmu's face, and slid it into her mouth.

Though her expression was pained and angry, she accepted the potion's contents with greedy gulps, half-choking on them as they went down. "Ghk- nnh…"

...After a brief moment, she'd consumed all of the potion. Taking the bottle from her mouth, Rinnosuke set it aside calmly.

…

"Kauf- kauh…" Coughing, Youmu let herself lie against the ragged stones, looking away as tears consistently rolled down her cheeks.

...Stepping back, Sendai blinked at her. ' _Damn. Now that I look at her like this, I can't help but feel bad. Whatever._ '

Sighing, Rinnosuke stood up. "...I couldn't see _exactly_ how that even happened, but…"

Sendai looked at him. "Hmm?"

"It's a different time now." Rinnosuke gave her a hard expression. "We... don't just kill any youkai we happen to have a dispute with, anymore."

...Blinking, the miko replied after a moment of thought. "I did what I had to. Could kinda tell killing wasn't as cool anymore, and-"

"Putting her _blade through her_ was what you had to do?" Skeptical, Rinnosuke folded his arms.

"I didn't-..." Stopping herself, she realizes how unbelievable the scenario in which she did it sounds. ' _Whatever._ ' "I didn't exactly _mean_ to."

"Aa~h, what's all the hubbub?" Marcus leisurely finished meandering over to the two.

Looking over at him sternly, Rinnosuke frowned. "You saw the aftermath. What was your take?"

...Marcus shrugged. "Did what she had ta."

"Seriously…" At that, Rinnosuke admonished him. "Do you see the state she left her in? I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt here, but-"

"Boy…" Marcus spoke up, smiling at him. "I know we're all a little _rusty_ , but do ya _really_ think our purdy shrine maiden over here would actually kill an aspirin' young lad?"

' _...That's a good point. Kourin, the fuck were you thinking I was thinking?_ '

…

"In the moment I didn't really realize what'd happened. It all ended so fast." Sendai admitted. "But, seeing her lying there, all beaten up… I felt bad. But, I knew it was what I had to do."

"Katana through her." Rinnosuke vainly reminded her.

Sendai reflected the vain stare back at him. "Fff- ask her when she wakes up. It'll sound like bullshit coming from me."

...

Sighing, Rinnosuke slouched. "Sorry. It's just..."

' _Big softie._ ' Sighing, Sendai gave him a lopsided smile. ' _If you were still a kid, I'd hug you. It'd be weird now._ '

"I'm…" Youmu sat up, margins more composed. "I didn't pass out or anything, you know."

' _Woah._ ' Sendai jerked her head to look at her. ' _And she's_ still _up._ '

Rinnosuke blinked, too. "...You should get some rest. Even with the potion-"

"Not on these _rocks_ …" She sat up further. "Ow."

...At that, Rinnosuke nodded. "Yeah, that's a good point."

' _Pfft…_ '

...Still focusing on the shopkeeper, Youmu spoke. "I'm pretty sure it was an accident. She'd have to be a lunatic to have planned that."

Rinnosuke sighed. "...Yeah. What- how did it happen, anyway?"

Youmu snorted. "Well… it's kind of embarrassing…" She glared at the floor. "And _frustrating_."

Sendai snorted. "You're a real trooper, you know?"

"I don't wanna hear that coming from you." The samurai looked up at her, giving her an enduring grin. "...By, uhm, by the way… your mouth."

' _Hmm?_ ' Bringing her hand up- "Nh- fuak- ohw ohw!"

Rinnosuke looked over at her in alarm. "Wh- what…!? What's wrong?"

' _Fucking…!_ ' "O- iohn! O- iohn!" ' _Just touching it messed it up this bad!?_ ' The miko resisted the urge to touch her serrated mouth corners and cheek flesh again, for fear it would intensify the pain.

Taking out a potion, Rinnosuke marched towards her-

Holding out her arms and shaking her hands, Sendai made the motions for a quick cast-

Youmu tossed a bottle from her pockets into the air.

 _Di-di~ng!_ A drop of healthy green, luminous liquid fell on the miko's head, and spread throughout her-

"Nnn~!" Taking a step back, she shut her eyes. ' _Oo~kay! Wo~w!_ '

…

After a moment, she opened them, rubbing some water from her eyes. ' _Owhaho~w. Okay, I'm good now…_ '

Rinnosuke lowered his potion bottle. "Ah."

"It was my fault." Youmu revealed. "I may've… tried to cut her head off, and she stopped my sword with her teeth, so I cut her mouth. The flesh held until she poked it…"

…

Rinnosuke doubletook. "So that blood on your lips… okay."

The miko grinned, the aching pain from her mouth flesh reconnecting pulsing away. "Told you ya wouldn't believe me if I told it."

...As things quieted down, the two standing people looked to Marcus.

Marcus simply had his hand in his pockets, observing the scene. "...Why's everyone lookin' at me now?"

"...No reason, actually." Sendai admitted. "You were quiet."

Marcus snorted. "Can an old man have the time ta hallucinate in peace? For all you know, I was gettin' a lap dance beyond comprehension!"

Sendai chuckled. "It's gonna be sad when you really _do_ get dementia."

Marcus snorted, waving the notion off. "Aah, nothin' the doctor can't cure…"

' _...What doctor can cure dementia?_ '

Like this, the clearing was left in a state of severe disrepair. The cherry blossom trees were bare, the grass was annihilated, the dirt kicked up, the pathway turned to cobble, and the midst of it adorned with signs of struggle and a very curious looking overlapping of an octogram, nonagram and a decagram.

Youmu began to stand. "I… might as well show you all inside. Would you like some tea?"

' _That'd be nice, actually._ ' "Sure." The miko accepted this offer.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

"It's not everyday someone manages to use Roukanken against me." The four sat around a large kotatsu in one of the side rooms. One of the walls was smashed up due to the previous events, and the room being along the exterior front of the shrine manor.

The room's walls had soft, white coloration complete with the paper walls one might expect from a shrine. The floor was wooden.

Giving the soft blue kotatsu a glance as she got settled, Youmu laid a tray of tea down on the top and sat down proper…

"Not everyday I fight a _youkai samurai_." Sendai remarked, moving to lift her teacup…

"Ah…" Looking up at her, Youmu began asking questions. "So… you said you were, 'the miko who came before'. Does that mean you're…?"

"Reimu's mother? Yeah." Nodding, Sendai took a sip from her tea…

"...Aren't you, um, dead?" Youmu was confused.

...The miko slowly lowers her teacup. "Could a dead girl kick your ass like that?"

"Yes." Youmu replied without hesitation, before blinking at her own statement. "Well… you say that as if… you know I'm a half-ghost, yes?"

"...I know you have a ghost- _half_." The miiko grinned at her. "I also know you're some kind of youkai."

"...A half-ghost, basically." Youmu looked over the two men at the kotatsu…

Marcus seemed to be pointing his finger at his tea to make it swirl around, while Rinnosuke just stared into his cup…

"One half of me is actually mostly human." Youmu revealed. "Still, I have much higher capacity for magic than most…"

' _I'll say. Wait..._ ' She focused on the half-ghost again. "Is that how you removed those talismans so easily? Being half human, and all."

Youmu shrugged. "Well, kind of. This realm, Hakugyokurou, also gives us spirits… or at least even the spirit-esque, some advantages. This includes some protection from holy elements."

' _I see…_ '

"I'm also, being a half-ghost… I'm half-dead, too." Youmu informed the miko. "I know it sounds weird, but…"

' _Hey, we have something in common._ ' Smirking, the miko took a sip from her tea again…

One of the room's doors slid open. "Youmu~..."

The four turned to the newcomer…

A fluffy, pink-haired curvy ghost woman clad in a blue kimono began floating up to the table. "...Oo~h! Yukari's guests!"

Youmu sighed. "...So _that_ was true, too."

"Did you see the performers on the way here…?" Smiling carefree, the ghost brought her arms up and waved her oversized sleeves about. "They're so _cute_ , aren't they?"

...Sendai gave her a raised brow. "That was you?"

"You knew they were coming, Yuyuko-sama…?" Youmu gave her mistress a vain stare. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it'd be a nice surprise." With a warm smile, the ghost floated up to Sendai, and rested her generous bust on the miko's head from behind her. "Say hi to Reimu's mo~m…!"

' _What the fuck._ ' Sendai's brow twitched as the ghost's arms draped over her shoulders…

"A… nice surprise." Youmu slowly nodded. "...I guess."

Rinnosuke gazed up at her. "You know… a lot of trouble could have been avoided."

"Hmm?" Tilting her head, Yuyuko smiled.

' _She's cold, for some reason._ ' Body tense, the miko kept aware of anything offkey that might occur…

"If you'd told Youmu we were coming, there wouldn't have been a fight outside just now." He explained to her.

...Yuyuko tilted her head in the opposite direction. "There was a fi~ght? I didn't hear anything…"

...Feeling a tickling sensation along her back, the miko slipped out an ofuda and threw it up behind herself-

 _Fwap!_ It struck Yuyuko's bust.

Following up, the miko thrust herself back-

-only to slide straight through Yuyuko. ' _Woah…_ '

"My, my~..." Leisurely brushing the ofuda from herself, the ghost turned to face the miko. "You're full of energy, aren't you?"

"What the hell were you trying to do to me?" Springing onto her legs, the miko asserted herself. "I felt something."

"O~h…" Bringing her hands to her face, Yuyuko thrust her ghost tail forward and wiggled it about. "It must've been my tail. Sorry~..."

' _Yeah, uh huh._ ' Skeptically, the miko continued. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't."

…

"Oo~h…" Leaning back lazily, Yuyuko exhaled. "You got me~."

From behind her back, Yuyuko brought out a murky dark orb, her arm clipping through herself to retrieve it. "I just wanted to see what you were like. It's not everyday that a human, let alone a _shrine maiden_ , can hold such _power_ inside…"

Sendai flared dark energy into her arms, looking them over before looking back up at the ghost. "What's your game? I'm not really in the mood to screw around."

' _I can see why Yukari's friends with her…_ '

Pouting, Yuyuko half-slouched in the air. "Aww~h. It doesn't look like it, but… this is barely any of your mana. You spent more creating that paper you hit me with than you lost from this…" Holding out the dark orb, Yuyuko smiled at it. "I just took a little bit, and…"

 _Fwam!_ In her arm, the orb flourished, growing twice its size and eating the light around it-

 _Fwi~sh._ It shrunk back down into an almost luminescent black stone, small enough to fit between two of Yuyuko's fingers. "Actual si~ze."

...Lazily, she held her mouth open and popped it in, proceeding to chew it. "Mmm…!"

' _Are… really?_ ' Blinking, the miko watched the ghost consume a fragment of her mana.

Yuyuko swallowed. "...It's sweet."

' _That's nice._ '

...Turning around, Yuyuko slipped into Sendai's seat at the kotatsu, and leaned into it. "Youmu~. Feed me~."

...Youmu blinked apologetically. "We're out of meals, Yuyuko-sama. We've still got snacks, so…" She began to rise from the kotatsu. "I'll be right back."

"Get me the bag with the~..." Yuyuko stared into the air thoughtfully. "...Oh! Tasty Cakes!"

"Right away, Yuyuko-sama." Bowing as she stood, Youmu began to march out of the room.

Marcus snorted, looking over Yuyuko's form... "Y'know, cake ain't very healthy fer ya."

...Yuyuko gave him a stare. "...We~ll…"

...Sitting upright, she turned to the door Youmu just went out and called out. "Youmu~! Get me some sunflower seeds too~! And some yogu~rt!"

"Oka~y!" Youmu called back from somewhere in the halls.

' _She just tripled the things she's going to eat… and, I don't think diet matters so much when you're dead. I'd know, too._ '

...Walking around the kotatsu, Sendai moved to steal Youmu's spot.

Once seated, she idly lifted Youmu's tea and began to drink from it…

' _...Wait._ ' Finishing her sip, she looked across the table, only to notice her glass next to Yuyuko, and also empty. ' _When? She didn't even move._ '

"So…" While Youmu was gone, the miko sat up and began interrogating the ghost before her. "Why'd Yukari send us here?"

"I dunno~." Yuyuko put no effort into her response.

"...Do you want anything from us?" Sendai posed her next question, arms resting atop the kotatsu.

"Not rea~lly…" Yuyuko looked off to the side… "Oh! Did any of you bring sweets…?"

…

Grinning, Marcus took a stone from his pocket. "Well, y'see, I got this cool lookin' water stone here. Noticed it by the cherry blossoms-"

Leaning forward, Yuyuko snatched the water stone from his hands and shoved it into her mouth-

 _Fwush_. Her head jerked back, water spurting from her mouth slightly as her cheeks puffed. "Mnh…!" Then-

 _Gulp_. She swallowed the stone, water and all. "Oo~h. A little too soggy, but refreshing…"

Marcus's eyebrows were raised. "...Ya don't say?"

The door to the room slid open again. Youmu stepped inside, holding what looked to be a bucket of yogurt, a tin bucket full of sunflower seeds, and a family-sized bag of 'Tasty Cakes' with both arms.

Hobbling into the room with her payload, she called out. "Here you go, Yuyuko-sama…"

' _A ghost doesn't even need to eat…_ ' Sendai slowly realized the absurdity of the situation. ' _Let alone this feast she's had prepared!_ '

Awkwardly approaching the table, the samurai laid down the snacks one at a time…

"Ooo~..." Perking up, Yuyuko's eyes danced between her selection indecisively, before she reached out for a handful of sunflower seeds.

Turning to Marcus, she smirks. "See? I can eat healthy…" With a swift motion, she shoveled the handful of seeds into her mouth.

 _Crunch, crunch._ She chewed the seeds like chips, her eyebrows raising. "Ooo~. Forgoht how shalty theshe were…"

 _Gulp_. She swallowed the entire handful of seeds, shells and all.

' _...Now that I think about it, ghosts can probably eat whatever they want however they want. But-... they wouldn't have tastebuds, would they?_ ' The miko's brows were furrowed. ' _I'm thinking about this too hard._ '

"You know…" Rinnosuke spoke up, having finished his tea. "You're supposed to crack the shells and spit them out, not… swallow them too."

Yuyuko blinked at him. "Why would you do that? They're salty and nice..."

...Rinnosuke just slowly shook his head, unsure of what to tell her.

"Youmu, did you bring my spoon?" Yuyuko reached for the yogurt bin, popping the top off.

"Um…" Youmu considered what to tell her. "You… broke it, the other day. Remember?"

Yuyuko blinked. "...Oh! Right. Whoopsie…"

Lifting up the head-sized canister of yogurt, Yuyuko tipped her head back and began drinking it like water.

' _...I know she's a ghost and all, but… if she eats like this regularly, where does it even go? Her boobs…?_ '

...After a moment, Yuyuko finished. "Fwa~h…"

 _Clack_. She sat the now empty yogurt tin down before herself, before reaching for the 'Tasty Cakes'.

' _As someone who's lived on the fringes..._ ' Sendai stared at the gluttony vainly. ' _Where the hell were people like her when I needed cash? Or, food even, if she were rich and generous while alive. The village is full of bums..._ '

...A moment before the ghost's hand reached the bag, she paused.

"You know…" Smiling, she looked around at the three before her idly. "Why don't we go look at my garden? Youmu-chan put a _lot_ of work into it… and while we're doing that, she can prepare dinner for us!"

' _Isn't she overworked?_ ' The miko looked over at the samurai, only to find her expression curiously at ease with this development.

"...Okay, Yuyuko-sama." Giving her mistress a short bow, the swordswoman began to leave.

Floating from the kotatsu- essentially clipping her body through it as she did so- Yuyuko moved towards the door as well. "Come. Follow me..."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Thirty two thousand, seven hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Two Potions - Low tier restoration items. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

Three Ethers - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

Three Panaceas - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(twenty slots remaining)

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

Two Hi-Ethers - Expert mana restoration items. Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

youmu fight

i was like 'how the hell am i gonna make sendai fight a super fast swordsgirl' but i suppose i found my answer!

took a slight longer than anticipated because _college is back in session_ and combined with my frikmania it's a messy time yo

still i'm doing well so i just gotta relax a bit more - w -

youmu ended up using a lot of crowd control-centric cards here (perhaps a lapse in her judgment) but they were fun and sendai didn't have the mobility to outright curbstomp them most of the time

still youmu was a little _too_ decisive at times which lead to her getting beat up - w -

if you're curious as to why both parties were so cautious when it came to using bold decisive moves, it's mostly because they're both skilled combatants and one slip up could mean a crushing or crippling blow to either of them

like if youmu just put all her might into a good wide slash or sendai just cast holy spark for no reason either one could get just annihilated by the other

while sendai was unarmed she had a huge strength advantage! while youmu is indeed a youkai, body-wise she's probably well off but _quite skinny and lean_ so naturally sendai's attacks will just freakin' smash her, even if her ghost + hakugyokurou dark affinity bonus softens the blow of some of sendai's more punishing basic physical manuevers

...that said, youmu's Roukanken can cut through _almost anything_ which includes human bones and everythings. most of the fight youmu wasn't expressly trying for lethality (she's skilled enough with the sword to use it to subdue with half-embedded slashes or, if the enemy's weak enough, strikes of her blade flat), but one fatal slip and she could easily slice 'n' dice a boy yo

Roukanken extremely emphasizes skill but at the end of the day you gotta remember it's a sword in a land 'a projectiles (even if she can use it to make projectiles that aren't really as lethal as her sword)

that ending was hype - w - good ol _Yakuza 0_ heat moves yo

there were some questions that were unanswered, but their conversing ain't over yet, yo

oh yeah and if you're wondering where the prismrivers went in all of this, it's pretty much implied through their absence that they buggered off after getting beat up and sendai began tussling with youmu - w -

so yeah!

oh right, just read that review about rinnosuke having the sword of kusanagi- he's not got it on him for _reasons_ i'd rather he later elucidate on, but he does have it

admittedly forgot about that but there's good reason he didn't take it with him - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	14. 3-4 - Undead Bloodlines

Sendai, Marcus and Rinnosuke followed the ghost princess out behind the large, manor-esque shrine.

Back here, standing many feet over the manor itself, was a tree. The bark was a dull grey, the tree itself towering, massive and looming over the gloomy airspace.

' _I've never seen a tree this big..._ ' Sendai stared up at the towering, seemingly wilted and rotten cherry blossom tree. ' _It's a little clean to be rotted… but it's a little weird to be alive._ '

The manor's rear garden was at first akin to the front path, beginning with a clean stone stretch. However, as the path and the nearby cherry blossoms neared the central, towering, decrepit tree, aggressive roots were visible, uprooting entire curiously living smaller cherry blossoms.

The roots of the massive Japanese foliage stretched far and wide from the trunk itself…

...As the four stopped short of the most ruined segment of path, where the roots became impossible as they intruded upon the masonry, Yuyuko held her arms up. "...Magnificence."

' _Weird._ ' The miko gave the ghost a jaded expression. "...So. What's up with this tree?"

...Snapping back to reality, the ghost turned to the miko. "Oh. Sorry~, I forgot you were there…!"

' _Nice job._ '

...Smiling, looking back at the large tree, she spoke. "It is, the Saigyou Ayakashi. A youkai tree, once alive, but no more. For the better."

' _She's speaking differently from before…_ '

Turning back to the miko, Yuyuko's smile became static. "You have the scent of death on you, Hakurei. In more ways than one…"

"She was from a different time." Rinnosuke blurted out in her defense. "...And, even Reimu enforces more corporal measures in certain cases."

"Oh, it's not _that_ I care about. Even if it is _interesting_ …" Floating closer to the miko with her unchanging smile, Yuyuko continued. "You were once dead, only a few days ago. But, your soul has been pulled back, and your body… restored."

' _Where's she going with this?_ '

"You are in Hakugyokurou, realm of the dead." Twirling around, Yuyuko faces the immense, dead cherry blossom tree. Her smile grew wider as she stared up at the tree. "It's a little exclusive, however..."

' _...Realm of the dead?_ '

"Hakurei." Yuyuko posed a question. "Do you remember what it was like, to be dead?"

' _...That sounds like a threat, but in context it probably isn't._ '

"Not… really." Sendai admitted. "I felt like I got a good night's rest."

...Yuyuko glanced down at the base of the Ayakashi. "I don't remember what it was like to be alive. All I remember, was the memories jogged in me by your daughter."

' _Ah…?_ '

"That night, when I fed myself to the Ayakashi…" Still smiling widely, the ghost princess turned back around to face the miko's party. "Your daughter stopped something terrible from happening, here."

…

After a moment, Marcus spoke up. "Ey, wasn't Marisa wit' 'er?"

"Indeed." Yuyuko gave a grand nod. "The devil's maid, too." Her eyes traveled to the shopkeeper. "I guess a lonely hobbyist is also fine..."

Rinnosuke's brow twitched.

Sendai opened her mouth-

"You seek answers." Yuyuko spread her arms again. "...I don't have the ones you're looking for."

' _More honest than Yukari, at least._ ' Sendai propped her arms on her hips…

"But, Gensokyo has changed since you've been gone, Hakurei miko." Drifting further into the air, Yuyuko held her arms behind her back… "I wish to do you all a favor, and… educate you, on how Gensokyo settles its disputes."

"Danmaku." Sendai rattles off what she knows. "Kinda already got into a bunch of skirmishes. 'Sides, I had my fair share of fights back in the day."

"You're fortunate that vampire seldom fights seriously." Yuyuko criticizes the miko's logic. "...Even if you feel prepared, I can say with utmost certainty from your display earlier, you are not."

' _She was watching? Actually, that figures. This shift in her personality's jarring, even if youkai tend to do it sometimes..._ '

"Prepare yourself for what lies dormant amongst Gensokyo's landscape…" Yuyuko gives the party a slow, single blink. "No longer will you fight tyrannical beasts of old. Your foes are skilled, ages old and very wise. Even with your second chance, and your blood, you are human. Though your daughter was born into a fortunate system of power, you are set in your ways, enforcing justice through a system of combat sheathed, but sharp and not forgotten."

' _When the hell'd she become a sage?_ '

…The three stared up at the ghost with mixed expressions.

"And what's in it fer you?" Marcus chipped in. "An' whaddaya mean by 'teaching'?"

"...I wish to see if the elder Hakurei has as much talent at jogging my memory as her descendant." Yuyuko smiled at him, giving him a reassuring nod. "...And by teaching, I mean sparring. For ones such as yourselves, I'm sure this is the only way you may learn further. It is the product of progress, concerning oneself."

' _I think I knew that already…_ ' Sendai stretched her arms. "Y'know, sure. I guess we could go for a round…"

Rinnosuke stepped back… "I don't think this is as it seems."

' _Because it's not._ ' The miko's eyes were locked on the ghost's...

Marcus waved him off. "Aa~h, when's it ever? Let's beat 'er up and eat some 'a her snacks, yeah? It'll probably be an all-you-can-eat, too!"

"You're vastly underestimating her…" Rinnosuke began to ready his pistol, even if he didn't plan to fire it. "We should've stocked up on healing items."

' _...Ah, I still have my Hi-Potion and Elixir._ ' Sendai took stock of her inventory. ' _And a lot of crap…_ '

"I got mana!" Marcus holds up his grey, tubular bazooka… "So if ya need mana, I got it…!"

Yuyuko closed her eyes, drifting back, towards the Saigyou Ayakashi's roots…

…

The realm was silent as the miko who came before gazed over the ghost's floating form.

...Yuyuko's pink eyes snapped open. "Let's play _danmaku~!_ "

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

FINAL STAGE - Undead Bloodlines

 _Kroo~m, kroo~m_. To the left and right on the ground before the ghost princess, two thick, jagged roots erupted from the stone, pointing into the air.

Spreading her arms out, Yuyuko Saigyouji stared up into the air over the soon-to-be battlefield…

' _How to approach this…_ ' The miko looked up at the ghost in the air. ' _Guess we'll start with throwing things at her. She doesn't look nearly as nimble as her servant._ '

Rinnosuke aimed his gun at the two pillars of root that took Yuyuko's sides. "...I'm not sure if there's anything here I can make drowsy."

Marcus readied his bazooka. "Fire oughta clean up those roots real nicely… 'er maybe ice..."

As the three readied themselves, the opposition acted instantly.

Submerging partially, spikes of wood began crinkling and cracking out of the right tendril pillar's bark-

 _Fwoo~_. Pink, radiant energy flowered out from it, glowing ominously…

"Lifespan…" Bringing a hand before herself, Yuyuko pressed on the air as if an invisible disc was there. "Ticket to the Ageless Land."

 _Fwo-fwo-fwo-fwoom_. Around Sendai, a ring of five, purple wisps of flame formed, rotating around her on a firm vertical axis.

' _I feel like… we might want to open with a defense this time._ ' Sendai gazed at the wisps around herself, adrenaline feeding into her veins…

The left tendril pillar flashed briefly-

 _Fwhir_. A magical circle formed before it, decorated with curiously ill-defined blots of magic.

 _Fwoom_. Beneath Rinnosuke, a waft of dark energy began to rush up from the ground, blowing his hair up as it did so.

"Ah- ah…!" Intimidated by it, he leapt back and out of it-

 _Fwam!_ A pillar of pink, black and blue energy erupted from the floor where he once stood, stretching far into the overcast sky. "... _Geez!_ "

' _Pft._ '

 _Fwoam!_ ...Marcus generated a curved magical barrier before the party. "There we go. Dunno how much it'll help us, but u~h…"

One of the wisps orbiting Sendai went out, leaving four. ' _Oh, this is gonna suck…_ '

 _Fwap- fwap!_ She tossed two ofuda up at Yuyuko-

 _Zap!_ The ghost let them hit her form and initialize, drilling holy energy through her.

...Then, the ofuda fluttered off, the ghost acting indifferent to the attack. ' _Wow._ '

Rinnosuke pointed his gun up at Yuyuko. "I have magical bullets! I'll- I'll shoot if I have to!"

"Nope." Yuyuko gave him a smile.

"...Oh." He simply nodded at that…

Taking out a mana molotov, the miko moved behind Marcus's shield…

Still glowing, the right, spiky tendril pillar's light faded out… before flaring back to life-

 _Fwa~m!_ The blinding, purple light lit up the entire clearing…

As the fog light of purple faded out, the magic barrier before the miko and Marcus flickered out. ' _Oh._ '

"A- aah…" Falling backwards onto his rear, Rinnosuke pointed his gun at the tendril. "Hu- uah…" He was seemingly pained by the energy released by the tendril...

' _...I'll do something about those tendrils first. We can focus on the ghost girl later, since she's just floating right now, and I'm sure the backup is weaker than she is._ '

She glanced over at Rinnosuke. ' _...He's probably mostly fine._ '

"The Saigyou Ayakashi..." Yuyuko unfurled two fans from within her kimono, and began spreading them out-

 _FWAM_

In the air behind her, a massive pink fan adorned with floral designs flourished and flowered into existence, looming over the battleground, just before the Ayakashi.

' _Doesn't look like she'll give us a lot of time to wait…!_ '

 _Kroo~m_. The left tendril lowered into the floor-

' _Below me-_ '

 _Boom!_ "Ah…!" The miko did a quick, somewhat stinted leap to avoid a crag of rock that was expelled from the floor, intent on smashing her.

 _Clack_. She landed well enough a few feet away. ' _Alright…_ ' Flaring darkness into her legs, she ran towards the leftmost tendril-

 _Boom!_ She kicked into the side of it, a dark shockwave emitting from where her sandal met the bark.

...Lowering her leg, she saw that she'd only scuffed it.

Another wisp on the ring around her went out, leaving three revolving.

 _Fwoam!_ Marcus erected another magical barrier. "No~w, now, can't go without that now…"

"Ngh…" Clumsily, Rinnosuke began to shamble towards the barrier, before tapping into his strength and pounding all limbs against the floor to reach it faster.

The previously bright tendril pillar began to seemingly eat the light around it, before-

 _FWOAM_

A small, black orb drifted out from it, before expanding to a huge size…

Sendai hid behind the pillar she was near-

 _FWOA-WOA-WOA-WOAM_

The orb expanded, violently expelling dark energy into the clearing. Everything went dark.

' _Holy crap._ ' Sendai stared into pitch black.

...As light snapped back into place a moment later, the miko looked out from around the bark pillar she hid behind.

Marcus was holding onto Rinnosuke, and the fragments of the magic barrier was folded around them, slowly withering away. "Ho~ly shit…" The mage let go of the half-youkai, and dusted himself off… "Well, if we're gonna be _showy_ about it…"

Yuyuko spread her arms out, closing her eyes… "My body is sealed beneath the Saigyou Ayakashi, preventing it from becoming alive once more and ravishing life."

The tendril pillar near Sendai began to shake…

 _Krack- krack- krack!_ Smaller, nearly purple, misty tendrils extended from the big root, converging towards the miko's form-

 _Bam!_ She rocketed into the air after crouching down and empowering her legs for a leap…

Tossing aside her molotov and maximizing a yin yang orb, the miko held it below herself. ' _This thing does holy when it gets good momentum. If I kick it down..._ '

Another wisp surrounding the miko faded, leaving two around herself.

Marcus aimed his bazooka at the same tendril the miko was about to attack-

 _Fwoam!_ He fired a beam of ice at it-

 _Fwi~sh!_ The ice beam drilled into the tendril, crystals of frost spreading around its form-

 _Bam!_ A shockwave roared off the orb as the miko kicked it down-

 _Kra~ck!_

The tendril was shattered by the holy impact, becoming a small storm of black, icy shards-

 _FWAM- fwoah- fwoam- fwishwishwish…_ The remains of the tendril exploded into a black and red storm of color and magic.

' _Easy enough, for a tree root._ '

 _Clack!_ Sendai landed hard on reinforced legs. Looking back at the other pointy root, the miko prepared to bolt towards it-

 _Fwim_. Then, there was only a single, luminescent wisp orbiting her.

Flaring her form with dark energy, she began to near the other party members. ' _Might as well be within healing distance when this explodes on me or whatever._ '

The rightmost tendril began to glow again…

Casting his bazooka aside, Marcus held his arms out-

 _Fw-Zap, Fwam, Fwam!_ Instead of erecting a regular barrier, Marcus created a spherical orb around the tendril. "There. Weak as shit, but all that spell seems ta do is drain mana." ...He turned to Rinnosuke. "You hardly ever use yer mana, so you'll just feel tired at most from it. Woulda hit me 'n' her a lot harder!"

Rinnosuke sighed. "...I see. In any case…"

Aiming up at the ghost princess, Rinnosuke waved his wand with his off hand-

 _Fwhii~r_. A bright orb flickered from the barrel, before an opposing orb mirrored down from the sky above and filled the clearing with dim light.

Yuyuko blinked a few times, her vision impaired by the flare whose piercing light was directed only at her.

...The rightmost tendril once again flared with draining energy, which only served to dispel the fragile orb Marcus set up around it.

' _Okay…_ ' Sendai drew another mana molotov. ' _Time to beat up this ghost. Marcus's got that tendril._ '

"Some seasons ago, I sought to awaken my body beneath the Ayakashi. I had forgotten that I'd even sealed it in the first place." Yuyuko pressed a hand against the air again…

Fwoo-fwoo-fwoom. Three drafts of dark air began to rush up beneath the three.

Adrenaline flaring, Sendai turned. ' _Marcus can't dodge fast…_ '

 _Bam!_ She pounded against the path's flat stone tiles to accelerate towards him-

 _Thud!_ -and tackle him out of the way-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ From the drafts on the ground, columns of fiercely glowing, violet energy stretched into the night sky.

Sendai was skimmed by the dark energy, but her body was only left vaguely aching. ' _Ah…_ '

 _Thud._ She skidded against the ground on her back, the mage in her arms.

...Marcus promptly rolled off of her. "Aa~h. Telegraphed columns… she's not even _begun_ fightin' us yet."

' _If she's on par with these roots, this should be easy._ '

Rinnosuke worked back up onto his legs, having evaded the pillar that came for him. "I'm… really not… cut out for this…"

' _When we get back, he needs a workout regiment._ ' Sendai gave him a dry glance. ' _Half-youkai and already winded? C'mo~n…_ '

 _Fwish_. The final wisp went out, leaving Sendai faintly luminescent with purple energy as she got back up onto her own limbs.

She flared darkness into her limbs. ' _Oh, ri-_ '

 _Fwam!_ She skid to the right, stricken by an invisible force-

 _Fwam!_ A slash of pink energy tore into her from somewhere, sending her skidding to the left-

 _Fwam-Fwam-Fwam!_

' _What the hell…_ ' Once the five-strike bombardment was done, the miko gradually stood up straight, her top torn and body riddled with dark-accented slash marks. ' _I've taken harder, but that was out of nowhere..._ '

Then, it hit her. ' _...Oh, damn it. I was supposed to attack her to dispel those wisps, wasn't I? They didn't hit_ that _hard anyway..._ ' She felt the slash marks, eyes narrowing at the lingering stings. ' _Fuck._ '

Marcus thrust his arms out. "Blizzard crystals!"

Silently, a myriad of icy crystals faded into existence around the tendril pillar-

 _Crack- Fwish- Cra- Fwish- Crack!_ Some shattered into shockwaves of frost, while others dissipated directly into icy energy which homed in on the root's form, chilling it.

"Your shots land no more!" Rinnosuke held his pistol towards Yuyuko.

 _Fwhi~r._ Once again, he magically propelled a flare from it, which flickered into the sky and further impaired Yuyuko's vision.

...The right tendril pillar began to flash really slowly.

"After I had called for all the spring of Gensokyo to revive myself, I was confronted." Yuyuko smiled down at the party. "Three girls, with all the remaining vitality of Gensokyo's nature, flew straight up into this realm when the boundary between life and death was at its weakest."

 _Kroo~m_. Sendai stopped herself from tripping, after a spike of rock really slowly came from the floor beneath her and threw her off balance. ' _What…?_ '

 _Bam!_ After recovering, she slammed a sandal into the floor to throw herself forward, drifting into the air as she gained on the partially frozen tendril-

 _Cra~ck!_ She delivered a kick to the side of it, traveling through.

It exploded into an array of shiny, partially powdery icicles, which slowly faded to black as the few non-solidified chunks of root turned dark, vaporized, and returned to the Ayakashi's bark as particles.

 _Fwa- fwoam- fwam- fwaom!_ The explosions of these icicles were less volatile than that of the other tendril's.

With this, Yuyuko was the last enemy standing. Gracefully, she floated down towards the party, her large fan still hanging in the background…

Sliding to a stop on the ground, Sendai felt her limbs. Her dark energy slowed the blood flow from each slash wound she'd endured from Yuyuko's spell, allowing one to freely flow and clot at a time before letting the next do its thing.

"Against all odds, I was bested." Yuyuko spoke to the party. "They reminded me… of me. My past, that is."

An amber orb generated above Marcus. " _Firaga~!_ " He threw his arm out towards the ghost.

The large, amber orb slowly curved up into the air, then fell down-

 _Boom!_ It exploded into a great blast of flame, leaving Yuyuko ablaze.

Despite burning, she didn't seem to be taking the situation very differently. "It is through this past that I am immortal."

...She winked. "In spirit, anywa~y. Yet, there's still a lot I don't remember..."

"There's… only so many times I can blind her until it stops being useful." Rinnosuke was running out of debuff options. "I'm not sure if it even works."

"Deadly Dance…" Spreading her arms and unfurling her glowing fans to their max span, Yuyuko began to emit pink energy… "Law of Mortality, Demon World."

With her arms extended, she began gently drifting around, aimless-

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWAM!_ Massive, empty blue orbs expelled from her arms in great waves.

Readying an axe of Hakurei talismans, Sendai sprinted towards the wave of huge orbs. ' _Protecting a party from this kinda thing's pretty hard…!_ '

 _Fwoash!_ Kirisame audibly erected a defensive barrier somewhere within the maelstrom of immobile huge bullets-

Then, all at once, the massive blue globes began mobilizing, each wave dedicated to slamming into a single party member at a time.

 _Fwa-fwa-fwam!_ " _Huua~gh!_ " Rinnosuke yelled out somewhere in the flush of bullets…

"Hup…!" Sendai performed a swift leap over a myriad of bullets that came down towards her, their trajectory allowing her to graze them as they smashed into the floor-

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWAM!_ Yuyuko generated another two waves as she slowly danced through the air, almost asleep in the way she did so.

Translucent butterflies with orbular cores began to emanate from her, fluttering as they slowly spiraled outward, creating a beautiful, deadly circular pattern which continued to grow.

 _Woosh!_ As she descended back down, the miko hurled her axe forward, sending it spinning towards the ghost princess. ' _Where it stops, no one knows…!_ '

 _Clack_. She hit the ground running.

 _Fwomp-fwomp-fwomp!_ Marcus's barrier grew five sizes as the massive danmaku orbs from one wave slammed into it. "Hoo~!"

 _Fwam!_ Sendai tried to run to the side of one of the quick, massive bullet waves, but the very wake of it collided with her, exploding into a dazzling array of violet sparks. ' _Ah- shit…!_ '

The resulting magical blast threw her to the side she was dodging, causing her to fall onto her side and cringe like she just took a good punch to the gut. ' _Woah…_ '

...The danmaku butterflies started floating gently into Marcus's barrier, each impact creating a slowly expanding hole in it which forced him to shrink it with every numerous impact, the mana being consumed by the insect's self-destructive existences. "Oh- ah, oh boy…"

Drawing a mana molotov as she stumbled to her feet, Sendai lobbed it forward-

 _Crack!_ It shattered on one of the hundreds of danmaku butterflies, the holy liquid splattering to the ground without so much as a fizzle of ignition. ' _Fuck me._ '

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWAM!_ As Yuyuko expelled more intimidating waves of magic, the miko's legs flared with dark energy.

Running forward abruptly, the miko sprinted up to her. "C'mo~n!"

Yuyuko looked down at her, smiling carefree as she neared-

A wave of massive orbs came for them both. ' _Let's see her dodge her own crap…_ '

As the great danmaku neared, Yuyuko's form dissipated, becoming a huge wisp of pink energy instead, which then began to fade out as the danmaku neared.

' _Oh, fuck you._ ' Crouching, the miko looked up through the cloud of butterflies-

 _Boom!_ -and punished the ground beneath herself to leap, when given the chance.

 _Kri~ng!_ As Marcus stumbled back and away from his quickly ruined magic shield, he created a massive blade of ice from the floor before himself. "Phew. Alright, now…" Backing up from it, he held his hands up, arms violently shaking as amber energy traveled through them…

"Aah- ngh- ooh…" Panting and tired, Rinnosuke was somewhere in the background, items sheathed except for his iron sword, which he was using more as protection from the butterflies than as an actual weapon.

Once the waves of huge danmaku passed, Sendai began to descend. Yuyuko's form faded back in-

" _Thousand Blades!_ " Arching back in the air, ofuda rocketed from her clothes like a valve was released just as it began to burst, quickly taking to a ring in the air around her…

 _KABOOM!_ The side of Marcus's ice pillar facing Yuyuko exploded after fire energy was infused into it, sending icy shrapnel outward that stopped on a dime as it neared them.

Focusing, on the shards, the mage shut his eyes…

 _Shing- shi- shing, shing shing shing...!_ Each shard began to glow as he focused on their positions, the janky, jerkily held shards becoming flooded with magic energy-

Sendai's axes were complete, and began to spiral out from her, tearing into Yuyuko-

 _BOOM!_ The ice shards all exploded into vortexes of yellow, gold and cream colored star-shaped bullets, illuminating the clearing in cold, gold light.

 _FWA-FWA-FWA-FWAM!_ As the spinning, holy axes tore into Yuyuko, she attempted to fight back with two more huge waves of orbs. The scattered star danmaku began to drift into her, and her butterflies as well…

In the midst of everything, between the light of the axes, Yuyuko's spheres, and Kirisame's stars, it was pretty impossible to tell what was going on.

' _Holy shi~t…!_ ' While Sendai'd been in some complex fights before, it was going to take her some time to get used to being blinded by chaos in the midst of every hard battle of the new era.

 _Fwa- fwam!_ Before Yuyuko's danmaku dissipated, two orbs flew into Sendai's underside, flinging her like a ragdoll through the air. "Fua~h- eee~…!"

' _Wh- what…!?_ ' She almost chuckled from the speed and abruptness of the attack, but couldn't find the air in her lungs to.

After a moment, she reached the apex of her ascent, body limp as it turned from beyond the treetops.

...Like this, she was left falling.

Hand shakily nearing the pouch that held her potions, she slowly winced and waited for the landing. ' _Fuck magic… seriously, fuck-_ '

 _Thud!_

Though a force met her, Sendai blinked, her landing not as hard as anticipated. "Ah…" Rinnosuke had her in his arms, having leapt into the air in an attempt to catch her.

...Clack-

"Wo- woah…!" On landing, Rinnosuke met the ground with awkward footing and fell to the side, dropping both himself and the recovered miko to the ground.

The simple impact of being dropped was trivial to her, so the moment as a whole allowed her to catch her breath. ' _Knew I brought you along for a reason, Kourin._ '

Unsteadily maneuvering herself to get back up, the miko watched the shimmering star projectiles Marcus unleashed begin to fade out.

Yuyuko was hunched over in the air.

' _Yeah, eat it._ ' Sendai sighed...

...Promptly, the princess began rising to straight posture again, still ablaze from the initial fire spell that had engulfed her before she'd even begun her spell card.

Bringing her arms up, she adjusted her poofy hat. "Ow~."

' _...That's all she has to say about that?_ ' Sendai stared at her dryly. ' _Well, it_ was _holy and physical, and not just holy magic. And whatever Marcus used to attack… but-_ '

"Spirit Sign," Yuyuko held an arm out to her side. "Ageless Dream."

Silently, a pink, misty apparition parted from her form, and began to slowly home in on Sendai…

 _Bam!_ As it neared, the miko pistoned a leg into the floor beneath herself to accent a leap-

 _Woosh!_ She kicked to propel herself over it-

The ghost snapped to her position, merging into her anyway. ' _What the hell is-..._ '

Adjusting her legs, she readied to land, pouring dark energy into her arms and legs…

 _Clack- thud!_ As she decelerated, fell and touched the stone path, she had to do a roll to mitigate the momentum from a height normally not all that deadly to her. "Nnh…"

' _My strength was sapped…_ ' Looking over herself, she found her body glowing with pink energy still.

"I've forgotten all about the young girl I used to be." Yuyuko leaned forward, examining the miko… "I've heard I was a rather nice lass, though…"

Taking out a yin yang orb, Sendai expanded it-

 _Thud_. She immediately dropped it, surprised by its weight. ' _Oh okay…_ '

 _Fwi~sh!_ The massive fan behind the battlefield glowed brightly, for a moment.

 _Woo~sh_. A low wind, accented with thin, black particles came from it, blowing across the clearing.

Black energy clung to Rinnosuke and Marcus' forms…

The wind passed by Sendai, but the dark energy didn't interact with her. ' _Some kind of curse?_ '

"...Ah." Feeling his form, Marcus began to reach for his pocket to equip his dreamcatcher-

Yuyuko cast an arm out towards him-

 _Cli~ng!_ A chunk of ice flew from her form, hurtling towards him-

 _Boom!_ With a wave of his own arm, he sent a flare of fire into it as it neared, causing it to explode.

Sendai drew some ofuda. ' _I can still toss these._ '

 _Woosh- woosh!_ After she threw them upward, Yuyuko strafed out of the way-

The ghost waved her fan at the miko, unleashing a spread of butterfly danmaku.

"Hup…" Sendai had to exert energy simply for a dark-accented, meaningful sidehop out of the way-

 _Woosh!_ She found herself stumbling back, after the ghost closed the distance and swing her fan like a dagger, leaving a line of pink energy in the air.

As the miko stepped back, Yuyuko held a hand out-

 _Vwi~sh- Boom!_ Her palm glowed pink, before a shockwave of the same color echoed into the air and a thin laser extended out towards the miko-

 _Fwa-Zap!_ Sendai was flung by the piercing laser. "Ua~h!"

Thu-thud. She rolled to the ground awkwardly some feet away, on the edge of the large path. "Nnh…"

"Ah…!" Rinnosuke began to jog towards her, more winded than before due to the dark energy that clung to him, eating his stamina…

' _Damn it…_ ' Slowly, she began to get back up. ' _I need someone to give her a reason to go up so I can get under her…_ '

Marcus equipped his dreamcatcher properly now, filling magic into it and dispelling the stamina syphoning darkness from his body. "The~re. Nothin' a little-"

Yuyuko suddenly twirled around in place, scattering blue petals from herself-

 _Fwoo~sh_. From above Marcus, a fierce, piercingly cold wind blew down over his form, forcing him to latch a second hand onto his dreamcatcher. "A- ack…"

As frost billowed down onto his form from above, the miko huffed. "...Kou- Kourin, get under a tree."

"Hmm…?" He looked down at her as he neared her, before nodding and doing as she said. "Alright."

As he rushed under a nearby cherry blossom, Sendai drew a mana molotov…

Casting it into the air, she yelled. " _Hydro Storm!_ "

Even though the molotov only flew up a fraction of its usual toss height, it vanished.

Yuyuko looked back over at her, tilting her head…

Then, it began to rain.

Thick, heavy, holy drops of rain bombarded the clearing…

Yuyuko's form lit ablaze under the holy water. "Oh…!"

 _Fwa~sh!_ Spreading her arms above herself, she created a roof of ice above herself to catch the drops, raising a little as she did so. "A little rain never hurt anybody…"

' _She's distracted, now. Barely._ ' Sendai glanced at Marcus.

The dreamcatcher's fierce glow prevented him from freezing under the brief but harsh literal blizzard that attacked him, but he was still left shivering and vulnerable. "Ah- achoo! Eugh…" With puffy eyes, he thrust his arm out. "Firh- _Firaga~!_ "

 _Fwoom!_ A massive orb of flame was launched from his hand, arcing into the air, somewhat under assault as it met the holy raindrops…

As the holy rain came to an end, the fireball met the ice shield-

 _Boom!_ The explosion shattered it. Yuyuko floated up through it as it crumbled, not bothering to reinforce it, turning her attention towards the mage again.

"That artifact…" Her smile spread. "Yes, your daughter takes after you very much."

 _Clap!_ She clapped her hands together once-

Two salvos of four ghostly orbs expanded from her, arcing out to two different sides and slowly convening towards the man.

Sendai began sprinting towards her, her movements strained but nimble. ' _Now's my chance!_ '

...Listening to the clacking of her sandals, Yuyuko turned towards her and faced her, lowering down with speed to match the miko's sprint. "Hello~."

' _Good._ ' Glaring ahead at the ghost, the miko drew another mana molotov. ' _Maybe if I light fires on the ground, I can slip under her…_ '

As the miko stared the ghost off, Rinnosuke stepped up beside her, gun aimed at the phantom.

' _Boy, what're you tryin'a…_ ' Sendai's brow twitched, before she tossed the molotov-

 _Crack!_ It shattered at Yuyuko's feet. She let her legs burn, before they dissipated and became a ghost tail again to avoid the flames. "Fufufu~..."

 _Fwam!_ Rinnosuke's gun didn't fire, but a green muzzle flash ignited regardless.

 _Fwish!_ Mint green energy bombarded Yuyuko's form.

"I'll nap later…" She recognized the magic, but it had zero effect on her.

Slipping out some ofuda, the miko had a new idea… ' _If holy physical attacks can at the least hit her…_ '

Wrapping the ofuda around her fist, using blots of dark energy to make them stick, the miko readied to engage the mage. ' _I don't think ghosts respond well to physical damage!_ '

Bolting forward, she reeled her arm back-

 _Woosh!_ After she threw her punch at the immobile ghost, she'd ducked.

 _Fwam- Bam!_ Yuyuko did a backflip from her crouched position, the tips of her shoes grazing the miko's face.

Even so, Sendai was flung by the resulting, powerful pink energy left in the princess' wake. Butterfly-shaped bullets ate at her body's energy, leaving her aching-

 _Thud!_ -although ultimately Rinnosuke interrupted her knockback, allowing her to stumble forward awkwardly-

Thud. Rinnosuke was bowled over by the momentum. "Ugh…"

' _All this damn draining magic…_ ' Sendai exhaled. ' _It's more potent than any I thought I'd've encountered. Especially because of my dark resistance…_ '

Yuyuko landed on both shoes some feet away. "You're not gonna solve incidents like that. C'mo~n…"

...Glancing up at her, Sendai grit her teeth.

Marcus considered his options, before taking a grey sphere from his pockets… "I see~. In that case…"

 _Woosh!_ He tossed it forward weakly, where it rolled against the ground near Yuyuko.

She began to drift away from it, still facing the miko-

 _Fwam!_ His bazooka floating up beside him, Marcus fired a non-elemental beam towards the ghost.

"Oh…!" She drifted back, then over it, finally turning to pay attention to him-

 _Boom!_ The sphere he sent out exploded into a blast of raw non-elemental magic, not hitting anyone.

Both fists bandaged with ofuda, the miko began to jog towards the ghost, strafing around. ' _She knows I'm coming for her. I need to do something clever here…_ '

 _Fwhi~r!_ Rinnosuke fired another flare-

" _There!_ " Dropping down, Marcus pressed a palm to the floor-

 _Kroom!_ Where his non-elemental sphere detonated, the slab of stone that was scuffed was flipped into the air, poised to fall towards Yuyuko…

' _Oh, hey…_ ' Not willing to deny this opportunity, the miko tossed ofuda towards the underside, making sure some key points had a chance of striking the ghost if she collided with them…

 _Kri~ng- Kri~ng!_ Before the ghost, two pillars of frost erected to stop the falling stone slab-

Clack, clack, clack! Sendai sprinted towards the ghost princess, the dark energy in her legs reinforcing them despite the burn. ' _I feel like a teen again, and that's not a good thing…!_ '

Nearing the ghost, she saw Yuyuko turn to her-

 _Woosh_. Slowly and stoically, Yuyuko waved her fan at the miko, creating a trail of pink in the air just short of her face-

 _Pap!_ Pouring her remaining strength into a jab, Sendai struck her in the face.

"Nnn~..." Despite the solid blow, Yuyuko only flinched.

 _Woosh_. Sendai scrambled back from a downward slash of the ghost's fan…

Marcus rounded the structure's exposed side, since the girls were shielded by both the stone slab and the ice spires. " _Aero~!_ "

 _Woo~sh!_ A gust of wind blew through Yuyuko's form, ruffling her clothing. "Ooh…?" Her eyes lit up at the sensation-

 _Pap!_ Sendai slapped her breasts, an ofuda around the palm of her hand.

"Ah!" Yuyuko blinked, eyes widening slightly at _this_ sensation.

' _What can I do…!?_ ' Sendai stepped back from the ghost, arms raised in a defensive posture. ' _Getting close enough for Vol Fulger would be a bad idea in this state-_ '

 _Fwam!_ A non-elemental beam from Marcus struck the ghost dead-on.

The magic sent Yuyuko flying through the stone slab, missing the ofuda placed on the upper parts.

Immediately dashing outside to see where she went, Sendai saw the ghost floating above and over the stone slab, arms outstretched and fans extended…

 _Fwaa~hm!_ Bright, violet energy poured from the fan before the Ayakashi, bathing the battlefield in vitality draining radiation…

' _Fuck…_ ' Eyes heavy, the miko blinked repeatedly to keep her vision focused. ' _She's finally in the air!_ '

Drifting over the three, Yuyuko tilted her head, placing her arms behind her back…

Running under her, the miko thrust an arm full of rebound stones into the air. " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

 _Clink- clink- clink!_ From her hands, the five lines of rebound stones unnaturally arced into the air, creating a shaft above her that encapsulated the ghost.

Yuyuko's form flared with pink energy, and she threw her arms down-

 _Woosh_. A draft of darkness flared beneath the miko-

The holy shaft initialized.

 _Fwa~sh!_ Light energy filled the shaft, before expanding to include the entire clearing.

...The radiation from the fan behind ceased, the dark draft beneath the miko ceased, and-

 _Thoom_. The grey stone slab that was overturned in an attempt to crush the princess had fallen, the ice towers descending back into the ground.

The pink light that was constantly emitted from Sendai's form faded out, and she felt her strength return. "A- ah…"

' _About time._ ' Feeling her arms, she sighed. '... _I'm still pretty beat up._ '

...Yuyuko floated down before the party, her form jittering with holy energy. Once again, she was hunched over, seemingly unconscious.

"Who- who needs a potion…?" Cracking open a potion, Rinnosuke held out another one in his off hand, having put his items away.

"He~y." Sendai called out to him.

 _Di~ding!_ He tossed the open potion into the air, quick-casting it on her.

The drop of healing liquid spread onto her form, revitalizing her. ' _There. Got a feeling this isn't over…_ ' Turning her head, the miko noted the fan that still hung before the Ayakashi.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Yuyuko Saigyouji_ ====

...Yuyuko reassumed upright posture, form still crackling with holy energy. "Where was I…?" Almost absentmindedly, she raised a hand to her chin, ignoring the fact her fan was still there. "Aa~h…"

' _...She's a glutton for punishment, isn't she? It's like we haven't been attacking her all this time._ '

"The last thing I can remember…" The ghost princess stared down at the ground. "I remember the day I bled out on the Ayakashi."

"I'm al~right…" Marcus waved off his own fatigue. "Oughta run outta mana faster than get beat up, at this rate. Missy, you got any 'a them crowd control-y danmaku spells left?"

...Snapping back to attention, Yuyuko smiled at him. "Yeah!"

Extending both fans fully once more, she spread her arms out… "Losing Hometown. Village of Self Loss, Suicide."

 _Fwoam!_ Marcus created a another magic shield before himself…

Rinnosuke look conflicted about drinking his last potion, before shrugging and downing it.

Full of energy once more, Sendai grinned as she sprinted towards Marcus's shield with renewed vigor. ' _Don't appreciate what you've got until it's gone!_ '

Floating higher into the air, Yuyuko's fans began to glow…

 _FWHIR._ One of them extended to massive length, enough to rival trees or village houses. Though, it did not truly extend; rather, beams of danmaku projected from it to create the illusion…

' _Nice weapon._ ' Sendai acknowledged the novelty of the card. ' _All I've got to do is get close and deliver some holy hits. Pretty sure, with her movements, she'll be totally occupied on the spell. Just hoping she doesn't tire us out before I can even get up there…_ '

Rinnosuke began running out of the range of the huge fan pre-emptively, as Yuyuko moved to bring it down into the ground-

 _Fwam!_ Marcus sent a spiralling, blue starburst up at the ghost, which exploded on her without her putting in much effort to move out of the way. Even so, she didn't respond to the magical damage.

 _FZZZT_. Her fan dug into the pathway's concrete as she brought it down, and began slowly dragging it across…

Streamed, curvy lines of danmaku arrows began running from her form, filling the negative space that was unoccupied by the giant fan…

Running through Marcus's magic shield, Sendai moved out to engage the ghost. ' _I could try to seal her again. Compared to engaging us like she did previously, this is nothing._ '

Ignoring the piercing danmaku arrows as they pinged against her form, she navigated under the ghost as her huge fan rended the surface of the stone plates below…

" _Thundara~!_ " Marcus threw his arm outward-

 _Fwa-ZAP!_ Electricity arced down from above, five bolts homing in on the ghost's form at once.

" _Evil Sealing Circle!_ " As the ghost was electrocuted, Sendai flung her rebound stones into the air one more time.

 _Clink- Clink- Clink!_ Once again, she creates the shaft of light above her, the five streaks of holy light initializing as the fan's width neared her…

 _Fwa~sh!_

The flush of holy energy staggered the ghost princess, destroying her danmaku fan but not canceling out the remaining danmaku arrows. "Anh…"

Drifting down and back, Yuyuko drew her other fan-

 _FWHIR_. This time, she extended it more fit for an actual slap than a sweeping motion.

 _Bam!_ Kicking into the ground, Sendai flew back and drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo. ' _Mana's hurting, but Marcus's got potions, so…!_ '

Landing some feet back semi-steadily, Sendai cast the tome into the air. " _Holy Spark!_ "

"Oo~h…!" Marcus lit up at that, before digging into his pockets…

Yuyuko blinked as she neared the miko, before throwing out her off arm and sending danmaku Marcus's way.

"Ah…" He noticed it incoming, and darted back behind his shield again.

The Chronicle divided into nine tomes, which all spiralled into a rotating ring. From here, they formed the great octogram amongst one another, and then-

 _VRRRRRR_

The rainbow-colored, holy beam engulfed the ghost princess, her danmaku dissipating.

RRRrrrr~...

As the great beam narrowed and flickered out, Yuyuko was left helpless and holy again, this time drifting with her back arched, staring into the sky as if once again unconscious, before briskly righting herself.

Posture corrected, she gave the miko a smile. "Such incredible power…"

' _Glad you think so, because my mana's pretty much only good for one more…_ ' Sendai huffed, glaring ahead at the ghost.

"Show me more." Yuyuko's form began to glow. "We shall see if you are above death itself."

' _Yeah, if that last card was anything to go by…_ ' The miko began to grin at her…

"Cherry Blossom Sign…" Yuyuko spread her arms again. "Perfect Ink-Black Cherry Blossom, Bloom."

Marcus stepped out from around his magic shield, arms ready to cast once her spell initialized…

Rinnosuke aimed his pistol at her, revitalized from his potion and ready once again.

 _Fwoo~m…_ The massive fan before the Saigyou Ayakashi seemed to flare up with new energy.

 _ **FWAM**_

Yuyuko was enveloped by an orb of pure white.

...As it started to expand, Sendai realized what it was. ' _What the fuck._ '

This sphere was danmaku; danmaku packed with a density which she'd never seen before, all the bullets wrapped together so as to form a perfectly white bubble.

As it expanded, speed accelerating, Sendai could see tiny dots that were the hollow, broad fronts of the massive blue danmaku orbs.

' _That's…_ '

She began sprinting towards Marcus's shield.

Rinnosuke had a similar reaction.

As they mobilized, even with their distinctly inhuman speeds, the huge orb roared out, unleashing its mass onto the clearing.

 _Fwam- fwam- fwam- fwam!_ "Aah- ooh- nnh…!" After enough oncoming impacts from huge, gridlocked, person-sized orbs, Sendai crouched and took the pain. "Hnn~h…!"

" _Aaa~h!_ " Let it be known that Rinnosuke was never great at dodging danmaku to begin with.

 _Thud_. As the bullets dissipated against the ground, as well as roared into the distance, Sendai could see Rinnosuke lying flat on the ground, his body a small electrical storm of danmaku energy. ' _Fu- fuck…_ '

 _Thu- thud_. Dropping to her own knees, she could feel her body locked up. "Wh- nnh…" She used her arms to stop herself from falling onto her torso.

...Marcus was precariously positioned behind a thin remnant of what his shield used to be, these bullets tearing into and through the shield instead of building onto it. "...Oh. So… how 'bout _that_ magic…?"

"Ma- mana…" Sendai gasped out for him. "Magi- potion…!"

...Looking over at her, he quickly realized what she wanted, and began fumbling through his pockets-

 _Fwish_. Yuyuko sent out two wide streams of butterflies to the far left and right of the party.

...Each butterfly blossomed into three more. They all fluttered into the air whimsically-

 _Fwam!_ As they fluttered around, they all fired streams of small, white and purple orbs both at Marcus and at the miko.

The streams drilled into the miko's form. ' _Holy- fff~...!_ ' Shutting her eyes from the nauseating draining sensation, she began to shamble forward. ' _That's it, I'm taking that Hi-Potion…_ '

"Woah- wahoho~!" Marcus flailed wildly-

 _Fwam, fwam!_ -erecting blasts of magic between himself and the streams to try and counter them, to varying success.

Woo~sh...

Once again, a chilling wind rolled in from the massive fan behind Yuyuko, and before the Ayakashi.

Danmaku cherry blossom petals began to flutter into the battlefield, drifting randomly about-

' _Why does everything want to kill us!?_ ' Sendai winced as a cherry blossom flew into her and left the equivalent of a bee sting on her pain receptors.

Gulp, gulp, gulp… She guzzled down the Hi-Potion, greedily seeking its effects-

 _Fwi-fwish!_ The unnatural, uncanny healing ability of the greater potion made her slightly dizzy. ' _Aah- there we go? Woah… still not used to that._ '

 _Fwish_. Yuyuko unleashed another dual salvo of butterflies-

 _Fwam!_ She created another sphere of danmaku, this time far less intricate and full of far more vulnerable spots-

" _Haa~h!_ " Marcus threw his arms forward, the limbs glowing-

 _Tink- tink, tink!_ Near the ghost princess, three hollow, stylized star shapes bounced off the ground near her-

 _Fwoosh- voosh- voosh- voosh!_ A shower of similar but different sized non-elemental stars rained down, bouncing off of her and striking the perimeter around her, the attack seeming more fit for a crowd than a single target.

Sendai bolted through the an empty space in the expanding orb, panting as the bullets from the butterflies- and some of the butterflies themselves- began eating away at her strength again. ' _Why's this card so much…!?_ '

Nearing the space under Yuyuko, Sendai considered her options…

' _I don't think I could take a seal right now. Rain… could work if only to pop a potion. Ah-..._ '

She rose a brow. ' _If she needs to be coated in holy…_ '

With her idea in mind, the miko positioned herself beneath the powerful ghost princess…

Drawing a mana molotov, she cast it into the air. " _Hydro Storm!_ "

The molotov disappeared as it ascended, briefly passing Yuyuko's face, causing her to blink.

...One moment later, the holy rain once again crashed down on the manor's back lawn.

The butterflies assaulting Marcus began to fizzle out and dim in the holy water's light. Yuyuko herself began burning from the holy energy, although the magical energy inside her began to contest with the flames dancing along the surface of her clothes.

...In this respite, Marcus drew his Hi-Ether, and cast it into the air-

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Pale, vaguely blue and pink liquid splashed down onto the miko, despite the potion's otherwise pitch blue contents. ' _...Thank you, Marcus! Now…!_ '

" _Sodium Geyser!_ " With her mana refilled, the miko took a handful of holy salt and thrust it into the air.

 _Fwoo~sh!_ The geyser of salt splashed up into the air, rolling around the miko but curiously avoiding getting deposited onto her.

"A- aah…?" Yuyuko examined the salt as it worked its way into her clothes and burned her skin, a curious combination with the holy rain that was just ending. "Ow- ooh…"

Pouting, she tensed her arms and jerked them to her sides-

 _Fwoom!_ She lit up with violet energy, although her form seemed to solidify from the salt that'd coated and clung to her, in combination with the water.

Sendai noticed her suddenly gain legs, for some reason. ' _Good sign as any…!_ '

 _Fwam!_ Yuyuko unleashed another blue sphere from herself, but it was pale in comparison to her initial draining nuke she'd bombarded the party with.

 _Fwa- zap!_ Sendai leapt straight through one anyway, wincing one eye shut, her hair billowing as she ascended up to be level with the ghost.

Face to face with Yuyuko, she lunged her arms forward-

 _Thud!_ With her arms finally on the ghost princess, Sendai began to do what she did best. ' _Come here…!_ '

 _Woosh!_ Kicking forward to flip both of them around, Sendai pulled Yuyuko with her as they began falling from the miko's weight.

With her arms and a kick of her opposite leg, the miko properly rotated them around, so that Yuyuko would land back first against the ground below-

"Mmh…!" They decelerated and stopped in the air, causing the miko's face to be momentarily buried in the ghost's bosom.

 _Fwoam!_ Yuyuko's form flared with violet energy anew, the magic flinging the miko off and into the air.

' _Not- nope!_ ' As she flew back and up, away from the ghost, she kicked forward and down. "Hoh!"

 _Woosh!_ "Hah!" With another kick she closed the distance-

 _Bam!_ A dark kick was delivered to Yuyuko's gut as she came back down, a black shockwave expanding into the air the instant the impact was made.

"Ooh…" Yuyuko winced a little, cringing as she continued to hover-

 _Bam- bam- bam!_ With the aid of gravity, Sendai kept delivering downward kicks into the ghost's stomach. ' _We're done here! That's enough danmaku!_ '

Each kick began to throw the ghost down more and more, making her face more and more pressured. "Nn~h…"

 _Bam!_ Using another kick to propel herself into the air, Sendai maximized a yin yang orb above her head.

 _Fwam!_ Yuyuko sent out a shell of huge blue bullets-

Sendai immediately tossed the orb down into it, letting it dissipate the one bullet that would've hit her had she fallen into it.

 _Thud!_ The orb fell onto Yuyuko, knocking her down further. "Anh-"

 _Bam!_ Descending, Sendai drove the orb further into the ghost's gut with a leg. ' _When were mage ghosts damage sponges…!?_ '

"Uoah!" Yuyuko cried out from the sensation, rapidly descending now…

"Hup!" Leaping further into the air, the miko poised to kick down into the orb again-

 _Fwam!_ A non-elemental blast went off on the ground below.

Marcus dropped to the ground, pressing his hands to the rock below him-

 _Kroom!_ A glowing spike of rock jutted out from the stone slab, rigid and clumsy looking, but serviceable for its intent.

 _Boom!_ Sendai kicked into the Hakurei yin yang orb again, drilling it into the princess's gut. " _Hah!_ "

"Enh!" Yuyuko shut her eyes-

 _Thud_.

Her body landed against the rough protrusion of stone, arched back farther than any normal body should bend, the orb flung off of her by the angle which her spine took. "Oo- ooh. Aa…"

 _Bam!_ Sendai landed on her stomach with both sandals.

"Hnn- _nn~...!_ " Crying out in agony, Yuyuko's eyes opened and shut repeatedly, the less than familiar sensation of physical pain blooming throughout her body.

' _Ah…_ ' The uneven form of the body caused the miko to roll off and sprint down the uneven rock bulge to keep her balance.

...At the bottom she slowed to a stop, all the danmaku having dissipated.

The massive fan that persisted before the Ayakashi was now gone.

…

Yuyuko twitched on the rigid stone she was snapped against. She would've been crying if it occurred to her, but physical pain was the only thing on her mind.

In the quiet clearing, Sendai let out a breath. "Da~mn…"

' _That was a hell of a fight. Didn't make us use too many items, but we could've synergized more._ '

Rinnosuke was lying on the dirt next to a cherry blossom, unconscious, his gun lying next to him. ' _We could use a way to wake up downed people, too. Village priests used to have a way…_ '

…

Marcus stretched, pressing his hands against his back. "So~... what, aa~h… what do we do now?"

' _Good question._ ' Sendai returned her gaze to the ghost's body.

...Yuyuko laid there, still bent awkwardly as she gazed into the overcast sky at an angle. If she were a mortal, such an attack would've snapped her spine in two, among other things.

…

Sendai looked back at Marcus. "You think she's alright?"

Marcus shrugged. "Why ya askin' me? You were dead before…!"

' _If we physically homicided a ghost, I'm not sure whether to feel bad or good about that._ '

...The miko turned to Rinnosuke, and began stepping towards him-

The crackling of pebbles somewhere behind caused the miko to turn her head.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Saigyou Ayakashi_ ====

 _Bwomp._ Form dissipating, Yuyuko became a wisp for a moment, before her body reformed in the air above the uneven rocks.

Her posture was neutral, even if her clothes were horribly scuffed and torn.

Sendai brought her arms up, flaring darkness into them after a moment's hesitation. ' _Ghosts cheat. Holy crap._ '

"Oh, hey, we ain't murderers!" Marcus cracked his knuckles. "We might even need ta finish the job…!"

Smiling, the ghost princess closed her eyes. "Live well, because there are no flowers that bloom in death."

...Eyes widening, Marcus flinched back before throwing his arms out-

 _Fwoam!_ He generated another magical barrier before himself…

' _Something freaked him out._ ' Sendai glanced over at him, then at Yuyuko.

"Resurrection Butterfly. Eighty Percent Reflowering…" Spreading her arms out, Yuyuko drifted up and towards the Ayakashi…

In an instant, the Saigyou Ayakashi began to glow.

The sky, trees and nearby world become alight with faint, pink and black energies…

' _Oh. Yeah, this probably freaked him out._ ' Sendai wasn't sure whether to approach or fall back at this stage…

The nearby cherry blossom trees began to wilt and wither, the realm itself listening to the princess's beck and call.

' _I'll just repeat my previous item crashes if I need to._ ' The miko waited for the princess to make the first move.

 _Fwhir- whir_. From Yuyuko, blue and pink lines of energy spun from her form-

 _Fwam!_ Similarly colored lasers instantly materialized in a cone outward from her, restricting the miko's movement space. ' _Dinky lasers. Okay-_ '

Silently, a linear, massive flock of blue and purple butterfly bullets began to flutter forth from the Ayakashi itself.

As the wall met Marcus's shield, it was instantly annihilated, leaving him to slip between the clear lines in the barrage. "Ah, shit…!"

' _More butterflies…_ ' Sendai began to draw ofuda. ' _How about this!?_ '

 _Fwish- fwish!_ She lobbed two ofuda forward-

 _Fwoom_. As they approached the ghost and the Ayakashi, they vaporized, annihilated by the drafts of potent magic rushing from the dirt and rock before the youkai cherry blossom.

' _Oh._ '

 _Fwoom_.

In one moment, the tree and all its ligaments lit up white. This wasn't simply coloration; this was a supermassive cluster of projectiles all along the tree's surface, waiting to be unleashed.

' _No way. Not again…_ ' The miko looked over at Marcus expectantly…

He was running towards a nearby, blackening cherry blossom. "Ehehehe~! Aa~h…!"

...After a moment, she began sprinting after him-

The sound of everything was flooded out by the low rumble of butterfly wings flapping. From the Ayakashi bloomed an impossible swarm of ruby butterflies. Their dazzling but imposing form made the entire clearing glow as they began to wash over it…

Positioning behind the tree, Sendai hugged close to it, as did Marcus. ' _Can't hear anything…_ '

...Then, the butterflies began passing the tree-

Salvos and flocks began rolling around the tree, accessing them.

'A _h- ooh woah woah woah…!_ " Sendai shielded herself with her arms, only for individual butterfly impacts to explode like hand grenades against her limbs.

 _Fwoam!_ Marcus erected a barrier-

 _Fwim_. A single butterfly impact turned it to mist, which began returning to the Ayakashi-

 _Zap- zap zap! Zap- zap!_ The treeside became alive with the sound of the two getting repeatedly electrocuted by the red butterflies, their defenses proving useless against the magic.

Once the swam quickly passed, the miko shook her arms. ' _Alright- alright, let's not let that happen again-_ '

 _Fvhir- vhir_. Again, the aesthetic lasers Yuyuko initialized earlier were reinforced-

 _FWAM_

A thick shell of immense, scarlet orbs were released from her being, splashing out and keeping the two behind the tree-

 _FWOAM_

The tree they hid behind itself vaporized, becoming a smog of black and purple that quickly retreated into the air. ' _Am- are we just supposed to dodge!? How!?_ '

Another flock of blue and pink butterflies began to flutter out behind the shell of red bullets-

Grazing the large bullets, Sendai streamed through the less harmful butterflies-

Again, the flapping of wings filled the clearing as the Ayakashi lit up red and unleashed butterfly armageddon onto the clearing.

The complex, interlocking way in which the innumerable butterflies stretched out made the miko wary. ' _Left- right? Oh, shit-_ '

 _Fwa- zap, zap- zap! Zap!_

 _Fvhir- vhir!_ As the miko stumbled back from the bombardment, crackling with danmaku energy, she saw the shell of red approaching again, lasers revolving in the air in a dazzling, shifting pattern. ' _What the f-_ '

 _Woosh!_ Grazing the bullets-

 _Fwam- fwam_. -she was clipped by some of the weaker butterflies. ' _These bullets are making me tired…_ '

Another time, the great swarm of red was once again ignited from the central tree. ' _How much mana!? Do ghosts_ ever _run out!?_ '

"Augh- huu~...!" Marcus shambled about, similarly beat up by the danmaku.

 _Fwam!_ He sent an ill-defined glob of non-elemental energy forward-

The plumes of black and pink before the Ayakashi absorbed the magic.

 _Zap- zap- ap- za- zap- zap!_

"Haa~h…!" Sendai yelled to keep her mind off of the stinging, throbbing pain building in her, combined with how heavy her eyes were becoming.

 _Fvhir- vhir_. The lasers spun around again, as another shell of red danmaku roared out-

 _Woosh_. Barely grazing it, the miko bared her teeth…

 _Fwam!_

" _Uua~gh!_ " Marcus flew back, flung by the impact of one of the massive red orbs.

The proceeding butterflies passed by the miko by a hair-

Red enveloped the clearing, another impossible sea of shifting butterflies roaring out from the dead tree.

Before the butterflies even met the miko-

 _Vhir- vhir_. The lasers in the background shifted around, the shell of red rocketing out just behind the flock of butterflies-

 _Zap- zap- za- za- za- zap!_

"Anh- enh…" Whimpering, the miko felt tears threaten to escape her eyes.

Reaching a hand for her elixir pocket-

 _Fwam!_ A massive red orb blindsided her as she emerged from the butterfly flock, sending her flying back-

 _Thud!_ She slid to a stop on the ground, pink and blue butterflies streaming directly into her from ahead. " _Nnn~...!_ "

Popping the top off the elixir, she brought it up and began chugging it. ' _This can't be fucking happening…!_ '

Gulp, gulp, gulp. Greedily, half-choking on it as it went down, the miko shoved half the bottle into her mouth as she accepted its contents.

...After downing it-

 _Bam!_ She slammed her arms into the ground, leaving imprints as she rose back up-

 _Zap- zap- zap zap zap!_ -to meet a wave of red butterflies, eating away at her being. ' _Fuck you!_ '

" _Fantasy Heaven!_ " With little other options available, the miko arched her limbs back.

Instantly, paint-like black began to shift from her core, flowing over her limbs and clothing as she hovered up into the air…

 _Fvhir- vhir_. The lasers in the background shifted-

 _Fwam!_ The dark youkai was flung back by the initial impact of a huge red orb, leaving it crackling with red energy.

' _stop_ '

 _woosh- woosh_. The dark miko easily slid past the pink and blue butterflies, moving exactly parallel as it tried to rush ahead towards Yuyuko-

The great, red swarm was once again unleashed onto the clearing.

As the butterflies neared, the youkai slid into the air on an unnatural angle-

 _woosh- Zap, zap- woosh- woosh_.

Darting like a bullet through the path of least light, the miko threw itself to the ground right after-

 _Thud!_ -and began sprinting ahead on all four limbs-

 _Fvhir- vhir, vhir, vhir.._. The lasers in the background began constantly spinning.

Crawling under the now tree-sized red orbs, the creature plodded forward, ignoring the few butterflies that pattered against it-

It leapt up into the air, doing multiple forward flips as it tried to near the Ayakashi, only for the updraft to instead push it back and fling it high up into the air.

' _strong_ '

 _woosh- Zap- woosh- Zap, zap, zap!_

' _danger_ ' The dark being began to dart away from the tree as it emerged from the butterfly swarm, keeping cautiously behind the danmaku as it fell ahead of the massive shell of red spheres…

In this moment, the danmaku flowing from the tree was a constant, unending stream of seemingly refreshing moments and crushing swarms of deadly butterflies.

However, this was as close as the Ayakashi would get to blooming without any genuine life energy backing it up.

 _Fwam!_ The dark miko ended up getting blindsided by another massive red orb-

 _Bam!_ It'd backtracked so much that the impact had gotten it thrown against the shrine on the far end of the path. ' _hide_ '

And then-

Everything stopped.

In one moment, the magic fueling the Ayakashi faded.

Energy no longer ran from the depleted trees around the garden. All the grass was black, and the sky was a dull white, with hints of cloud being obscured by the blinding emptiness that filled the realm's sky.

All the danmaku dissipated at once, first becoming dark smog, before vaporizing entirely.

…

 _Thud_.

Yuyuko collapsed, having thrown her body forward and away from the Ayakashi as one last action of fleeting self-preservation. She lied on her stomach, face down on the smooth stone.

…

Slowly, the youkai strode on all four limbs across the path, approaching the ghost, gazing.

...Once it reached Yuyuko, it crouched down even lower, torso meeting the stone below. ' _strong_ _dead_ '

Energy depleted, it simply rested there, sitting vigil for the fallen phantom.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

…

' _Ugh…_ ' The miko rubbed her side. ' _The hell. Guess I really do gotta start training again. Getting morning stiffness again… thought I'd outgrown that when I was younger._ '

Sitting up, she found herself in a strange futon. ' _...Wait…_ '

She looked around the shrine interior. ' _...This isn't the shrine._ '

Standing up- ' _Oo~h, bad idea…_ ' -she rubbed her sore side, and began trotting to the door out. ' _Ah, whatever. I can walk it off._ '

She slid a paper door open.

Yuyuko was there, waving an oversized sleeve at her. "Hello~!"

' _Whah…_ ' The miko jerked her head back. "What…"

"Youmu's preparing breakfast…!" Yuyuko brought her arms up, visibly excited. "I hear it's gonna be good…!"

' _...You hear?_ ' Sendai rose a brow at her language.

" _Yuyuko-sama~!?_ " Youmu's voice was heard down the hall. "What _happened_ to the _garden!?_ "

Yuyuko placed a finger before her lips. "Hide me~!"

Promptly, she drifted through the wall beside the miko to get behind her, before trying to conceal herself…

...Sendai blinked.

' _O~h, now I remember._ '

...She had the urge to double take, but she wasn't sure at what. ' _That was… that happened._ '

…

After a delay, the events actually caught up with her. "Wh- ah… "

' _...I think I'm gonna need a moment to sort myself out. This is like some kind of fever dream._ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Thirty two thousand, seven hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Three Ethers - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

Three Panaceas - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(twenty two slots remaining)

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

Hi-Ether - Expert mana restoration item. Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to appreciate.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

yuyuko fight

sorta long-winded but that's how yuyuko kinda is - w - she's a TANK with some HARD HITTIN' but slow MOVES and some curious mobility for a tank

(also during the yuyuko + two tendrils vs party segment making them take individual turns was freakin'... page consuming yo; looking for ways to do party fights with more efficiency - w -) (and yes i know the easy way is 'less fighting' but this is the fic about the BIG KABOOMS YO)

her danmaku drains health and mana so getting pinged by her too much means goodbye mana as well as life (but not too much life)

despite using eighty percent reblooming, the ayakashi was in no danger of actually blooming for reasons that will be elucidated on - w -

her normal fighting style alternates between crippling debuffs, TOTAL BOMBARDMENT and slow physical hits; she _can_ quickly swipe with her fans but that her true melee _shwing_ is meant to fuck a boy up yo

she eats pain for breakfast because she is the pain yo; the only physical things that can strike her are holy elemental (or sufficiently magically enhanced anything) so shrine maidens are in luck!

just don't hit a ghost with a physical dark attack or you may as well be smashing them in the face with a really stiff pillow; unless they're weakened by holy therefore creating some holy/dark flux but yeah - w -

but yeah yuyuko excels in draining and instant death, except she doesn't use her instant death so instead she curses her opponents and cripples their everythings

gotta put them healing items to use at some point yo, and what better time than up against the raid boss

yuyuko was rather polite about this whole thing but i don't think you could call her _gentle about it_

as always, see you all next time!


	15. INT - Undead Afternoons

The miko who came before stepped into the kitchen, her right hand on her hip as she strolled in leisurely…

' _At this point, I'm starting to feel like no one's even going to bother to try and spring a dirty trap or mind control spell on me. Maybe Reimu was onto something with that whole danmaku thing... or maybe I've just been really really lucky._ '

The room's kitchen had a grey, artificial looking table of plastic and metal in the midst, while the counter to the back looked more natural, made of some sort of marble.

Youmu was before the counter, shifting metal trays about. "Ah…" Looking over, she saw the miko. "Good morning…"

"Hey." Sendai gave her a greeting as she neared the central table…

Marcus and Rinnosuke were at it, awaiting their food.

"Hehe~y!" Holding an arm up, Marcus greeted the miko. "As it turns out, I~'m still alive! Fancy that, huh…?"

The miko grinned at that. "Well, it's not like she had the intent to kill." ' _I think._ '

Sitting down, she saw Yuyuko float into the room from the opposite door, smiling merrily…

...As the ghost took a seat before the three, the only sound was that of Youmu's food sizzling on the stove. ' _What's she making, anyway? I thought they were all out of ingredients, unless we were out longer than I thought._ '

"So…" Winding up for the conversation to come, Rinnosuke rubbed his hands together idly, before looking over at Yuyuko… "Why?"

"Why not?" Yuyuko showed him her pearly whites.

" _Why_." Rinnosuke shook his head… "What was the point of _any_ of that?"

"We~ll…" Smiling knowingly, the ghost princess looked around. "Yukari wanted you guys to be ready! And you passed-ish!"

' _Why's that hag so intrusive on my life_ now?'

...At that, the ghost pouted, looking over the party. "You guys need some serious synergy work! And…!" She pointed at Rinnosuke. "You need to learn how to fight…!"

"I know how to _fight!_ " Rinnosuke barked back with unexpected volume.

Youmu blinks, glancing back at him.

...He awkwardly continued. "I, well, sort of, know how to fight. Not really, though-"

"You got the _spark_ , now all you need is some actual attacks or weapons or stuff." Yuyuko nods at him. "...I could teach you something _out of pity,_ but I'm not gonna be your mom. She can be your mom." Yuyuko gestures to Sendai.

"Please no." Sendai gave her a grin. '... _I was more like a big sister to him, really. Even after I had Reimu._ '

"...I see." Rinnosuke nodded. "Alright."

"Also, maybe… a shield or something? I dunno, I'm not a weapons gal." Shaking her head, Yuyuko grinned. "Pulling a gun on a _ghost_."

"Y'know…" Also looking over at him, Marcus spoke up. "Don'cha got anything else at that shop 'a yours? Like maybe a, uh… bomb?"

With a snort, the shopkeep responded. "A bomb…? How- no. Well, there _was_ another sword, but I don't feel like it'd be apt for combat."

...Next, Yuyuko turned to Marcus. "You could use some proper unity to your spe~lls, you know. What's it you even do?"

Marcus waved her off. "Aa~h. I cast 'n' I cast, 'n' I cast summore."

"...You don't really have a focus, do you?" Dryly, she critiqued him. "You're really good with moving around raw mana and shaping it and doing that base level stuff, but then you have those funky elemental spells of yours…"

He shrugged. "Eeh, desperate times, desperate measures, yeah? I'm a~ 'element 'a surprise' typa guy myself these days, honestly. I used ta be all about them buffs 'n' them debuffs- I made a guy immune to gettin' punched in the face once, don'cha know- but, when I stopped youkai huntin', I kinda got outta it. Y'know- explosions're more fun, yeah?"

Yuyuko nodded. "Well, that's fun. Still, you could probably do with more party support. _O~ne_ of you two should do that sorta thing."

Finally, the ghost looked over at Sendai. ' _Oh, this'll be good. I can't deny the guys're pretty rusty, but..._ '

"...Honestly, I don't really know what to tell you." Smiling carefree, the ghost waved off reviewing the miko's combat. "Your senses're pretty sha~rp, but your fighting style… today, it's… _unorthodox_. Only the weakest and strongest youkai care about punching anyone..."

' _I kinda figured._ '

"Be sure when you fight new people, to have a party!" Playfully, Yuyuko whapped her on the head with her fan. "For all you know, you could get into a fight with a god and not notice until you're pushing up daisies…!"

' _What? Okay._ ' Sendai was skeptical. "I think I could tell a god when I see one." ' _Or sense their holy energy. I'm a miko, after all._ '

Yuyuko held a sleeved hand to her chin, looking up. "...You a~re a miko…"

' _You realized this just now…!?_ '

"Whe~lp." Leaning back, Yuyuko dropped the matter. "I'm no Kaguya~, so I can't tell you how to, um… 'minnie-max' or whatever else she says."

' _Who?_ '

Youmu hobbled up to the table, balancing multiple plates of pancakes with her arms. "Here you go~."

"Ooo~!" Yuyuko lit up at the food. "Panca~kes! Ya~y!"

Sendai stared at the ghost who just lectured her party with vague vexation.

"Pa~ncakes…" Marcus rubbed his hands together as his plate was set down before him. "Not too different from my normal diet! In fact... not at all different!"

Youmu smiled at that. "...It's all we really have right now. I don't consider it _food_ , but if it'll hold you over-"

"Ish foohd! Oohd 'ood!" Yuyuko spoke with her mouth full, having lifted her stack of pancakes and begun eating them like a sandwich.

Youmu had a look of vague disdain. "Yu- Yuyuko-sama…"

' _...Youkai are weird._ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

INTERMISSION 3 - Undead Afternoons

Standing up, the miko stretched her arms. "Nn~..."

' _Not particularly filling, but it'll make do._ '

...Scanning the table's patrons as they also rose, the miko caught Yuyuko staring at her.

...The ghost glanced up from the miko's chest, before smiling. "That reminds me~. There _was_ something I wanted to give you. I think it'd help a lo~t."

' _Was she staring at my…?_ ' The miko gave her a funny look. "...If it's a hero's parting or something like that, no thanks."

"Fufufu~!" Amused, the ghost drifted through the table and dishes still on it. "No, no~. Something to help you fight! I think it's pretty _neat_ , myself…"

' _That doesn't tell me much._ ' Skeptical, Sendai stepped out of the way as the ghost drifted past her…

"Follow me~." Yuyuko began drifting out the door. "We'll be back soon, everyo~ne!"

"Don't have too much crazy sex, now!" Marcus waved at them from his seat.

' _Oh, yeah, I said that 'hero's parting' thing aloud. Pfft._ ' Grinning, the miko began to follow the ghost. "O~h, don't worry. You'd know."

...As they exited out into the hallway, the miko began asking questions. "If you really wanna get naughty, no. Not really in the mood."

Yuyuko turned and gave her a dry look as she drifted forward. "I kno~w, I kno~w. If I really wanted you, I'd be a little more forward, y'know? Come by your shrine with a bouquet of flowers, meet the family…"

' _Is that a veiled threat, or is she just that naive?_ ' Sendai furrowed her brows at this.

...Reading the miko's expression, the ghost rolled her eyes. "I wasn't serious about that eithe~r. Geez, you're moody~."

"...Just looking out for myself, is all." Sendai countered.

Blinking a few times, Yuyuko nodded at this, before facing forward again. "I guess that'd be a good idea…"

' _What do you know about staying alive?_ ' The miko began to grin as her eyes traced the ghost's features. ' _...Apparently not much._ ' Resisting the urge to chuckle at her own joke, the miko gave her head a brisk shake' _I'm terrible._ '

Making a turn, Yuyuko glanced back at the miko, smirking. "So, how's Reimu?"

Face straight again, the miko huffed. "Yeah, yeah. Real good, stopped wetting herself yesterday. Gonna be slapping seals on youkai in no time."

"Fufufu~!" Yuyuko giggled at that, facing ahead again. "Her and Youmu are good friends. Good frie~nds."

' _Just pretend you're speaking with Yukari…_ ' The miko stopped herself from reading further into that.

…

Eventually, the two came to a staircase, which the ghost began floating up.

After following her up, the miko followed her through a doorway to the right.

This led them to a balcony that overlooked the now largely wilted garden.

"Nice view." Sendai quipped.

"Hush." Pouting, Yuyuko turned around to face her.

...From here, the ghost smiled, and held out her arms. "...There, do you hear that? Do you _feel_ that?"

"Yes." Sendai lied. "Perfectly clearly."

...Dropping her air of grandeur, Yuyuko slouched. "Lia~r."

' _Why'd you ask me, then…!?_ '

"Your dark energy." Yuyuko began speaking of the miko's form… "You're familiar with it, yes?"

"You could say that." The miko shifted her posture onto one leg, standing restlessly.

"Have you ever…" Drifting forward, Yuyuko pursed her lips… "Used it for anything other than limb enhancement, in your body?"

...After a moment of consideration, Sendai nodded. "Mmm. It's good for bleeding."

…

Yuyuko blinked. "Is… that… it?"

After a moment, the miko amended her statement. "Well, no. It's also my mana, and…"

Reaching into her pocket, she took out the Eye of Truth talisman, and slapped it onto her shoulder.

After blinking once, her vision was filled with a plethora of colors. ' _Ah- woah… funky._ '

Looking around, she noticed the air space between the balcony they were at and an opposing balcony across the manor side had a curious absence of mana. ' _It just turns black there, even though this whole realm is vaguely luminescent._ '

"...Oh, wow, you really do see it!" Yuyuko perked up at the miko's enhancement.

As the ghost spoke, the ambient mana before the miko blacked out, creating a weird ripple effect in her vision. ' _Woah- okay. Huh._ '

"Well, you're that far…" Smiling, Yuyuko held a hand to her lips… "He~y, he~y. Do you have a talisman I could look at? One that won't burn my hand off?"

"They all do that. Sorry." Slipping one simply from her sleeve, Sendai held it out for her anyway.

"Oh we~ll." Taking it- ignoring the sizzling of her hand- Yuyuko focused on it… "How're you able to see the whispers, anyway?"

' _Whispers…?_ ' "Well, I channel my darkness to my eyes- inside them- allowing me to see magic."

"Ooo~h…" At that, Yuyuko nods. "Well, that's not _quite_ what I had in mind. But, it'll probably help you make use of what I wanted to show to you..."

 _Fwam!_ Dark energy ran up the ofuda, turning the gold and red hue of it to dull whites and greys. "There. He~re you go."

...Accepting the talisman in her hand readily, the miko looked over it. "...What's this?" ' _It's letting out a small breeze, for some reason…_ '

"I think I'll call it… the Whispers talisman." Yuyuko smiled widely, grandly nodding. "See that gap?" She finally pointed out the large gap the miko'd been staring at.

Looking over it, she nodded. "Yeah. Why's no mana flowing in it?"

"Put the talisman on." Yuyuko gave her instructions instead.

' _...Fine._ ' Slipping on the talisman, the miko felt wind flow through her clothing. ' _Ooh. Well, I guess that could be useful if I ever get sweaty in battle..._ '

"Look down, then lean over the divide." Despite her careless expression and neutral tone, Yuyuko was all business at the moment.

...The miko glanced at the floor-

There was a tile there, with symbols representing wind on it. The corners had 'wind' written in Japanese. ' _That's cool._ '

Stepping onto and over the pad, the miko leaned over the guard rail and peered down at the stone path below-

" _I'm hungry, Youmu~..._ "

" _If you're hearing this-..._ "

" _When you see them, I want you to test their-..._ "

" _Yuyuko-sama~..._ "

" _Come on, Merlin! We're gonna be late!_ "

Sendai blinked at the thoughts that seemed audible. ' _What am I listening to…?_ '

"Fufufu~..." Yuyuko was next to her all of a sudden, looking over the rail with her. "Do you hear it? ...It's the whispers of the dead. Parting words, regrets, lingering wills… or, you know, the daily hustle and bustle of spirits!"

' _Yeah, whispers._ ' Nodding and grinning at the mundane nature of the manor's banter, the miko stepped away from the rail…

"Oh?" Yuyuko turned to her with a cheek to cheek grin. "Where're you going?"

"This is neat and all…" Sendai felt at the talisman. "I think I should be heading out soon, though."

"Why, don't you even want to try it before you run off?" Yuyuko tilted her head at her.

"...I did?" Sendai furrowed her brows. "I heard you begging your samurai for dinner."

"Oh, that's not even…" Yuyuko shook her head, before waving her fan at the gap. "Jump off this guardrail."

Sendai gave her a flat rebuke. "I'll kick your ass."

Snorting, the ghost princess tried again. "No, I mean… it's not even a big dro~p! Just do i~t…!" Pouting, she puffed her cheeks out, giving the miko a weak glare.

...Shaking her head, the miko moved to the guard rail-

"Hup!" Casually filling her legs with dark energy, she leapt onto it.

Up here, the voices flowed into her head and into her clothes like wind…

" _If I could just have that bit of spring you carry within you..._ "

" _I could see real cherry blossoms… with that 'certain someone'._ "

Sendai performed a short leap forward into the air-

 _Woo~sh_. Her body met air resistance instantly, an unidentifiable upward draft carrying her across the gap. ' _Holy crap, I'm floating..._ '

" _Sleep beneath the flowers, red-white butterfly!_ "

" _Yukari… I'm sorry._ "

Waving her limbs about as she floated, the miko found her trajectory determined by her entering angle and velocity. ' _...Could use a little work, but this could help a lot. Feels funny, too, which is always a plus for muscle memory. However this works..._ '

Seemingly weightless, the miko slid through the air, nearing the other side of the divide.

" _I remember now._ "

 _Clack_. On the other side, the miko touched down on her sandals, and the voices stopped.

"Ooo~!" ...At the ghost's voice, the miko turned to see her catch up to her. "That looked like fun!"

"...Sure was." Sendai watched her with a curious expression. ' _She doesn't seem to be acting different._ '

"That should help even the playing field a little…" Yuyuko nodded at the miko eagerly. "But, you can't just glide around all willy-nilly. You gotta take a dead person's word for it!"

' _...It only seems to work when I'm in a… draft of whispers, however that works._ ' The miko felt her clothing flap and fold to the ghost's words before herself, as if they were brisk gales.

With a merry smile, Yuyuko turned around and neared the nearest door on the new balcony. "No~w, I wonder what Youmu's got in line for lunch…"

' _We just ate._ ' The miko furrowed her brows at the spirit princess as she drifted into the manor.

…

Sendai moved to follow after her, both talismans still equipped.

' _There's no mana coming from inside, even though there's a pillar of it just off the roof…_ ' She tried to step inside-

" _Foo~d, Youmu~!_ "

" _Yuyuko-sama~!"_

The voices of the manor's most active residents slammed into her like a fierce squall, pushing her back out the door.

' _Woah…_ ' Readjusting her freely flowing hair, the miko slipped the talismans off-

-only for her hair to fall and clothes to calm down immediately after. ' _Probably a lot of dead voices here…_ '

OBTAINED: WHISPERS TALISMAN

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The three stepped out onto the ruined stone path at the shrine manor's front…

"Bye~!" Yuyuko gave them a leisurely wave of her arm. "Watch out for rogue phantoms on the way ou~t!"

Youmu glanced over at her mistress sardonically. "I don't think we even need to warn them…"

Grinning, Marcus glanced back at them. "Oo~h, boy, garden variety phantoms! Aah, sure wish we had a _shrine maiden_ ta exorcise 'em, mmhmm~..."

' _I'm more curious as to where exactly in Gensokyo we are. I've never seen this landscape before..._ '

"Have a good o~ne!" Rinnosuke gave the two girls a wave as they departed.

…

Down the midst of the ruined path, Rinnosuke sighed. "The way they framed this, I've got a feeling this adventure's going to be more long winded than simply finding out who killed you."

Sendai grinned. "Yeah, it never comes easy. Who the hell knows what Yukari wants us to do at this point."

Passing the lines of ruined cherry blossoms, down the avenue of smashed cobblestone, the three began to near the gate; the exit to Hakugyokurou.

As they stepped closer to it, a black smog began to roll in from the bare blossoms to the right of the gate…

Marcus snorted. "Oo~h, a rogue phantom, look 'a that."

...Out of curiosity, the miko slipped the Whispers talisman on. ' _I wonder if these generic dark types have anything to say._ '

Slipping out normal ofuda in addition, the miko began stepping towards the black fog as it gathered and materialized awkwardly to the left of the gate…

" _beautiful_ " As the mass convened, it gained a dark red core. " _choke_ "

' _Cool._ ' Dryly, the miko readied to toss her ofuda-

" _mine now_ "

' _Ah…_ ' On impulse, she let her legs slip out from beneath herself as a scraggly line of black seemingly materialized before her.

 _Fwap! Fwap!_ Her ofuda slapped onto the immaterial substance that comprised the being-

" _no_ " The black fog became solid, appearing as a shifting mass of inky black that wiggled and writhed in the air as the ofuda burned into it.

The line it drew towards the miko in the air vaporized instantly, as if it'd never existed.

" _no no no_ "

' _Crazy fast, but that's how spirits tend to be. Probably another crappy possession or draining attempt._ ' The miko wasn't particularly concerned about what transpired.

 _Fwam!_ Marcus shot a non-elemental beam into the spirit-

" _Huuaa~h!_ " Audibly, even to the naked ear, the thing's form began to split apart-

 _Fwap!_ The miko struck it with a third ofuda to the red core as it began to dissipate.

 _Fwoom!_ The entire specter combusted into white flame.

' _A~nd done. No more reforming._ ' Sendai sprung onto her limbs, before carrying forward towards the gate as if nothing happened.

Slipping away his collapsable bazooka again, Marcus clapped his hands together. "Evil spirits still got nothin' on us…!"

' _Apparently._ '

...Outside the gate, the party stepped onto the stairway. Past the metal, there was only black all around, and wisps of varying visibility depending on their proximity to the stairway.

Beyond the other gate, at the bottom of the stairs, the morning sky was visible, but only through its bars.

Stepping down the stone steps, the miko looked around. ' _Seriously, where is this?_ '

"...I didn't think the stairs to Hakugyokurou looked anything like this." Rinnosuke gave the big wisps in the air wary glances as he progressed behind the miko.

"Thought it'd be one of them funny automatic staircase things." Marcus remarked.

' _...The what._ ' Sendai gave him a questioning glance.

...He smirked. "Ah, you should see the stuff the kappa make these days. Just don't fight 'em, pretty sure they'd kill even you before you even so much as got a punch off on 'em."

' _Woah, what._ ' Sendai jerked her head back. ' _Since when'd those greedy midgets make something that bad? Their tech might be an era or two ahead, but even those scatterguns of theirs don't do much but serrate one side of you. And hurt, a lot._ ' The miko rubbed her right cheek. ' _Let's not remember that._ '

"Unless they use danmaku, as they should be." Rinnosuke amended. "I'm pretty sure Reimu was very strict with that when they tried using ballistics to get around things."

Marcus chuckled. "Ehehe, you really think that stops all of 'em, though? Just as villagers'll still stab people to death with their butter knives, so do kappa. 'Cept kappa have big death guns and lasers and can fold a man in half with their shotguns."

' _So they're calling them shotguns now. Damn. Always thought we should've taken their stuff and broke it while we had the chance, but everyone always pussied out. Now it sounds like it's too late..._ '

They reached the bottom of the stairs.

Moving forward, Sendai pushed the gate open…

On the other side was a few downward steps of stone… and then sky.

Vast, expansive, morning sky. To the right, she could see the tip of Youkai Mountain below, as well as a grand view of all of Gensokyo, even if the Sanzu was awkwardly behind the stairway, to the left.

"...Oh." She allowed her eyebrows to raise. "We're… in the sky."

Wind loudly whipped past the three as they peered over the edges of the steps…

"...Well, fuck." Marcus was at a loss. "Anyone got a big sheet we could use as a parachute?"

Rinnosuke shook his head. "Can't you make one from magic, or something?"

"No, I-..." Marcus trailed off. "...Oh, right, almost forgot."

Walking off the last step, Marcus took some casual steps into the air. "I can fly and shit, kind of!"

Rinnosuke huffed. "...Can you help _us_ fly?"

"Maybe probably not." Grinning back at them, Marcus tilted his head back and forth. "...If I remember correctly, our shrine maiden here should be able ta propel 'erself wit' 'er own kicks."

"...That's not untrue." Sendai admits. "I'd like to not do that to save myself from a mountain-high drop, though. Even if it's _possible_."

' _A particularly bad mistake could leave me in a bloody pile. Hey, maybe that's what killed me._ ' She grinned to herself. ' _Jumped off a really high platform and fucking died._ '

"Hold up…" Marcus held out a hand to the steps-

 _Fwa~sh!_ He made an extra step out of ice. "...Ooo~ this gives me an idea…!"

Stepping back onto the platform, he gave the three a plan. First, he gestured to the miko. "I want you ta hold me and slide down this ramp I make, and Kourin there can uh, be weight or something. Maybe he can hold onto you wit' his legs, and use that chintzy iron sword as a brake."

"Are you planning on levitating us down?" Rinnosuke hoped…

Marcus shook his head, stepping up to Sendai. "Nope! Plannin' on… _fallin' down_ except nicer, and wit' a little less of a _kersplatter_."

Sighing, Sendai idly grabbed his arms, having received little other direction. "What do you want me to do, now…?"

"Grab my stomach 'er so." Marcus instructs her…

She does as requested. "How tightly?"

"Enough so I don't fly the fuck away if we go really fast." Marcus chuckled. "Anyway! Now, sit down wit'cher legs crossed…"

...Sendai starts to sit, Marcus sitting with her. He ends up half on her lap, his legs propped out and over the last step, just shy of the icy step he'd made below.

"Kourin!" Marcus called out for the shopkeeper. "Latch onta her stomach wit'cher legs, now!"

"This is not a good idea." Awkwardly, Rinnosuke did as instructed, ending up on his back as he clumsily brought his legs around the shrine maiden's waist.

' _What the fuck is this._ ' The miko looked around idly. ' _I feel like an idiot._ '

...As Marcus held his hands out, they began to glow.

 _Fwii~sh_. Before the three, a downward slope of ice began to slowly form down from the icy step…

…

' _So, how're we going to-_ '

 _Fwoom!_ An orb of non-elemental energy exploded behind them, splashing outward with just enough power to push.

They began sliding forward-

 _Thunk!_ -and onto the ice.

Almost instantly, they began picking up momentum. ' _Oh. Well…_ '

 _Fwii~sh!_ As they accelerated, Marcus began generating ice faster and faster. "Ooo~ hoo hoo~!"

...The miko began to feel wind whip at her as they slid down with increasing velocity. ' _I want to pretend he knows what he's doing, but this doesn't really seem like it…_ '

As they moved forward faster and faster, the miko noticed how slowly the surroundings below moved by comparison. ' _Wow, we're… really high up._ '

Despite the whipping of wind, and due to the quick but visually slow downward acceleration, the miko took in the sights.

' _...This is beautiful._ '

In the damp atmosphere, as the gold light began to become colorless again, the miko looked over the still landscape. ' _It's like being on a mountain, without the mountain getting in the way._ '

In the distance, she could see the shimmering canopy of the magic forest. ' _I feel like I remember looking down at those treetops…_ '

Glancing over the lake, she noted the mansion next to it. ' _I remember falling and looking down at that, too. We might actually be higher up than when I fought that vampire…_ '

...After a moment, the long ramp Marcus had been generating began to fall out from beneath the three, leaving them in free fall.

' _I feel like I'm flying…_ ' Sendai looked down. ' _Oh. Falling, actually. Fuck. Dammit, Marcus._ '

"Whelp!" Marcus yelled over the wind. "Don't worry! I've got about two other ideas!"

"It's a little late for that!" Rinnosuke yelled back at him over the wind.

The miko looked back at the stairway behind them. The gate and stairs had seemingly vanished from the sky as they fell, but a part of the ice ramp still held in the air where it was attached, the latter half of it having snapped from the continuous addition of weight.

Marcus held up his arms-

 _Fwash!_ -and created a rigid beam of ice, which he held onto with his hands-

And then-

" _Oo~h!_ " Marcus grunted as the pole of ice decelerated above the party, in turn decelerating them.

Marcus held the beam, Sendai held Marcus, and Rinnosuke held onto Sendai.

"Ow- ow, fu- nnh…!" Marcus was having a hard time holding on with everyone's weight.

"Fucking- let me…" Letting an arm off of him, the miko filled it with dark energy and thrust it up, making sure to use him as only minimal leverage-

Her arm on the ice, she instructed him. "Grab me, then let go."

He quickly did as requested, tackling into the miko's form to ensure he didn't get flung into oblivion. "Ehehe~! Hoo~ shit!"

Sendai had a much easier time holding onto the slowly decelerating ice pole, her dark-accented arm able to support the three of them without too much strain. ' _There we go. This is actually an okay workout. It'll be awhile before we reach the ground, too._ '

…

The whipping of wind slowed as they too slowed, drifting down gently in the cold, gold morning sky.

Marcus glanced down at the miko's chest, which he was in close proximity too. "Y'know, we need to fall from netherworld gates more often…"

"I will cast you to the wind." Sendai threatened emptily.

Rinnosuke was clinging to the miko with his legs for dear life, torso dangling and allowing him to view the world from upside down. "Let- let's no~t…"

…

Reaching into his robe with an arm, Marcus began to bring out something. "Oh, right, I forgot this, too…"

Pulling out a red umbrella, he held it up-

 _Fwoomp_. It unfurled, catching wind as he drew it. "Woah- nnh…" He had to apply telekinesis to it to keep it from floating away. "...See?"

Sendai stared at it dryly.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The three began to near the ground, the wind's gales having carried them near the Forest of Magic, and well into Gensokyo's midst.

' _...Judging by how those trees shimmer, the wind's centering on the forest's edge._ ' The miko noted their aimed descent. ' _Someone's aimed where we'll land... or we're having some weird wind vortex, but that'd be a first._ '

Gently, the pole of ice began to lower to the ground, dipping beneath the treetops…

...As it neared the ground-

Thu- thu, thud. It awkwardly pressed down despite getting the party to ground level, making everyone land less than gracefully. "Ah…" Sendai let go of it at crouching level…

Marcus flopped into the dirt, before getting back up… "Al~right, where the hell…"

...Numbly, Rinnosuke began to crawl onto his limbs. "Aa- aah…" Looking around, he pointed into the woods…

...Sendai looked, and saw Kourindou there. ' _Oh. How… convenient._ '

As the guys got back up, she began to march over to the store.

...Di- di~ng. The door's bell jingled as she pushed it open. ' _Wait- this place was supposed to be-_ '

"Oo~h, there she is."

Yukari was sitting at a small, cheap white garden table that'd been placed in the middle of the room.

' _-locked. Nevermind._ '

Sitting next to her at the table was a slender girl, with a blue and white dress, and a similarly colored poofy hat. "This-... this _is_ her."

Yukari glanced over at her, smiling. "Oh? Did you think I lied?"

"Yes." The girl answered truthfully. "...Something felt off, though, so I went with it. And… something apparently _is_ off."

' _Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu._ ' Sendai recognized the Yama. ' _...She should be able to help._ '

Di-di~ng. The door rang again as Rinnosuke and Marcus followed the miko in…

Eiki spoke promptly, shifting aside the tea and snacks she had on her end of the table. "By all means, Hakurei, you're supposed to be dead. And, were I not on... 'break'..." Stealing a glance at Yukari, she lifted a checker cookie from the paper plate before herself, and took a small bite. "I'd be apt to enforce it. Among other things."

As the Yama chewed on her cookie, Sendai watched her. ' _Is that so?_ '

...After a moment, the Yama noticed the other two party members, letting her eyes drop immediately after.

"...I see." Rinnosuke breathed vitality into the conversation. "...Before I ask why you two are _trespassing_ … I'd also like to know. How she died, that is." He gestured to the miko awkwardly.

Expression souring further, Eiki glared at the gap youkai…

Yukari shrugged. "It's not like he _legally_ owns this land."

Eiki corrected her. "...In all technicality, Yakumo, a number of satellite structures in the Gensokyo area are under village jurisdiction. Tax and property registration notwithstanding."

"And, therefore, outside of village law!" Smiling, Yukari raised her tea… "They may be on the books, but I don't see any guards stopping by the vampire's mansion or the shrine to keep the peace."

"What about _my_ law?" Rinnosuke folded his arms…

Yukari gave him a glance. "Doe~sn't count."

"It's still a moral sin." Eiki waved her rod at the gap youkai warningly. "Even so, I think we can consider this an extenuating circumstance. Hakurei. What is the last thing you remember?"

"The day before." Sendai recounted. "It was a day like any other."

...Eiki nodded. "I see. When I'd judged you, I was able to observe you, for most of that day. I also have your final cause of death, even if I was unable to observe directly what killed you."

' _That makes it sound like that's not a normal sequence of events._ ' Sendai blinked… "Doesn't that mirror of yours recount a person's entire life?"

"Essentially." Eiki tilts her head to the side. "Deeds, which are essentially one's entire life. However, not often does it reveal when they're in a state where they're unable to precept happenings, unless they've set about something that happened while they were asleep."

Running her gaze over the party, Eiki let it rest on Sendai. "Later that day, you became inebriated to the point you'd be considered unconscious, although where you died was quite far from where your thoughts cut off. Leading up to your final perceivable moments, your traceable consciousness had been degrading throughout the day."

"Sounds like poison…" Marcus considered quietly. "You know what kind?"

Eiki shook her head. "I know when and where she died, and the general state her body was in, but not any finer medical intricacies."

"We know my body was all bent up." Sendai provided what the party knew, bringing an arm up to rest a hand under her chin. "Somebody could've poisoned and jumped me or something, then."

' _I could've sworn I had something for poison, though. I mean, poisoning someone like me would've been a common sense idea for many youkai of the period. Maybe I just carried a lot of panaceas…?_ '

"...You had no physical trauma in death." Eiki amended, eyebrow raised. "Your body was pristine as you laid to rest near the lake."

' _...That's… not right?_ ' Sendai blinked at her.

...Idly, she shifted her gaze to Yukari.

"Why wouldn't you know?" Sendai pressed her for answers, as well. "Considering-"

"I was asleep." Rolling her eyes, the gap youkai lifted her tea, swirling it about as she stared back at the miko. "I was never really hands on with you, anyway. I always knew you'd be a good shrine maiden on your own merit…"

' _What's that supposed to mean?_ ' Sendai stared at her for some time after.

Eiki frowned at the gap youkai. "...Considering how often you obsess over your shrine maidens, I find it hard to believe you've miraculously missed the departure of this one in particular."

Yukari gives her a dry stare. "...What do you want me to say, hmm? Oh, no~. She caught an incredible virus! And, died. Boo hoo. Boo, hoo. Boo-"

"You needn't be _rude_." Eiki glared back at the gap youkai. "I'll have you know such pride is a sin. Why, if we were all exempt from humility, this world would very much be a place where-"

In the midst of Eiki's oncoming lecture, Yukari reached into the air, pulled a sleeping mask from a tiny gap, and slipped it on. "Ni~ght."

...Eiki blinked at her.

Yukari turned her blinded head towards her.

"...Just, don't think yourself above matters simply because you're _you_." Eiki sighed.

Yukari pretends to ragdoll in her seat, relaxing into her chair like a limp corpse.

' _Well. We're a little farther, then…_ '

...Looking back at Sendai, Eiki gives her a nod. "Don't let me see you again, by the way. Additionally, since I can't very well leave you be, I'll be sending some agents to collect you in the coming days. Sorry."

' _Yeah, yeah, shinigami. I haven't seen them fight often, but they don't seem too tough. Then again, they do fight those celestials… to varying success._ '

"My break's almost up, so…" Standing up, Eiki seemed to lift her snacks telekinetically and begin stepping briskly out of the store. "I didn't see you. Well, I did, but… something something, you eluded me. I wouldn't recommend staying at this shop longer than you have to, though."

...Rinnosuke huffed. "Great. Is there going to be a raiding party here in the next few hours…?"

"Yes." Eiki replied with no hesitation as she moved towards the exit. "...Due to permissions, I can't really order them dynamically, so if you move around regularly each day, you should be fine. Don't take my generosity for granted, however…"

Turning around, she gazed at the miko neutrally. "Once you've had adequate time to solve your mystery, I'm coming to take you back. You shouldn't be alive right now."

' _I wonder how hard it is to beat up a Yama._ ' Sendai contemplated brutalizing the judge… ' _Wait._ '

Di-di~ng. Eiki walked out of the store-

Sendai darted up to the door, and stopped it before it closed. "Hey, Eiki!"

...The judge turned around. 'Yes? Speak quickly."

"Where do Hakurei go when they die, again?" Sendai grinned at her…

...Eiki snorted. "You don't remember, do you? I suppose I may as well inform you that it's somewhere separated from the other realms. Souls touched by the Hakurei divinity are too potent to recycle without unintended effects."

' _Okay. So, if I_ do _beat her up... I won't go to hell, then. Well, I'd probably go to hell anyway, but I'm pretty sure giving the Yama a wedgie's some kind of five star sin._ '

Sendai smiled innocently. "Okay. Thank you."

"Anything to put you at ease." Giving her a smile in return, Eiki nodded, turning away and walking off into a seemingly arbitrary patch of forestry.

…

Turning around, the miko let the door shut behind her, and lumbered into the shop proper…

Yukari had a smirk stuck on her face, sleeping mask still obscuring her eyes. "Thinking of fighting her?"

"Sure." Walking into the store further, Sendai rounded the counter, searching the shelves beneath for potions. "What's up with you?"

...Reclining in the dinky metal chair, Yukari brought her arms behind her head, the chair balancing on its rear legs unnaturally. "Oo~h, just having a sleepy day, is all. Have you ever had a sleepy day, Hakurei?"

' _Yeah, the day I died, apparently._ ' Dryly, Sendai crouched, and slipped a few new potions out from beneath the counter…

"Hey, um…" Rinnosuke spoke up, before letting the matter go.

' _Yeah, like we're going to be able to use them when the shinigami roll around. And when they're just collecting dust down here. Hell, I bet the shinigami'd steal them if I don't._ '

"We'll do some jobs and buy you a cabinet of elixirs later or something." Sendai rattled off some comforting ideas to her friend. "That ghost kind of drilled into our supplies."

Clapping his hands together, Marcus disengaged from serious old man mode and began looking around the shop pleasantly… "So, Kourin, this yer place, huh?"

"Ah… yeah." Nodding, Rinnosuke moved for the back room. "Here, let me show you the rooms…"

…

Standing, pocketing two potions, Sendai looked over at Yukari, who still had that sleeping mask on her face. "You look stupid with that thing on."

Yukari simply yawned. "Fuua~h…"

…

Ignoring the gap youkai, Sendai marched into the back room the two men wandered into.

Back there, Rinnosuke held up a sword, different from the not-so-spectacular iron sword he'd brought along for their last endeavor.

"This is what I didn't particularly feel like using…" He held the worn looking blade up casually. "It's rather dull, and albeit magically enhanced, I can't really figure out how to use it efficiently."

"Pftuh- lend 'er to me, then!" Marcus smiled at the blade. "Thing's not exceptionally magical, but there's a mighty fine wind enchantment on it! I can see it from here…!"

...Almost sitting at one of the tiny chairs, but stopping herself, the miko eyed the worn sword neutrally. "Where'd you get that piece of crap anyway?'

Rinnosuke snorted. "Well, it's actually a rather valuable antique, which is the other reason I didn't bring it along."

"Bullshit. It's just a smaller, magician oriented sword. Can understand why you didn't bring it." Sendai argued, traces of a smile forming on her face. "No need for-"

"It's the Sword of Kusanagi." Rinnosuke revealed.

…

"Bu- whah- huh." Sendai blinked at the sword in disbelief. "...Are-... are you serious?"

Marcus looked skeptical. "Aa~h… I know the blade's magic 'n' all, bu~t… what scammer sold it to ya? Ain't no way this is the real deal…"

"Marisa traded it to me for a quick repair of her Mini-Hakkero." Rinnosuke smirked. "I don't think she realized the kind of trade she was making." Bringing the blade up, he jerked it down-

 _Woosh!_ A gale thrust down the blade shaft, almost disarming him. "Oh- woah- woah!"

Sendai snorted. ' _Yeah, he can't use it, alright…_ '

...Marcus held a hand forward. "Lemme see. Promise I won't shove it up my ass're anything similar."

...Half reluctantly, the shopkeeper handed the blade over.

"Aa~h…" Nodding at the blade in his hands, Marcus's eyebrows raised. "Damn, maybe it _is_ the real deal…!"

' _That should be handy to take along, then._ ' Nodding, the miko looked around… "So, you have any other priceless artifacts stashed around here? ...Or potions?"

"No, I don't think so…" Slightly displaced, Rinnosuke trodded towards the store's exit. "...Let me lock up again, not that that means anything anymore."

' _I somehow doubt that you're out of artifacts._ ' ...Indifferent, the miko turned around, moving out of the room. ' _Although I don't blame you if you can't remember everything in this tiny warehouse of yours..._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Reaching the top of the shrine steps, Sendai turned to her party members. "He~re we are."

...Looking back at her friends, she blinked. "Really."

Marcus and Rinnosuke were only halfway up the stairs behind her, Marcus floating the whole way and Rinnosuke struggling to climb its length…

"Haa~h, haa~h…" Panting, Rinnosuke sloppily, wastefully lumbered one leg after another up the great shrine steps…

"Back when I was alive, you guys would at least get to the top before you started breaking down…!" The miko called down to them.

"Two- two dec- decades… of store work…" Rinnosuke huffed and puffed as he neared the top. "They- they don't make a strong boy, let me tell you…"

Marcus was indifferent. "Aa~h, who needs _exercise_ , anyhow? You imply the human body's not a fragile sack 'a bones 'n' skin!"

' _Yeah, yeah…_ ' Pivoting around, the miko progressed towards the shrine…

Upon stepping up the porch and reaching the already open front door, she began to step inside…

Inside, Marisa and Reimu sat at the kotatsu, watching her enter…

"O~h, it's big momma!" Marisa waved at her, beaming. "He~y! I'm that mage whose ass you kicked!"

' _It's her._ ' Sendai gave her a blank stare, before turning to her daughter. "...Hey, Reimu~. We got any elixirs?"

Reimu snorted. "What…? No, I don't- I don't really use health restoration items."

' _Are you a crazy person or something._ ' Blinking at her daughter, the miko shook her head. "If you say so…"

Rolling her eyes, Marisa adjusted her teacup on the table for no reason in particular. "That's what _she_ says, ze. I'm the one who's gotta carry all the potions!"

Reimu huffed. "It's not like I _ask_ for you to toss potions at me."

'... _That makes a lot more sense, actually. Wait..._ ' Looking back and forth between the two, she quickly realized something. ' _My daughter's friends… with my friend's daughter. Well, I guess there_ is _only one village in this entire realm, but still._ '

Marcus stepped into the room behind the miko, followed by a demolished Rinnosuke. "A- aah… oo~h…"

...Marisa blinked owlishly. "Dad? Wha~t the hell…"

"Hehe~y!" Marcus waved at her. "We're goin' on a little adventure! A skedaddle, as they'd say! Huhuhu~!"

...Reimu gave her mother a level stare. "Is this what a mid-life crisis looks like…?"

"Hehe~, I think so!" Marisa grinned at the three of them. "You guys gonna go play old people hockey at the lake?"

...Turning to her, Reimu commentated under her breath. "I don't think it's cold enough for that yet…"

' _Hey, I'm only forty or so. Kourin's gotta be about twenty or thirty now, but he acts like an old dude so that's fair._ '

"I'm…" Half-crouched, Rinnosuke caught his breath. "Not that old yet…"

"Where were you last night, anyway?" Reimu questioned her mother, lifting her cup of tea pre-emptively… "I thought you fell in a ditch and died, again."

Grinning, the elder miko replied, stepping up towards the kotatsu. "Yukari banished me 'n' the guys to the shadow realm in the sky. We fought a ghost princess and a samurai to get out."

...Setting her tea down, Reimu nodded. "Yuyuko's a handful, isn't she?"

"Pfft, yeah…" Sitting down, the miko slipped beneath the kotatsu… "Ha~h."

Reimu passed her the tea pot. "Only a little left. I gotta go to the village and buy some things today."

Sendai nodded in acknowledgement, grabbing onto the teapot. "Oh, nice. How much you got on you?"

"Absolutely nothing." Reimu leaned into the kotatsu…

"...Oh, good." Her mother's gaze became flat. "How much you need? I've got abou~t…" The miko took a moment to remember. "...Thirty two grand, it should be. Enough for a few things, I'm sure."

"I was planning on doing a quick job…" Picking up her empty teacup she swirled it about. "But, if you wanted to buy some things with me…"

...Smiling, Sendai nodded. "Sure thing."

Marisa was scanning her father… "Isn't that that crappy sword I gave Kourin?"

"Oh- ah, what sword?" Marcus slipped the sword behind his back. "Oh- you mean this sword?" Immediately, he took it back out again. "Ah, yes! I was ju~st taking it to~ melt it down. Into, aa~h… magnesium. It's a rather enriched piece, you see."

...Marisa was unconvinced. "It's not _that_ valuable, Dad. I'm _pretty_ sure."

...At that, Marcus grinned widely and nodded. "Yep! Totally worthless, yessiree…!"

At this moment, Rinnosuke finally caught his breath, standing in the background. "Aah… there…" Exhaling one last time, his breathing returned to normal-

Reimu began to get up. "Let's go, before it gets too late."

"...Oh." Shaking his head, Rinnosuke took a deep breath. "Great."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The five stepped up to the village gates, warming up in the soft sun as they approached.

Eyes wary, the guard sized up the tall miko amidst the party as she approached…

' _Him again._ ' Sendai smirked… "Hey, boy."

Marisa held up her mini-hakkero. "Yeah, yeah, we're evil youkai, sure, let us in 'fore I blast ya ta tha' bars."

"I- I'm… warning you!" He raised his pike, crouching behind it.

...Reimu stepped up to him, and tapped the pike with her sandal. "Get outta the way. We've got actual things to do, and you're not one of them."

Rinnosuke sighed. "...Should we really be so antagonistic?"

"Yes." Marisa, Reimu and Sendai all replied on beat.

...Reluctantly, the guard stood up-

Sliding forward, Marisa grabbed onto his pike. "Oh, this is mine now, too-"

Reimu slapped her hand. "No."

...She huffed, folding her arms.

Stepping towards the gate reel, he leaned his pike against the wall and slowly reeled it up…

...Once it was up, he faced the party. "Very well. Go inside."

Sendai smiled at him. "Thank you."

 _Bam!_ In the next moment, she'd slid forward and connected the ball of her palm with his jaw.

 _Thud_. He flopped backward, unconscious. His helmet spun in the air-

 _Cli~ng_. -before bouncing off his plated torso.

Rinnosuke snorted. "Again…?"

"Pfft…!" Marisa held a hand to her mouth. "Yeah, fuck that guy in particular, ze!"

"He'd tattle on us if I didn't." Crouching down, she grabbed onto a leg and began dragging the body…

WIthin a moment, everyone got inside, and the miko deposited the unconscious guard around the edge of the wall for his own safety.

"You put him to sleep, dude." Marisa grinned at her as she leaned the guard up against the interior of the wall.

Sendai chuckled. "Yeah. He needed a nap, I'm sure."

...Marisa turned to her father. "Don'cha still look out for villagers or whatever it is that ya do?"

Marcus waved off the incident. "Aa~h, can't fix stupid. 'Cept with force, 'parently."

...Noticing Reimu'd gone further ahead, Sendai moved to catch up with her.

The five of them continued further into the village midst, glancing about at the villagers who kept a very cautious distance from them.

' _Yeah, I bet we're a sight._ '

...As they continued towards the village square, the miko looked back at the elder human mage. "Hey."

"Hello~." Marcus gave his idle greeting back.

"Does this village have any medical professionals we could talk to?" Sendai wondered… "Actually, is doctor Otsuka still kicking around?"

"Nah, she retired." Marcus summarized.

"Medical professional?" Marisa glanced back at them. "You havin' another Reimu Junior?"

"What…?" Reimu finally tuned into the conversation.

Sendai gave the magician a dry stare. "Uh huh. No, I'm trying to figure out who took me out."

"Oo~h." Grinning, Marisa turned around and kept walking…

"...Yeah, that'd be something to figure out." Reimu stated bluntly. "What're your leads?"

"Eiki stopped by and threatened me, but also told me I may've died of some kind of poison." Sendai told her what she knew. "But, when everyone found my body…"

"Yeah, you got scrunched." Reimu scratched her cheek…

' _...Well, she's become pretty good at internalizing her emotions._ ' Sendai could feel there was more emotion than that. ' _I'm expecting them to show at some point, but the only question is when…_ '

"So you got poisoned and smashed..." Reimu summarized. "And, you think a doctor can help you how?"

They reached the village's center, the bustle of people there unyielding to whatever intimidation factor the party had going for them.

As they waded into the crowd of people, Sendai spoke louder. "Well, if they're good with chemicals, perhaps there's something we can find that would let us know _what_ was used to poison me. Eiki said I took no physical damage before I died, so it was just all poison that did me in."

"...Weird." Reimu furrowed her brows, as she moved the party towards the job board. "Eiki's pissed at you, huh?"

"Mmm." Sendai nodded…

The five reached the job board, glancing it over…

"Aa~h, Eiki's a big pushover." Marisa waved the threat of the judge off. "Them shinigami can't even beat celestials. Not so hot against things that have instant death resistance and stuff…" Turning to the miko, she winked and bumped an elbow into her. "Nudge nudge, wink wink. Get a bunch of edgy clothes and the shinigami're just lower tier youkai."

Sendai blinked. "Instant death… resistance? That's a thing?"

Marisa snorted. "Yeah. Bad part about wearin' that stuff though is usually 'cause it's cursed or crappy in other ways. Kinda unfair, 'cause some youkai just _get it_ and no one knows why. Well, _Eirin_ knows why, but she talks too big."

' _What attacks are even considered that? Really big ones, or is it a status-y thing? ...I'll have to see about that, or something._ '

"Oh, hey…" Reimu's hand hovered over a clump of jobs to the right of the board. "Here're the fifteen thousand-y ones…"

' _Ooh._ ' Sendai snapped over to her daughter's position. "Let's see…"

' _Solve the… electromagnetic anomaly._ ' Sendai furrowed her brows at the top-leftmost one. ' _What…?_ ' She continued to read it…

' _Help! Electromagnetic storms are ravishing my beautiful garden!_

 _My son said it might be caused by a youkai but I'm not sure please anyone who can help please come help!_ '

' _Okay…_ ' She looked to the next job…

' _Hunt down these stupid fairies! Bows only._

 _In need of professional youkai hunters who exterminate fairy nests!_

 _You may only use a bow or you will not be paid._ '

"Why." Reimu shook her head at the job.

' _Fairies don't have nests, either. Kind of. They're weird..._ '

"Dude, some guy put up a post for a girlfriend here." Marisa was looking at random jobs on the very left of the board. "We should send Kourin."

"Let's not give anyone any weird ideas, now…" Rinnosuke was very much against this plan.

' _Probably some rapist anyway. Last time I responded to that kind of thing out of jest, the guy threw sleeping powder at me. Didn't count on me putting him through the wall before I went down, though. When I woke up, he was still stuck._ '

"How much is he offering?" Sendai looked over at Marisa. "...Also, always respond to those jobs with a friend standing around the door. There's a fifty fifty the guy just drugs you and gives you a reason to beat him up and steal his crap."

Marisa blinks. "...What, seriously? You responded ta some of these?"

Marcus chuckled. "Me too~! Except, they always closed the door before I could get a sentence in. I even wore a wig and everything."

"Let's just go save that garden." Reimu took the 'electromagnetic anomaly' job off of the board. "Fifteen thousand yen should get me some snacks and tea for the next few days. There's a crude map to the place, too."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

After dipping and diverging through various venues and alleys, the five reached the residence in question, along one of the villager's more remote sectors; along the wall, but not near the main streets.

' _This is silly._ '

They stood at the edge of the property. A few steps ahead was a lawn encased by a quaint fence, leading up to a tiny- seemingly one room- house.

"Aah- no…!" A rag and apron-clad woman held up a broom, trying to smack the floating dirt back down to the ground. "Come ba~ck!"

Clouds of crackling, blue magnetic energy floated about the lawn, some of it pulling up dirt and flowers, some of it simply dissipating and reforming elsewhere. The anomaly was curiously restricted to being within the fence around the property…

"So, um…" Reimu spoke up, stepping onto the property. "What's… going on here?"

The brown-haired woman turned back to her. "Oh, Reimu! I need your help! My plants- they're being pulled up by these- no!" Spotting a small patch of flower begin to raise, she darted into a magnet storm to hold the flowers down…

The energy seemingly didn't interact with her, as she passed through it without harm…

Curiously, Reimu stepped up to the cloud-

"Ah- woah…!" She was pulled into the center, where the energy whirled about her form. "Hey- hey…!"

Fwichoo~m. A moment later, she was freed from the slowly drifting energy cloud, left lightheaded. "Oo- ooh, woah…"

' _Um…_ ' Sendai couldn't help but worry slightly.

Marcus snorted. "Magnet clouds! Reimu there just got stripped 'a all her mana by that one…"

Reimu sat down, depleted. "Ugh…"

The woman looked over at her, before dropping her broom and stepping back. "Re- Reimu…? Reimu, noo~!" Wailing, she brought her hands to her face. "What do I do~!?"

...As the storm that stole Reimu's mana dissipated, Marisa drew an ether from her hat and tossed it up. "Here!"

 _Fwi- fwish!_ The liquid descended upon the miko's form, filling her with magical energy again. "...Uu~gh." Drifting back up, she shook her head. "How annoying…"

Drawing a single ofuda, Sendai sent it into the yard's midst-

 _Fwap_. It struck the house on the other side, before floating off, as it'd been sapped of all its holy energy.

Marisa turned to her father. "I hardly see crap use magnets. Where the hell'd these things even come from?"

"No clue!" Marcus beamed. "I know the kappa and them bunny people like to use it sometimes, but it's uncommon in nature. Occurs sometimes when it's too cold and there's a lotta electricity in the air, but that's not all that common…!"

...Looking forward, he tilted his head. "Oh- by the way, all these clouds're being controlled by somethin' under the house."

"Under the house?" Marisa smirked, before hopping onto her broom. "I'll clear the way…!"

"No don't." Dividing her attention between the magnet clouds and Marisa, the younger miko cautioned her… "This is someone's _house_."

Marisa deflated. "It- it's _one room_ , ze. If we stood on eachother, we'd be taller than it."

...She looked over at the villager, who stared back at her pleadingly.

...This caused her to relent. "Fi~ne. What, we gonna dig…?"

Smirking himself, Marcus stepped forward. "Here. Lemme _show ya_ how it's done."

Clapping his hands together-

 _Fwoom!_ -a pole of shimmering, magical energy extended outward-

Fwoom. Once it reached the house, it all dissipated, the energy traveling outward…

Pushing his hands out, Marcus parted the magnet clouds to the sides of the lawn, and began walking towards the house-

"Ah…" This process clipped Reimu with a magnet cloud, but only briefly.

Sendai moved to follow him. ' _There might be a youkai stashed under the house, or something._ '

...Inside, there was a table, a rear window, and a few flowerpots.

' _How do people live like this. I've still yet to learn how people survive with literally just… tables and rooms._ '

 _Cla- clack_. As they stepped inside, their feet echoed off the hollow flooring.

"Oh, lookit that..." Marcus stomped the floor repeatedly.

 _Thump- thump- thump_.

...Sendai looked down at the floor, brought her leg up, and-

 _Bam!_ -thrust it down after filling it with dark energy, smashing the floorboards.

 _Cli- click_. Something scuttled beneath the floorboards…

' _I think we've found it._ '

"S'over here." Marcus moved over to the left…

 _Crack!_ Stepping over ahead of him, Sendai stomped down again.

 _Cli- cli- click!_ The insect underneath scuttled more. ' _Sounds like a bug. This could get ugly, bug youkai are typically-_ '

 _Cli- click_.

It crawled out of the previous hole Sendai made in the wood.

It was beetle-like, very long but still scuttled along its stomach. The shell on its back was navy blue and black, with circles and dots.

…

' _Is it aggressive?_ ' Maximizing a yin yang orb, the miko stepped forward…

The beetle stood up. Underneath the shell, and within its many ligaments, there was a curiously humanoid demeanor. Standing eight feet tall, her flesh was pale blue, and her hair was long and matted along the back of the shell, similarly colored to it.

...It didn't seem to react to the presence of the two at all, simply staring numbly into the air ahead of it.

' _That's… new._ ' Sendai scanned the nude beetle's body. "...Hello?"

No response.

"Aah, don't even try." Marcus carefully stepped up aside the bug… "She's not sentient. One of them beetle youkai, they don't mean no harm."

' _No harm? Since when…?_ ' Intrigued, Sendai sat aside her yin yang orb and stepped up to the beetle girl, intent on poking her…

Marcus snorted. "Ah- still, uh, I wouldn't-"

Sendai poked her stomach-

 _Fwza~sh!_ Seemingly electrical energy flared up around both their forms, causing Sendai to jump. ' _What!?_ '

...As the miko stepped back, the sluggishness hit her. ' _O- oh. Damn it…_ ' The beetle girl had wiped all her mana from her with a moment of contact.

...Slowly, she let out a shuddering exhale, her posture slipping. "Ni-... nice. Real nice."

"Hehehe~!" Marcus was amused. "Harmless, yeah, but time and feeding's made 'em real powerful for beetles! Try holdin' 'em by the shell, instead."

...Rousing herself to move, the miko moved behind the beetle, and latched onto the shell, before hefting it up. "Hu~p…"

...Once she was sure she had the beetle secured, she began lugging it out of the house.

Outside, Sendai hobbled back towards the fence exit…

Marisa doubletook. "Aw, hey! It's one of them beetle ladies!"

Rinnosuke looked away. "Ah- hrrm…"

 _Fwi- fwiz- zwip- zip_. As the miko carried the beetle out, the magnet clouds around the yard flickered randomly, before quickly disbanding and floating randomly into the village, passing through structures as they accelerated into infinity. ' _Oh. Oh well._ '

Reimu floated down, looking at it. "Oh, one of them. We'll just carry it outside the village and let it go, or something."

The villager woman ran up to Marisa, and hid behind her. "Wh- what is _that…!?_ "

...Marisa gave her a dry stare. "I just _said_ , s'a-"

 _Fwzaa~m_. As Sendai lugged the bug closer, both it and Rinnosuke lit up with vaguely eletrical-looking magnetic energy.

"Wh- what…?" He stepped back, looking at his limbs.

' _Ah- hey…_ ' Immediately, the bug slipped from Sendai's arms, and romped up to Rinnosuke.

He held an arm up to keep from looking at her features. "Um... can I… help you?"

"Some beetle chicks follow other youkai 'round." Marisa elaborates for him. "S'not a preference thing, it's just… what they do. They get up to a big group and do whatever it is that they do."

 _Fwzaa~m_. The external magnetic charge reinforced on the two youkai…

"What… is she doing to me?" Rinnosuke was vaguely worried about whatever was happening to him.

"Seems like she's sharin' some of 'er magnetic energy." Marcus observed. "...Don't really see 'em so often, so-"

"Beetles like that buff all nearby youkai with that aura." Reimu contributed what she knew. "Didn't know it was magnet whatever, but everyone affected saps mana. They're also defended from incoming magic kinda, too."

' _Sounds annoying for magicians. Which means..._ ' Sendai turned to her daughter. "Do they defend humans too?"

Reimu shook her head. "Not that I've ever seen."

...Experimentally, Sendai let darkness flow through her entire body in traces-

 _Fwzaa~m_. The magnetic aura snapped to life over her, and the beetle hobbled to a space between her and Rinnosuke.

' _Oh. I just need a youkai-like level of dark energy in me, then._ '

"Those things fight for other youkai, too." Reimu continued. "...They only act when a youkai attacks or is attacked by a human. They ignore all other encounters, unless they have to defend themselves from something. Even then, they're kinda slow."

"Just- just make it leave…!" The villager woman was still behind Marisa. "I- I didn't do anything- make it leave!"

Reimu pivots to face her. "Cash, please."

...Reluctantly, the woman pulls up a brown purse, and takes out the fifteen thousand yen, holding it out…

Accepting it, Reimu gives her a genuine smile. "Thank you very much. Have a nice day!"

"Um, you too…" Awkwardly, the woman paces towards her home again…

...Glancing at the beetle girl, Sendai nodded. "Let's have her follow us."

"She's a walking obscenity." Reimu pointed out the fact it's not clothed. "...Is it okay to touch her flesh? Or will she drain anyone who touches her?"

...No one seems to know the answer, as indicated by the non-responses.

' _No one will care, anyway._ '

...Rinnosuke stepped to the far end of the property they were on.

Sendai let her darkness retract-

 _Thud_. The beetle girl flopped onto her front and used her ligaments to scuttle up to Rinnosuke, the magnetic energy around him growing stronger again. Now that she was on her stomach, her features were hidden again.

"...I guess that works." Reimu blinked at the long beetle.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Back in the village center, the party browsed the stalls…

While Reimu and Marisa were looking at snacks, the elders were stepping up to a large, blue and white, two-walled stall on one of the square's corners…

' _Don't recognize this place._ '

"This is one of them clinic's stalls." Marcus spoke of the stall as they neared it. "They sell medicines 'n' potions and stuff. Y'gotta know how to ask for the potions, though, they don' just _tell ya_ , for some snaky reason."

' _...He says this like there's a unified clinic in Gensokyo._ '

As they approached the stall, a lavender-haired bunny girl in a business suit looked up at them, before ceasing meddling with something beneath the desk. "Oh, Kirisame, Rinnosuke…" She eyes Sendai curiously, before blinking a few times. "...Shrine… maiden?"

"Hi Reisen." Rinnosuke gave her a blunt wave.

"Hey." Sendai greets her. "You sell elixirs here?"

...Blinking again, Reisen smiles. "Well, sure. What kind? We have the finest products for-"

"Health and mana." Sendai summarized flatly.

...Reisen nodded. "Ah. _Those_ kind, okay…" Crouching down under a nearby shelf, she looked, before standing and moving to the back of the stall. "Let me look in the vault…"

' _...Vault? We walk up to a bank?_ ' Sendai watched the bunny girl curiously, as she moved through the stall's back door.

…

A moment later, she came back out with an armful of elixirs. "Here. How many you want?"

' _That's a lot of elixirs!_ ' Sendai's eyebrows shot up as she gazed at the armful. "...How much for… all of them?"

"More than you have." Reisen summarized. "...Please, think of a reasonable number. If you have insurance, it'll cover one a month."

' _Insurance?_ ' The miko blinked. "...Probably not. How much does _one_ cost, then?"

"Fifteen thousand yen." Reisen provided. "...You see, demand's not, um, high for them."

Marcus smirked at her. "Mhm. S'why you charge an arm and a leg fer leg fixin' tonics, but don't tell no one you got a pile 'a elixirs in the back unless they _ask_."

Reisen deflated. "We- we can't… _really_ afford people knowing the viability of, um, 'restoration items'. Not until we rebrand- and even then, if people learned how to make them…"

Staring into the air, Marcus nodded. "Yeah, mhm. Remind me, what was the price 'fore _I_ started sellin' 'lixers?"

...Reisen looked away. "About, um… I- I'd have to run the numbers-"

"One hundred thousand, was it?" Marcus grinned at her.

"No, it was-..." Stopping herself, Reisen placed her arms over her mouth. "...Eighty thousand, yeah. You _know_ I don't-"

"Yes, I _kno~w_ you don't set prices, regulations or orders." Marcus sassed her. "Still, that Yagokoro, y'know? What's up with this?"

…

Reisen refocused on Sendai, looking more drained than before. "You-... are you going to buy anything?"

' _The hell kinda scam they running here…? Although those elixir prices are alright_ now.'

Sendai set fifteen thousand on the table. "Sounds good. Any~ health potions? And ethers?"

"Ye- yes…" Reisen passed her one of the elixirs, before taking the rest of the armful back. "Wait here…"

With that, she navigated to the back of the stall again…

"...Did you need to be so hard on her?" Rinnosuke glanced over at Marcus.

"So~meone's gotta yell at the public faces." Marcus justified indifferently. "If Yagokoro's only gonna send one bunny down here at a time, I'm gonna yell and whine at 'er. Doesn't really make herself easy to get ahold of."

"Who the hell's Yagokoro?" Sendai'd heard enough of the name without knowing who was being discussed.

Marcus looked over at her, grinning as he set his arms on the counter. "...Oh, yeah. Well… she's an immortal scientist doctor from the moon who- to my understanding- genetically engineered a new type of rabbit youkai, and is capable of creating the elixir of immortality."

…

Sendai looked over at Rinnosuke. "How often's he have episodes like this now?"

"He's telling the truth." The shopkeeper clarified. "...Not sure about the genetic engineering, but it's not out of the question, surely. She also started an entire society on the moon."

…

Sendai just looked at the two of them in vague disbelief.

"Was more like co-founder, wasn't it?" Marcus considered. "Not that we know- well… yeah. Thought I knew a name, but I didn't!"

' _Do I look stupid or something? There's just… there's no way._ '

Reisen stepped back out, holding an armful of ethers and potions of different tiers…

"You." Sendai pointed at her. "Are you from the moon?"

...Reisen stared at her, before replying bluntly. "Yes."

' _Oh. What._ '

...The bunny girl continued business as usual. "Potions are… five hundred yen. Hi-Potions are a thousand, and Mega Potions are five thousand. Times two for anything mana-related."

"Is there a city on the moon?" Sendai questioned her again.

...Reisen gave her a dry stare. "It's a little bigger than that. There's a whole society- why are you asking me this…?"

"The hell do you mean why…?" The miko grinned at her, setting her arms on the counter. "It's not everyday you just suddenly learn there's a _society on the moon_. And..." Looking at the bunny's ears, Sendai turned to Marcus. "They're all youkai, aren't they?"

Marcus nodded. "They are indee~d all youkai! I think. Technically!"

' _Fuck._ '

"I thought it was common knowledge in Gensokyo?" Reisen rose a brow… "And… normally I wouldn't pry, but… why are you dressed up like Reimu?"

' _Oh, here we go._ '

"I'm her mom." Sendai informed her.

…

"Aah." Reisen was skeptical. "Okay. So~... what potions do you want?"

…

"Two potions and an-…" Looking at Rinnosuke, she came to a realization. "...Seven potions and three ethers."

' _Guys used up all their items last time, should probably stock them up while I'm here._ '

"Six thousand five hundred yen, please." Reisen asked for payment for the goods…

Sendai passed the money across the counter.

...Carefully, the business bunny placed the potions on the counter, before moving to carry the pile back to the vault. "Oka~y…."

...Sendai took two of the potions, and passed three over to Rinnosuke's end of the counter. ' _Oh. Should've gotten five instead._ ' ...Idly, she passed two more to him.

" _Five_ potions." He smiled at the payload, loading them into his backpack. "I suppose that should be a more safe amount, this time."

...Sendai slid two ethers over to Marcus. "Should replace the Hi-Ethers we blew." She kept an ether and two potions for herself.

Marcus accepted his items. "I think it should, too."

' _...If there's any doctor that'd be able to trace how I died with very little to work off of…_ '

"I'm gonna go home for today, too…" Reisen stepped towards the stall's exit as she came back out from the back of it. "The selling day's almost up, and there's some errands I've got to do before master gets upset with me…"

"Hey." Sendai called out to her. "Does Yagokoro know how to trace poisons or chemicals, or something like that?"

"Sorry!" Reisen didn't so much as give her the time of day as she crouched down… "Hnn~h…"

She lifted a huge backpack from beneath the counter. "I- I've… really gotta go. See you, um, pretend shrine maiden."

Sendai furrowed her brows at the rabbit. ' _...Gee, thanks. Stupid rabbit._ '

…

After the rabbit left, the miko looked at Marcus. "Yagokoro, she actually a good doctor?"

"Probably the best that ever lived, performance-wise." Marcus admitted. "Morally? Probably bankrupt! Or on a different level, something like that. No one really understands her thought process, I don't think."

' _Has to be a youkai doctor._ ' Shaking her head, the miko cracked her knuckles… "You think we can get a word in with her by nightfall?"

"No probably not, let's not." Rinnosuke immediately voted against the notion. "Can we not? They have guns, guns which are probably better than my gun."

Marcus waved him off. "Aa~h, it'll be silly danmaku bullets anyway. And, if not that… lasers! Which're, y'know, magic-oriented…"

...Sendai looked over at the magnet beetle, which was on the ground beside Rinnosuke, hidden precariously before the counter's width.

 _Fwzam_. Only then did the magnetic energy cling to Rinnosuke. "That _tickles…_ " Furrowing his brows, he slouched...

Becoming filled with purpose, the miko turned around, facing the village square. "Let's go see what they're all about."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

(3x)Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

(2x)Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

(5x)Potion - Low tier restoration items. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

(3x)Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x)Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

(3x)Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

Hi-Ether - Expert mana restoration item. Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to appreciate.

=o=

 _Beetle Girl_ , the Ancient Disruptor Insect Youkai

WEAPON: Unarmed.

INVENTORY:

Hard Shell - A very hard shell. Halves all major damage from behind, be it magical or physical. Nullifies lesser attacks. One hundred percent magnet resistance.

(no slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Magnetize - Charges all nearby youkai-like beings with magnetic energy. Makes them immune to magnetic damage and statuses. Makes the physical attacks of those affected partially magnet elemental. Confers magic resistance relative to how far a youkai is from the beetle, capping at ninety percent resistance.

Whack - With brutal youkai strength, the beetle runs up to an enemy and whacks them with the broad of her arm. Deals heavy magnet damage. May strip targets of their mana.

Magnetic Anomaly - When resting, the beetle's control over magnetism relaxes and causes magnetic storms in the air around it.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

nobody fight / magnet beetle "fight"

sendai obtains the whispers talisman - w -

it's pretty obvious where we'll be going next…!

also beetle girl's fun. time and feeding has made her very powerful…! but not very intelligent - w -

if it weren't obvious she's based off of the ancient disrupter infested from warframe except a cute naked girl instead of a gross lanky abomination

her usefulness is also very whacky but she'd easily be the staple of youkai-on-village offenses if the youkai had their scene together more - w -

she's also inherently biased against humans as an instinctual thing since she's not sentient

oh yeah eiki and the shinigoomi

yeah that'll have to be a thing at some point - w - probably after the raid on eientei so sendai can do some misc things as well as beat up some reapers (and also maybe get some misc. TH16 fights in there since i doubt i could clump all of them into an okina arc since they're all from like, entirely different biomes)

it'd probably be like

unknown - unknown - komachi (and maybe friends) - eiki

but don't quote me on that, that's a whole two arcs ahead maybe - w -

more healing items! and they're _gonna need 'em_ 'cause lemme tell you, i doubt lunar rabbits are nearly as incompetent as fairy maids…!

as always, see you all next time!


	16. 4-1 - Bamboo Forest of the Lost

"Hey." Stepping up to her daughter, the miko who came before gave her a passing word. "Me and the guys're gonna go see what this 'clinic in the bamboo' thing's all about."

"Oh." Reimu glanced back from the snack vendor at her. "Have fu~n. Also, don't punch the rabbits, because they're good at punching too. Not sure why you'd wanna punch them in the first place, but I'm sure you'd find a way."

' _I'll punch the rabbits if I wanna punch them._ ' The miko gave her a dry stare. ' _Need to, rather. Still, I wonder how long that clinic's been there. I've been through that forest multiple times, and I never remember seeing a clinic..._ '

Marisa glances back at them from a different, nearby stall. "Aw, say hi to Reisen fer me! An' tell her she oughta start stockin' Talcum powder. Stuff's fluffy and good for smoke bombs."

' _Sure._ ' Sendai soundly ignored her request.

"Oo~h, reminds me I should buy some…" Marcus didn't ignore it, however.

...Taking a deep breath, Rinnosuke glanced up at the day's sky.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 4 - Immortal Folly

STAGE 1 - Bamboo Forest of the Lost

 _Clank_. The village's gates dug into the dirt behind the party, as they began their march through the plains towards their destination.

"How long's that clinic been in the woods, again?" Sendai gazed ahead at the tall bamboo across the long plain, holding her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun…

Marcus shrugged.

"Awhile." Rinnosuke didn't have a much better answer.

…

After they'd progressed some distance away from the village, Marcus elaborated. "Well, it was _found_ not too~ long ago. As for how long it's _actually_ been there, well, coulda been before the barrier even!"

' _How._ ' Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _I know that forest's tricky, but I'd thought all the running around I did in there treaded most of it._ '

...Some distance into the plains, the long grass nearby began to rustle unnaturally as the party passed it.

Sendai glanced to the right, only to see a short fairy slowly start to step up alongside them…

...After a short while, the cream-haired fairy noticed her gaze, and slowed down to fall behind them...

' _Hi there._ ' Sendai kept her gaze on it.

...Unsure of what to do, the fairy began fidgeting, hanging some feet behind the party but still walking along behind them.

...Some moments later, Rinnosuke was compelled to look in her direction, too. "What're you looking…" He saw the fairy.

…

They both looked ahead again, and kept moving at normal pace. ' _Nervous little thing._ '

And then-

 _Woosh!_ A different, green-haired fairy rocketed out of the grass to the right of the party-

 _Fwam!_ Sendai was clipped by a small green spread shot as the fairy rocketed by at bullet speed. ' _Hey…_ '

" _Hello~!_ " The fairy gave them a greeting as she rocketed by faster than anyone could contest with, zooming into the plains to the left.

Marcus snorted. "Ah, hello to you too…"

Sendai twitched her nose. ' _Aa~h… that made me feel like I wanted to sneeze, but couldn't._ '

...Progressing forward, they got closer and closer to the bamboo forest's edge.

Halfway through the plains, Sendai stole a passing glance at a dilapidated wooden stand. ' _Someone tried setting up shop out here?_ '

…

Three fourths of the way to the woods, the miko turned back to the fairy following them. "Who're you?"

"A- aa- aah…" The fairy clammed up, before looking for ways to escape…

...After a moment, it relaxed. "I… I'm Cream-chan."

' _That's pretty literal._ ' Sendai gave her a dry stare. "...Why're you following us?"

...For some reason, this simply makes the fairy look more anxious. She doesn't reply, though.

' _Okay._ '

At this point, the party'd reached the edge of the woods.

...Sendai looked behind herself, only to see the fairy turned and talking to someone else that'd wandered up behind them. "C- c'mon- let me do this first…"

A stout rabbit girl with raven hair nodded at her. "But- I need you t'come see my _stuff!_ Like-..." Noticing the miko's gaze, she froze.

...The fairy turned back to the party, and gave them an uneven smile. "Uh- uhm- hey- I was wondering…!"

Gradually, everyone turned around to face the fairy…

"Hi." Sendai greeted her bluntly. "What's up?"

The fairy held out her arms, looking away. "I- I was… I need money for my friend. A youkai trapped them- and, I don't… I can't pay for them to free her. Please…"

' _Don't fairies respawn?_ ' Sendai blinked at the fairy. "...And how much is this supposed to be?"

"He- he wants a _million_ yen…" Looking down, the fairy appears solemn. "Pl- please! He's try- he's going to avoid killing her, too…!"

...Sendai pointed at the rabbit cohort, only to find she'd disappeared in the time she'd taken to glance down at her hand briefly. ' _What._ '

"We don't exactly have a million yen." Rinnosuke lamented.

"The- then I'll take anything!" The fairy shook her hands, again demanding money. "Please!"

…

' _Something feels wrong about this._ ' Slipping out the Eye of Truth talisman, the miko slapped it onto her shoulder.

The daylight was dimmed as she gazed across the now paler landscape. Above the fairy's head, two rabbit ears were concealed in foggy blue, and only the fairy's back wings glowed with magical energy at all.

...Stepping forward-

 _Bam!_ Sendai punched her in the face.

 _Thud_. Instead of popping like a fairy would, she fell back, flopping against the floor from the blow. "Agh- aah! Damn it- aah…"

Rubbing her face, she glared up at the miko. "...Yo- you mean person! My- my friend's going to get raped, and it's all your fault!"

"You're a rabbit." Sendai revealed. "...And, even then, that story of yours is pretty out there. I'm pretty sure no one'd _ransom_ a fairy."

…Marcus turned to her. "Took ya a moment there, though, didn't it? Sly little things, ain't they?"

' _I'd nearly forgotten about these annoying things._ '

 _Poof!_ The fairy's wings disappeared, revealing rabbit ears on her head instead. "Yeah, well, the hell'd you do if someone actually _was_ stupid enough ta ransom off a fairy, hah? Ya just gonna let a pretty little girl get hurt?"

"Since we have no way of knowing, yes." Sendai put it bluntly. "Not like we can fix everything wrong with the world at once, and we have to look out for ourselves. That, and fairies have the memories of goldfish anyway."

"Hehehe~!" Giggling, the rabbit nodded. "See, you get it! Look out fer ourselves. That, and that fairy thing's true too. So I guess it don't make no difference, if we do _this!_ "

 _Click!_ She snapped her fingers-

 _Fwoam_. Marcus threw a hand behind himself.

...Sendai turned around, to see five partially visible rabbits stuck against a small magic barrier Marcus erected.

 _Fli- flick_. As they darted back, their forms shifted awkwardly into invisibility again.

"Nice cloaking devices." Marcus remarked. "Look like the kappa's, though. Don't the big bunnies make their own?"

"The hell…" The rabbit girl scowled at the scene. "...An', yeah. Those cloaking devices're a bit complicated though. The kappa's, you can just throw 'em on and use 'em!"

…

 _Fza~m..._

The bunny girl flinched, as an electro-magnetic aura clung to her. "Wh- what the fu…" Turning, she saw the beetle girl from before scuttle up the path. "Oh, one of you. Where the hell."

 _Fzam_. Now closer, its aura clung to Rinnosuke, too.

' _Where'd it even go? Oh, actually, the village gate may've proved tough for it..._ ' Sendai blinked at it. ' _Surprised it even kept up._ '

...Shaking her head, the bunny looked back at the party. "So, where ya headin' to?"

The miko simply stared her down.

"'Cause if it's into the bamboo... " She taunted them by bringing up a finger and stretching her eyelid down with it. "This forest is your enemy!"

' _Kinda knew that already._ ' Turning around, the miko continued towards the woods, her party following suit soon after.

"Hehehe~!" The rabbit giggled at them as they continued down, moving after them. "Have a good ti~me in there! I'm sure no one will bother-"

 _Bam!_

Whirling around, the miko returned to the rabbit and palmed her in the face.

"Ah- fuck…!" Flopping down on the dirt again, the rabbit rubbed her nose. "So- son of a bit-"

 _Whap_. Crouching down, the miko punched her in the jaw, lighter than normal.

...Going limp, the rabbit slipped into unconsciousness.

' _There. Should buy us a little quiet, until those cloaked ones start whining to their friends._ '

With that, the miko stood, unequipped the Eye of Truth talisman, and continued towards the woods where her party was waiting. "Let's get going."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

'' _This forest is your enemy', no kidding. Just as cryptic and repetitive as always..._ '

After walking for more time than it took to reach the forest itself, the miko slowed to a stop…

 _Shink!_ Rinnosuke tore his cheap iron sword into the bamboo, to keep up with the miko's trail. "You'd've thought I'd cleared the whole forest by this point…"

' _We haven't even passed a tree he's cut once. This place isn't even that big on the outside, it looks to be about as wide as the village. Not anything new, but it's always just..._ '

...Walking ahead again as the two caught up to her, the miko pushed through some unruly bamboo to get into a clearing. ' _Every clearing looks the same. We're unbelievably lost._ '

In the midst of this clearing, however, was a rabbit on a stump. She was stout- like most if not all rabbit youkai, barring that tall clerk Sendai saw- had a short pink dress, and messy black hair…

' _Tewi Inaba._ ' Sendai recognized the sly trickster. ' _About time. She usually points me the vaguely right direction, if she's not trying to scam my hakama off._ '

Stepping up, Sendai greeted her. "Tewi. S'been awhile, hasn't it?"

Gazing at her as she approached, Tewi smiled. "Who the hell are you?"

The miko snorted. "Reimu's mom. You know me. Stole my hakama that one time, demonstrated time and time again you knew the forest better than me, and that I should recon places with more than just my fists, so forth."

' _I fought with her, one time. I have a feeling she was going easy on me because she went far slower than I knew she could go. She's one of-... well,_ was _one of the few youkai friendly towards humans, as far as I'm aware._ '

…

Tewi sighed, closing her eyes. "...Weird shit. Fine, you got me, who really are you?"

…

Sendai cracked her knuckles. "This is no joke. Unless you want me to demonstrate some of what I can do to you again."

"That shouldn't be necessary…" Rinnosuke stepped up. "I-"

"Can it." Snidely, Tewi silenced him immediately, before turning to the miko. "Tell your sock puppets to stuff it, never seen 'em before in my life."

Slouching, Marcus contradicted her. "Aww~h. And here I wanted that bargain bin deal on headlight fluid…"

...Giving him a funny stare, Tewi stood and focused on the miko once more. "Alri~ght, 'Hakurei miko'. You come to fuck with me or are you, 'on assignment?'"

"Personal business. Someone named Eirin Yagokoro." Sendai rattled off what she knew.

...Smirking, Tewi shook her head. "Never heard 'a her."

' _What? Huh._ ' Skeptical, the miko propped her hands on her hips...

"That's a lie." At that, Rinnosuke stopped panning his gaze about the bamboo, and asserted himself. "It's common knowledge you earth rabbits are cohorts with the clinic. It's not even worth hiding."

"...Interesting reaction." With a wry smile towards the miko, Tewi did a short hop off her stump.

Pacing about, she moved around the three, arms behind her back. "We~ll you got me. I may _happen_ to know where you could find _someone_ named Eirin."

' _Oh, good._ ' Relaxing, the miko nodded-

Pivoting around, Tewi pointed at the three. "Doesn't mean I'm just gonna tell a buncha humans!"

' _Wha~t. Not her too..._ ' Sendai frowned. ' _I thought she was past the whole 'hating humans' thing a lot of youkai do. Or, she's just making an excuse to start things..._ '

Rinnosuke raised a hand to object-

"Or anyone workin' with this totally legit Hakurei shrine maiden over here." She clarified.

He lowered his hand…

' _Yep. Seems like she wants a rise out of me..._ '

 _Fzam_.

...The beetle girl came out of unrelated bamboo brush, scuttling up between Rinnosuke and Tewi.

The latter just stared at it, ignoring the flashy magnetic aura encapsulating her. "Wow. Big magnet beetle! I got a few 'a your undeveloped sisters in my bag, too!"

...Focusing on the party again, she began pacing off. "I mean, _normally_ I'd show youkai, but you guys're a buncha dicks for impersonating people. So have fun!"

' _Youkai? Also-_ '

"Hup!" Springing up from her location, she made an effort to try and land before the rabbit loudly. ' _She's not the type to be intimidated, but-_ '

As the miko came down, Tewi whirled around-

 _Thud_. She slammed down a large, green metal pad from _somewhere_ as she did so, the pad itself as tall as she was.

Sendai was already too far down to avoid landing on it. ' _Um-_ '

 _Bo~ing!_ Upon landing on it, she was forced to spring off of it, high into the air, above the bamboo canopy. ' _Woah…! It's… it was a big spring._ '

...As she descended, she neared a bamboo tree-

 _Crack!_ -and abused it to lessen her falling momentum.

 _Thud!_ Legs and arms filled with dark energy, she rolled to remove her momentum on landing. "Hrrm…"

Rinnosuke drew his pistol. "Tewi! I don't want to have to do this to you-"

Halfway across the clearing from where Sendai saw her previously, Tewi drew a cartoony flintlock and pointed it back at him. "Reach fe~r the sky!"

Grinning, Marcus stepped past Rinnosuke and towards her. "No~w, now. No need to get _ballistic_ , and everything…"

Tewi pointed her flintlock at him. "That joke just made you the bigger threat."

...Sendai drew her Dragon Palace flintlock just so that there'd be more guns involved. ' _Considering how fast she is, these electric bolts should surprise her._ '

…

 _Zap!_ After a brief standoff, Sendai shot her electric bolt-

" _Hee~!_ " Stricken, Tewi pulled the trigger on her flintlock-

 _Pow_. A giant, slow moving iron ball came from it, slowly accelerating forward.

 _Woosh!_ Sliding back slightly, Tewi pivoted around and took to the air with a flip.

Sendai sprinted forward. ' _Let's try not to lose her…!_ '

 _Fwam!_ Rinnosuke 'fired' a sleep-inducing spell cast from his pistol.

 _Fwoom_. Easily stepping past the semi-floating iron ball, Marcus sent out an ill-defined orb of non-elemental energy. "Go get 'er!"

Running ahead of everyone, the miko's dark accented legs pounded the root and grass infested floor as she quickly closed the distance between her and the running rabbit-

"Hoo~!" Stopping on a dime, Tewi backflipped towards the miko.

' _Ah- crap._ ' Sendai slid to a stop-

 _Fwoom!_ -before her arms and torso lit up with dark energy, as she tried to thrust herself up to catch the rabbit-

"Ha~!" Tewi flew forward, belly sliding to the ground ahead before doing a flip off her arms and sprinting away.

' _Maybe I shouldn't try catching a rabbit with my bare hands…_ '

...She blinked as Marcus's orb of energy passed her, accelerating towards the rabbit, before dissipating and spreading out into the nearby air.

Stopping dead in her tracks, Tewi turned around and held out a dreamcatcher, which glowed in the palm of her hand. "Nice sleep 'n' magnet magic! Lucky that kinda thing doesn't work, huh?"

...Marcus felt himself, before pulling out his own dreamcatcher. "Oh. Ah, gee, guess we both heard the word down the street..."

' _Good. Not that stealing her mana would've meant anything anyway._ '

While Tewi was immobilized, Sendai began sprinting towards the rabbit. ' _Let's take a page out of her own book…!_ '

Noticing the miko's movement, the rabbit pivoted around and began running again-

"Hoh!" Diving forward with dark-empowered legs, the miko began channeling darkness into her torso and arms as she flew forward…

As she neared the rabbit-

Tewi simply jumped, gaining awkward backward momentum off a forward rock as she did so.

Thud. Sendai slid onto her stomach on landing-

 _Pap_. The rabbit springboarded off of her, backflipping off. "Hehehe~!"

' _Wow, she's pretty light…_ ' Sendai barely registered the rabbit's interaction with her unaided back as a hit.

 _Woosh!_ Springing back up, the miko turned to the new direction Tewi was sprinting off to-

 _Bam!_ -and stomped the ground beneath herself to power after her.

Due to the rabbit's change in direction, Rinnosuke and Marcus were now closer again.

' _Ah, Kourin's handing that wind sword off to Marcus. For being the blade of Japan, it better actually do something in combat…_ '

Once Sendai began to near again-

"Hoo- _hehe~!_ " Jumping off of the ground, Tewi spun with her arms outstretched as she ascended-

 _Kroo- Kroo- Kroo~m!_ The forest path beneath her began to give way, the curious square path of stone shifting out of the way and revealing a small pond beneath.

Unable to slow her momentum, Sendai leapt off after the rabbit. "Ha~h…!"

Seeing the stillwater below, Sendai allowed herself to fall some distance, before-

 _Woosh!_ -uppercutting with dark energy to ascend further.

Tewi gently lowered to the ground on the other side, her descent graceful due to the dizzying way she spun across the gap-

"Hoh!" The miko kicked down to accelerate towards her-

"Hehe~!" Tewi jumped to avoid her leg.

Throwing her arms forward, Sendai tried to latch on-

Tewi curled up into a ball, before falling and-

 _Pap!_ Striking Sendai in the chest, one leg to each breast, the rabbit sprung up and forward.

' _Woah- hey…_ ' Sendai blinked at the exchange as she slid against the floor… ' _Ah, whoops._ '

Springing back up, she glanced down at the leg she'd slid on, seeing bloody, red abrasion. ' _Forgot to buff it. Oh well._ '

 _Fwoam!_ Marcus fired a laser from his tubezooka-

Fwam! " _Aep!_ " Struck, Tewi flew off into the brush somewhere.

' _...Good hit, but she could be anywhere now._ '

...Glancing across the new ravine, the miko saw her party moving to navigate the brush around it.

...Looking back at the brush ahead, she saw a brown-haired rabbit marching up towards her.

' _Ah, one of the rabbit folk…_ '

As he approached, the miko spoke. "Hey."

"Mhrm." He gave a disgruntled hum as he neared, before pulling a crude handcannon from his back and aiming it at the miko.

' _Friendly._ ' Giving it a dry stare, the miko waited for a response of some kind.

…

"I- I goh' a hangover. Be quiet…" Slowly, he lowered his handcannon, tilting around in place.

"He~y!" Marcus called out to him as he neared-

The rabbit aimed his handcannon at him next. "Shuh uhp!"

"Oh, dear friend…" Reaching into his robe pockets, Marcus drew a rectangular box. "I bring beer."

...Eyes widening, the rabbit grinned slyly and nodded. "We~ll _dahmn!_ " Reaching forward greedily, he swiped the box and gave the mage a salute. "Tha~nks!"

With that, the rabbit boy marched off with the brown box…

…

"Wasn't beer, was it?" Sendai stared into the brush he left through.

 _Boom!_ Danmaku flared to life through the thick bamboo.

"Oh, it was beer alright." Nodding at the brush, Marcus smiled. "Has a bit a' kick to it, though."

...The bamboo rustled loudly above, awkwardly compared to the still branches around them.

Pressing a leg into the brush beneath, Sendai grabbed Marcus and pushed him as she moved herself out of the way-

 _Cla- clank!_ A metal locker fell from the trees above, resting on its side after bouncing off the floor.

' _What…_ ' Sendai looked up, furrowing her brows. ' _People are dropping things on us._ '

Clang! The locker door slid open, and a slender, small rabbit girl rolled out. "Aah… hello~."

...Cautiously, Rinnosuke progressed from the nearby bamboo-

 _Thwick!_ A twig snapped somewhere-

"Aah!?" In a sudden exchange, Rinnosuke found himself bound upside down by a rope. "...Aa- aah. Uhm…"

...Holding up his wind blade, Marcus began swooshing it around. "Ah, yeah, this thing's got some potential."

The faintly orange-haired, thin rabbit stood up. "Ooh- hey! So glad you were all worried about me! So gla~d…!"

Sendai stared at her blankly. "You tried to drop stuff on us."

"Oh? Oh- oh that… oh that wasn't _me!_ Silly~!" She wiggled her fingers at the miko. "By the way, you are H- O- T, _ho~t!_ "

' _Okay._ ' The miko put her arms on her hips…

Marcus swung the wind blade-

 _Kra- fwish!_ The rope that held the half-youkai, among many nearby bamboo shafts, was rended.

 _Thud_. Rinnosuke landed on his shoulders, before flopping onto his back. "Ouch…"

Stepping closer to the miko, the rabbit shifted her eyes about, before focusing on her again. "How… how do you get big boobs?"

' _I'm tempted to kick her. I'm not sure if Tewi sent these guys after us, or if they're just normally this weird. Because they_ are _normally this weird… but they're not usually this frequent._ '

"Alright…" Holding the blade out awkwardly, Marcus began to step forward… "A~nd swing!" He made a clumsy jerk of the blade-

 _KASHINK_

...The bamboo ahead was so thick, that after being diced once, it became an unintelligible pile of interlocking bamboo instead of cleanly falling down. As such, it was still blocking the way.

"Wow." Marcus looked the sword over. "They don't call this the lawnmower sword for nothin'!"

...Sendai glanced over at the mess of bamboo, then back at the rabbit-

She grabbed the thin rabbits arms, as she'd darted up to the miko and made for her pockets.

"Nice attempt." Sendai jested. "They teach you how to steal right?"

"Oh, da~rn…" The bunny pouted. "I guess not. You got me~. Let me go, and I'll give you a reward."

"...Didn't teach you how to lie right, either." Sendai looked around as she held onto the rabbit-

 _POW_

She ducked beneath a rock shot at dangerous velocity, still holding onto the rabbit's arms…

Standing up, she held the rabbit in the direction that the rock came from. ' _She's as light as a doll._ '

...The rabbit began swinging her legs for leverage-

"Eee~!" She squealed as Sendai took an arm off of her and began swinging her around-

-only for her to cling to the miko's arm, swing around it like a pole, then let go so that the momentum would let her escape.

' _Rabbits are way too slick for their own good._ ' Bringing her hands back and looking around, she realized she was without the rabbit. ' _What even just happened._ '

Kre- _krea~k_ …

Bamboo was smashed and torn out of the way as something came for them-

Marcus ducked pre-emptively, while the miko looked around…

 _Fwish!_ A large, thick log, attached to ropes on bamboo higher up, swung into the clearing, sailing straight towards the miko-

Filling her arms with dark energy, she punched forward with one-

 _Boom!_ Dark energy echoed out from the impact, but she was still sent sliding back. ' _Ow. A little harder than I remember, but I can still kinda stop those things at least…_ ' Using her free arm, she rubbed the one she used to strike…

The log's momentum was neutralized, and it was left dangling in the midst of the clearing. The end the miko struck it at was left cracked.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish_. Suddenly, the bamboo began to shimmer all around…

' _We're surrounded._ ' The miko instantly realized.

"Ooh…" Marcus noticed it nearly as instantly. Bringing his blade up, he slowly spun around-

 _Shi- shink- shink- shink!_ As he did so, the inner layer of bamboo trees was easily severed, which only served to increase the shuffling within the bamboo, making the forest's rustling very loud.

' _Sneaky._ ' Sendai critiqued their no longer subtle approach. ' _Well, if we're surrounded…_ '

Nearby, Rinnosuke was keeping low to the ground, iron sword drawn defensively.

...Marcus drew some toy from his pocket with his offhand, and began looking at it.

 _Bam!_ Stomping a leg into the floor beneath herself, Sendai rose upward into the air.

Moving up and horizontally, she slammed herself against one of the thick walls of bamboo stalks, sliding up the side of it-

 _Fwish!_ She caused it to shake by kicking off of the uneven bamboo shafts, propelling herself further up.

On her way to the next clump of shafts-

 _Shink-_ fwish. Another raggedly dressed earth rabbit leaned out from a nearby tuft of bamboo stalks, and used a big pair of shimmering snippers to cut the clump the miko was heading towards.

 _Fwish!_ Colliding with the now loose upper bamboo, Sendai's impact caused it to fold in the direction she hit it. When the surface became horizontal, she made an awkward leap off of it. "Hoh…!"

...Snip- snip- snip! The rabbit she left behind angrily snipped her scissors at the air.

Now on the upper level of stick-like shafts, Sendai grabbed onto the more frayed ends, now amidst the canopy. ' _Here we are. This should be a little more even..._ '

...She looked around idly, before making a decision. ' _Let's keep moving- ah-_ '

 _Shink!_ The branch she was holding onto was snipped abruptly-

She hugged onto a thinner clump of bamboo that was nearby. ' _Alright, where are they…_ '

Looking around, she saw a rabbit sliding down a nearby bamboo stalk, an odd handheld tool in her hand…

Sendai began to slide down her own stalk-

 _Fwam!_ An orb of energy of some kind hit the spot where she just was, dissipating.

The opposite, flaxen-haired bunny aimed her tool just below the miko-

Sendai leapt off her set of stalks-

 _FwVhVhr!_ The tool fired a small, difficult to see laser which ate into the bamboo the miko just leapt from.

 _Fwi~sh_. The stalks began falling, sliced extremely unevenly-

Sendai kicked down towards the rabbit, her leap having rendered her just above it-

 _Whack!_ Her leg met the youkai.

" _Eee~!_ " The small rabbit squealed as it was plunged down, off the stalks and to the ground below.

...Slowly, Marcus rose in the airspace over the clearing, sitting atop the half-youkai's shoulders. "Keep straight and still, now. If ya flail your legs, we're not gonna have legs to flail!"

Rinnosuke was being levitated by him, keeping his body stiff so as to not disrupt the telekinesis. "...I mean, the clinic's not far, but this is still stupid."

...Holding up the party spinner toy he was fidgeting with, Marcus tossed it into oblivion. "Alri~ght, now…"

" _Woohoo~!_ " They heard a rabbit yell from somewhere below…

Sendai looked down, as Marcus guided Rinnosuke to the side-

Bolting from her bamboo, the miko descended down towards the rising rabbit-

 _Woosh!_ After falling down into the spinning hare, Sendai grabbed onto the huge mochi mallet she spun up with, before being seamlessly pulled with the rising momentum. ' _Woah…_ '

"Hehehe~!" She stared into this unremarkably brown-haired rabbit's silly grin, as they spun above the canopy, the rabbit's ascent nearing its apex-

 _Fvhir- fvhir- fvhir!_ From the treetops below, projectiles with exactly straight tracers flew into the air in unaimed spreads, aimed more around the two than at them.

The rabbit wrapped her legs around the shaft of the mochi mallet, drawing a large, tri-bladed pod from behind her back. "I got _booze for yo~u!_ "

' _No~ you don't!_ ' Instead of lashing out at it, Sendai simply latched her arms to the rabbit's, awkwardly making them start to slip off the mochi mallet as they began to descend-

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwoop!_ From below, volleys of darts began to fly up from the sea of bamboo.

' _Hoo~…_ ' Wincing slightly at the repeated stinging sensations caused by multiple pinprick impacts, the miko charged her arms with dark energy and pulled back, flipping backwards-

As she rotated, she let go of the rabbit holding the head-sized canister.

"Aa- aah…!" Eyes widening, the rabbit pushed it away from herself, allowing it to fall harmlessly to the canopy below-

Bam- _FVISH_ \- BOOM

On collision with one of the uppermost layers of bamboo, it shattered into a contained explosion of whirling blades and electrical energy, which ceased to exist within an instant. The bamboo it struck was simply consumed, nowhere to be found.

...As she descended, she did so in the direction of one of the rabbits she could see near the surface of the forest's top.

"Aa- aah…" The male rabbit instantly turned to leap away-

 _Fwap- fwap!_ As he started his great leap into the unknown, two ofuda slapped onto his back. "Aaa~h…!"

' _Pft…_ ' Sendai grinned at this-

 _Bam_. She hugged the bamboo hard as she came down, her face striking it. ' _Ah- damn._ '

...Feeling her limbs begin to numb from the darts, she looked over at Marcus as she slid back down the clump. "Hey! I need your dreamcatcher!"

...Blinking for a moment, Marcus nodded. "Ah, sure. Catch!" Reeling his arm back, he flung his arm forward, holding onto the dreamcatcher-

Sendai jerked her arm to grab it, only to realize he'd feigned his toss-

 _Fwish!_ A rabbit darted through the space between them, intent on catching it themself.

' _Oh. Clever._ ' Sendai would've emoted, were she not pressed up against a bamboo clump.

Marcus sloppily pretended to toss the dreamcatcher over and over… before holding his hand out and sending it over quickly telekinetically-

Sendai caught it-

 _Fwap!_ A rabbit held onto the other half of it, staring into the miko's eyes as it hugged onto the same bamboo shaft cluster…

' _Yeah, okay._ ' The miko began channeling mana into the dreamcatcher. ' _I'd like to see you do something- hey…!_ ' The dull red-haired rabbit bit into the miko's hand, sinking her teeth in.

Filling the hand with dark energy, the miko jerked it back-

Pulled from the bamboo, the rabbit wrapped around her arm-

 _Bam!_ Sendai brought her arm back into the bamboo hard.

"Nnh…" Limply, the rabbit fell from between the arm and the bamboo as the miko brought her arm back once more. ' _Fuck you._ '

Fully able to charge mana into the dreamcatcher, the miko felt her numbness begin to go away. ' _There…_ '

 _Thwack!_

An arrow came through the brush, sticking the miko's arm to the bamboo clump. ' _Fuck!_ '

 _Woosh!_

...Another wooden arrow came up, but it was stopped in midair by Marcus's telekinesis.

"You'd think more people'd shoot at _me_." Shaking his head, he turned the arrow in a random direction and sent it flying again. "Unless I'm just that likable!" Holding out his arms, he gives the woods two thumbs up…

He jerks Rinnosuke back abruptly-

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwoosh!_ Thick globs of danmaku scatter shots are fired into the clearing space.

 _Crack!_ Sendai tore the arrow from the bamboo, and examined how it went through her arm. ' _That's gonna be a bitch. I'll pull it out when I need to, I guess. Or just break it and take time out to gouge it all out later..._ '

 _Woosh!_ Marcus stopped another arrow, this one meant for him. "Oh, why thank you…" Slowly, he levitated it towards himself, before pocketing it into his robe.

...Slowly, the flapping of wings caused the miko to pan her head down.

From below, a navy blue-haired rabbit wielding two huge mochi mallets floated up, six fairies working together to lift her up, divided into two groups of three which resembled wings.

Glaring ahead at the three, she smirked. "I'm afraid _this_ is where I draw the line…!"

Marcus grinned at the combination. "Oh, boy. I'm sure that's very practical."

"Shut up, old guy." The rabbit spat at him. "You assholes wander into here and think you can just fuck us up? I don't _think_ y'know just where you stuck your _dicks_ into!"

Sendai noted the bamboo bow and quiver on the fairy's back. ' _So it's you. How lucky._ ' The miko looked down at the bamboo she was clung to…

 _Crack! Crack!_ Kicking with each leg, she inserted her feet into the shaft, before taking the moment to lean inwards and start pulling the arrow free. ' _...Actually, first…_ '

Bringing her free hand up, she brought it near the shaft prior to the fine, steel-tipped arrow-

 _Krik_. -and snapped the wood, letting the tip fall.

' _Now…_ ' With that, she was able to slide the arrow free easily. ' _Ow, ow. Not terrible but fuck this, and fuck that rabbit._ '

Bringing up the wind blade, Marcus lifted it up. "Let's test this baby out…!"

The rabbit brought her two hammers back. "I'll _break you_ , you buncha retarded-"

 _Woo~sh_. After Marcus cast the blade down, a little awkwardly due to his position atop Rinnosuke, a strong gale came down from above the clearing.

"Aah!"

"My- my skirt…!"

"I- I, nnh…"

The fairies around the rabbit began to dissipate, displaced and thrown awry by the wind.

"Aah- bitches- no!" Letting go of her mallets, the rabbit flailed her limbs as she threw herself ahead at the nearest bamboo clump-

 _Wham!_

Except, Sendai leapt into her.

"Aa- ah…" Eyes wide, the rabbit looked around. She tried to go for her pockets, but the miko's legs were around her waist, keeping her tightly in place.

"See _this_?" Sendai held the arrow shaft to the rabbit's face. "See _this!?_ "

"Fu- fuck off…!" Snarling, the rabbit tried to bite at the miko's hands-

 _Thunk!_ Bringing an arm up and back, Sendai thrust the wooden stick as clean as she could into the upper torso of the rabbit, largely only managing to cut some of the surface skin and splinter the arrow.

...As they neared the ground, the miko retracted her vice-like grip-

 _Bam!_ -and punched the rabbit to the ground with a fist.

 _Woosh!_ She uppercut up to slow her momentum, filling her legs with dark energy-

 _Thoom_. She landed hard, pain building in her legs, but the way she let them buckle avoided any major damage. "Ngh…"

 _Thud!_ The rabbit tried to curl up, but just awkwardly rebounded off the ground and splayed out. "Fuguh…!"

Thud. She landed a second time, this time lying still. "E- engh…" Still enough for Sendai, at least.

"Aa~h. They got Edgy-chan…"

"Aww~. I wanted to see her psycho-chair torture idea thing…"

"How's someone so big so _fast?_ "

"How's soo~ soo so soo? Same way tengu're probably fast, dumba~ss."

"Did someone tell Tewi 'bout this yet? She'd love to hear 'bout _this!_ "

The miko looked around at the voices of more hares in the woods. "...Bring me Tewi!"

' _...That's awkward to say. Tewi does not sound like a ringleader sort of name._ ' Sendai exhaled…

...Rinnosuke and Marcus lowered from above-

The shopkeeper broke form, awkwardly stepping forward from the air and almost losing his balance on the uneven ground. "Wo- woah- aah…" Marcus stabilized him telekinetically, before-

 _Thud_. "Oo~f." -allowing himself to slide off the man's back and onto his own.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Tewi Inaba_ ====

...Cracking her knuckles, the miko looked around. ' _Time to beat up that stupid rabbit. It's been on my to-do list for awhile now, and now's a good time as any._ '

"This sword's pre~tty good." Smiling at it as he got back up, Marcus nodded. "Should be fun 'till we find something else. All this wind magic's pretty darn useful, though."

"My shoulders hurt…" Rinnosuke rubbed said shoulders.

' _You're in for hurt._ ' Sendai was once again reminded that he needed endurance training of some sort…

...After a moment of silence amidst the bamboo, where sunlight scantily shone through the few sleeves of sight with the sky above, the wanted rabbit girl quietly meandered out of the bamboo ahead.

"Gee~z…" Tewi smiled over at them, stretching her arms out… "You guys dunno when to quit, huh?

"You could say that." Sendai propped an arm on her hip… "Neither do you."

"Aww~. I try~." Leaning over, Tewi placed her arms behind her back. "...Well, I can't deny my buddies kinda suck at beating people up when they ain't gettin' paid."

…

After idly staring at the lazy rabbit, Sendai spoke. "We'd like direction to that clinic, now."

Tewi nodded. "Ah, sure."

' _...Wait, what?_ ' Sendai blinked.

The rabbit pointed at the floor with her thumb. "They got a nice one in hell, I heard. Or maybe that was a bar…"

From behind her back, she drew a cartoony mallet, twirling it around in one hand. "Y'know, I'm still not convinced yet."

"Don't need to be." Sendai took a deep breath in… "Marcus, you got anything that'll catch a rabbit?"

"We~ll, she's got the same crappy immunity toy we do…" Holding up the wind blade, Marcus tilted his head… "And, I hear she's pretty slippery, even for an earth rabbit."

 _Woo- woosh!_ He swung the wind blade around in the air above himself, swirling the air about. " _Bu~t!_ "

A wind vortex picked up around the stout hare, lifting her off the ground and making her spin. "Oo~h." Her eyebrows rose, but that was as far as her reaction went.

Sendai marched up to the suspended rabbit, arms ready. ' _Alright… one, two-_ '

 _Clonk_. Sendai brought her arms up to guard as Tewi thrust out of the wind vortex, bringing the big mallet down. "Haha~!"

After the hammer's impact, the miko cast her arms back out.

Backflipping away with the heavy mallet, Tewi landed some feet away once more. "Don't worry, don't worry~! Runnin' may be what I do best, but I'm not plannin' on runnin' this time!"

' _If you say so._ '

…

Marcus held up a hand, casting-

"Here!" Throwing her arm back, Tewi thrust it forward, sending her mallet spinning towards the miko-

 _Ka- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ An icicle generated just behind the rabbit, and began freezing the air around it, along with some of the rabbit's skin.

 _Clonk!_ Sendai guarded against the mallet again with her arms, the cartoonishly big mallet seemingly sliding off once it lost momentum…

Thud. When the heavy end hit the ground, the miko noticed the handle was gone.

Limbs partially frozen, Tewi sprinted towards the miko, before slapping her sides-

 _Pap- pap!_ Two small, maroon bags bounced from her pockets-

 _Crack- cra- cra- crack!_ The pouches exploded into small, rotating swaths of purple flames which protected her from approach, and slightly thawed her limbs.

Holding up an arm, she catched the mallet's lost handle from above, twirling it with her fingers. Bringing it before herself, she clutched both halves of it with her hands.

 _Click_. Taking one half off, the right half was revealed to be shallow, a blade hidden in the base of the left half.

As the flames ended, she pointed it at the miko, grinning. "I'll have ya know fightin' _big guys_ is what I do best…!"

' _What's that little knife gonna do to me?_ ' Sendai held her gaze on the blade. ' _...Probably a lot, if I give it a chance to._ '

…

 _Fwish!_ Darting through the brush, Tewi sprinted towards the miko, moving with such velocity it looked as if she was sliding across the ground-

 _Pap!_ Sendai threw an arm out, only for the rabbit to leap onto it and springboard off with great momentum-

 _Woosh!_ Marcus flung his blade wide, sending a gush of air upward-

Riding it, Tewi curled up into a ball, rolling over the draft to the other end of the clearing, before twirling around and gently, quickly sliding down the side of the bamboo she drifted into.

Executing a delayed bounce off the wall, she moved for the team mage-

"Hoo~ boy!" Marcus tossed out a brown package that was vaguely labeled in marker, stepping back as he did so-

 _Shink!_ Hugging the ground, Tewi nimbly backhanded the package with the flat of her knife, sending it flying-

 _Boom!_ It exploded in the air just over her-

"Huwoah!" Marcus twirled to the ground, the rabbit barrel rolling beneath him, obscured by the light of the blast-

Sendai threw a holy molotov down at the rabbit as she emerged. ' _Looks like a clean hit._ '

 _Crack!_ The molotov shattered against the rabbit's form-

 _Fwish!_ She thrust forward across the grass- to elude any extra particles from the shattered molotov, despite the small holy blaze which started on her back- before transitioning to a handstand.

Sendai was on her in this instant, moving to kick her-

 _Woosh!_ She missed as the rabbit sprung off her hands, flipping forward into an upright, crouched position-

 _Pap!_ Sendai brought her arm up, stopping the rabbit's tiny blade from meeting the bridge of her nose by clutching the hare's thin arm. ' _Gotcha-_ '

A small, maroon pouch landed on the miko's face from the rabbit's offhand. ' _Ah shit-_ '

 _Cra- crack!_ It exploded into a swath of purple and pink flames, forcing the miko to simply fling the rabbit aside as she made herself slide back. "Hnh- gh…" Using her other hand, she shielded her face from the fire, but still suffered burns.

 _Swish!_ Tewi passed behind her-

 _Cra- crack!_ A tiny gush of purple flames flared from the floor beneath the miko, which she darted out of with a quick side hop.

Rinnosuke held up his pistol. " _Tewi!_ Stop this!"

...Eyes wide, Tewi sighted the pistol, beaming at it.

' _Kourin, hold onto that fucking gun…_ ' Noting the rabbit's enthusiasm, the miko began to march forward…

Like a blur, Tewi slid forward. She spun like a top as she went for the shopkeeper-

 _Pow_. As Marcus got up, a large, slow moving iron ball seemed to materialize from Tewi as she spun by, moving to bowl him over again. "Ah- oh, okay..."

"Allow me to show you what I have learnt!" Bringing his offhand to have face, oak wand clutched, Rinnosuke's pistol began to glow with cyan energy.

As the vague pink blur whirled towards him-

Pow- _splat!_

A cartoonish noise came from Rinnosuke's pistol, a glob of sea green, glowing ooze splashing out from the barrel.

"Hnh…!?" Coated with it, the rabbit's speed was reduced, rendering her fully visible again. "Ah, shit. Nice toy, Morichika!" Despite this, she was still progressing towards him at an alarming rate-

 _Crack!_ Sendai sprinted into the bamboo clump next to him at full force, smashing a leg into it to stop her momentum and getting it half engulfed in the process. ' _C'mon…_ '

Looking around frantically as the slightly slower rabbit neared, Rinnosuke crouched down and held onto the pistol tightly with both hands, one on the gun's body. "Um…!"

Tewi was before him, body to the barrel, daring him to shoot. " _Gimme!_ "

In the next instant, her arms were on his, the thin blade sliding down his wrists. "Ah- _ouch!_ Sto- stop! What-"

As he struggled to evade the unrelenting, carving swipes-

 _Bam!_ Sendai's dark accented fist whirled in, striking the rabbit in the side of her torso. "Lay off 'em!"

 _Thud!_ Tewi rebounded once against the floor nearby, before righting herself nimbly, still sliding back. "Hehehe~! You haven't shown me anything yet, _fake miko!_ But I'll give ya a _couple_ minutes more, I guess…!"

...Slowly, the glowing, green ectoplasm that'd clung to her began to tapper off, her dreamcatcher glowing brightly in her dress pocket.

 _Fwish._ Nearly instantly, she whirled up towards the miko-

Sendai punted a leg forward defensively-

Tewi went under.

 _Whish_. Noticing this, Sendai began to turn around to keep up-

Tewi was already whirling past her, around her right.

' _How's this?_ ' Allowing herself to half fall forward, she brought her arms before herself and kicked her legs backwards-

"Ooo~!" Tewi darted back out of the way of the legs, allowing all four limbs to spread out as she only cringed inward to graze it.

"Hup!" As the miko's legs came back down, she put force into her biceps and gave her feet a brief thrust up, propelling them off the ground and allowing her to handstand-

 _Pap!_ Passing her, Tewi slapped her ankle against the miko's face tauntingly.

"Hoh!" Transitioning to standing again with a forward flip, the miko looked around-

 _Swish_. Tewi slid out from around her left, before sliding to an abrupt stop and holding her arms out, slowly, softly stepping towards the shrine maiden. "C'mo~n, miko."

...Feeling a rising sting along her limbs, Sendai idly felt at her side. ' _...Ah. Every time she passed me, she slit my skin. It's not a poison blade, so I could care less._ '

Fwoosh- fwoosh- fwoosh, click- click- click. Around the now standing Marcus, a small series of grey, glowing magical landmines were set up. "Area denial, except it isn't!"

...Tewi looked over at him dryly-

 _Fwi~sh!_ A small flare came out towards her from Rinnosuke's location, filling the clearing with blinding light.

In that moment, the rabbit sprung into the air.

' _Pft…_ ' Sendai was taken aback at the sudden, completely upward momentum.

...Reaching the apex of her ascent, the hare hung up there, reaching behind her back and pulling out a large, wooden hand cannon.

' _...Wait._ ' The miko noticed her hang up there. ' _She can fly…!?_ '

Aiming the large, oak hand cannon down, Tewi aimed it vaguely at Marcus-

 _Fwoomp! Fwoomp!_ Two coconuts rolled from the hand cannon, whirling down at him.

"Oh- woah…!" Marcus shielded himself with his arms, crouching as the coconuts pelted him and bounced off…

' _What the fuck._ ' Sendai glanced over at Marcus-

 _Fwoomp! Fwoomp!_ Two more coconuts were fired from an entirely different portion of the clearing's airspace, coming down on the shopkeeper nearby. "Ah- hey!"

Sendai turned to him, finding the cannon right before her face. "Ah-"

She crouched-

 _Fwoomp!_ As the coconut came out over her head, she came back up for an uppercut-

As her arm rose, Tewi twirled around and used the raised, dark arm to aim her weapon at the miko's face as she finished her three-sixty revolution.

 _Fwoomp- Clonk!_

"Fa~h…!" Sendai stumbled back, nose red from getting smashed in the face with a magically launched coconut.

Clack! Tewi threw the gun at her, but the miko smacked it out of the way.

 _Shink!_ The rabbit's blade met her stomach-

 _Fwap_. An ofuda met the rabbit's forehead. "Hehehe~!"

 _Shink_. Sendai bit her lip as the blade sunk deeper, a blossom of pain emerging in her stomach. ' _Ow, nn- really…_ '

 _Bam!_

"Fgu~hahaha~...!" Sendai's dark-enhanced arm smashed into the rabbit's head, sending her rolling back along the floor, before she threw herself into a ragged standing position again.

 _Zap!_ The ofuda still on her forehead sent holy magic through her body, but the dreamcatcher in her pocket flared in response. "Aah, buzzkill…"

Bringing a hand up-

 _Zap!_ It shocked her as she laid her hand on it. "Fuck." Instead, she brought up her knife-

 _Swish._ With a clean swipe, the ofuda was reduced to dangling on her face, which she managed to remove with a subsequent swipe-

 _Woosh- woosh!_ She rolled to the side to dodge two more of the miko's ofuda.

"Really." Grimacing, the rabbit twirled her blade with her hand. "Runaway Rabbit! Fluster Escape!"

With the announcement of her spell card, she drifted into the air…

' _...Is she running, or is that just the name of the attack?_ ' Sendai brought up her arms. ' _Ah- my stomach…_ ' Dark energy traveled to her gouge wound to stop the bleeding…

Tewi spread her arms out-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwash!_ A five-stream spread of red bullets flowed out.

...Sendai easily got between the streams, but Tewi was already gone. ' _Oh, good, she shoots bullets now too._ '

 _Fwa-fwa-fwash!_ From behind the miko, Tewi sent out five more streams of readily streamable bullets-

 _Fwish!_ ...Rinnosuke shot another flare out into the storm of bullets, as he made for bamboo-based cover…

 _Fwoosh!_ Holding his arms out, and leaving his tiny minefield, Marcus created a spinning shuriken of ice in the air, which spun outward and randomly expelled icy danmaku arrows into the air…

Whirling up to it, grazing around the spinning edges of it teasingly, Tewi passed it and punted Marcus in the chest.

"Ahu~! He- he~y…" He fell backwards onto his rear, again.

...As the streams of red bullets began to near the edges of the clearing, they bounced off the bamboo and came back.

' _Wait…_ ' Eying the danmaku, Sendai realized their purpose. ' _She's trying to flood the clearing with bullets!_ '

 _Fwa-fwa-fwash!_ As Tewi accelerated towards the miko, dodging her own streams, she made more streams, fifteen different lanes of bullets now mixing as they bounced about the clearing walls.

Tewi swung her blade at the air prematurely, extending a an arm out towards the miko carelessly-

Sendai thrust her arm forward to grab her-

 _Bzz~t!_ A jolt traveled into the miko's system. ' _Wh- woah…_ ' On impulse she gripped harder, crushing the rabbit's hand-

 _Fwa-fwa-fwash!_ A spread of danmaku was unleashed in her face. "Aah- kaugh, nngh…" Stumbling back, she shook her numb hand… "N~gh…"

"Eheheh…" Tewi laughed through her own pain. "Ol' joy buzzer trick."

 _Fwa-fwa-fwash!_ She fired another five streams. The previous barrage had mostly dissipated against Sendai, so now twenty streams of bullets were blooming and bouncing across the field…

...Creating a yin-yang orb the size of a baseball in her hand, Sendai tossed it up briefly and punched it forward-

 _Clack!_ Her dark strike sent the orb hurtling towards Tewi with alarming speed-

 _Pap!_ It struck her shoulder hard, for a tiny projectile. "A- aah…"

The danmaku dissipated from all the damage she'd accumulated, causing her to snap to attention. "Oh, you mother _fucker_. You weren't supposed 'ta break the card like _that..._ "

"Maybe your luck's finally running out." Sendai huffed, cracking her knuckles again restlessly, keeping herself in motion.

...Smiling, Tewi nodded. "Hehehe. We~ll, s'awfully lucky I still got a _few more cards_ up my sleeve, huh?"

" _Tewi!_ " Rinnosuke marched towards him with his gun raised. "If you seriously hurt us, I'm going to have to-"

" _Bo~y._ " Tewi slowly turned to him… "Quit flailing around that retarded flintlock 'fore you put your eye out."

...Vaguely disheartened, Rinnosuke kept the gun on her, but stopped yelling.

In this moment, Sendai rushed towards her. ' _Let's make her act before she pops that card-_ '

 _Woosh!_ Whirling up to Rinnosuke, Tewi sent him sprawling with a midair dual-legged kick, before flipping back onto her legs and floating straight up again.

' _Nope!_ ' Sendai leapt after her and moved to grab her legs-

Grabbing onto the rabbits shoes, she pulled them off. ' _You're fucking kidding me…_ '

...Thud. Sendai landed, now with the rabbit's brown shoes.

 _Boing- boing!_ From the midst of them, two tiny bombs attached to springs came out, bobbing before the miko. ' _What-_ '

 _FWAM- FWAM_

...Sendai ducked beneath two horizontal shockwaves of immense, flickering red bullets, which extinguished moments later. ' _Nice shoes._ '

"Owing Sign!" In the air, Tewi placed her arms behind her back. "Vulnerary of Oonamuchi-sama~!"

 _Fwi-fwi-fwi-fwish!_ From her form, seven flower-esque petals of twin danmaku streams bloomed out, before collapsing into their base fourteen green and yellow lines, which whirled out as if riding a flighty gale…

Sendai ran between the lines, forced to collide with some of the huge petal-like bullets. ' _She really wants me to use an item crash, doesn't she…_ '

 _Fwi-fwi-fwi-fwish!_ Before the first set of bullets began to bounce off the wall, the next flower began blooming, twenty eight streams now populating the clearing-

 _Fwash!_ Marcus erected a shield to hide himself from the danmaku, whilst Rinnosuke ducked behind bamboo, aiming his pistol out yet unable to help much…

' _She's in the air, actually…_ ' Sendai saw the opportunity the rabbit presented her.

 _Fwi-fwi-fwi-fwish!_ The clearing was now alight with spring colors, the beautiful light bouncing off the bamboo, not dissimilar from how the bullets were themselves.

Marcus's magic shield slowly grew, as he was forced to dart back and forth between the interior and exterior due to how the projectiles bounced all around it. "Aah- hrr~m…!"

...Glancing up at the rabbit, he stopped on the exterior of his barrier when given a moment, and cast an arm up. " _Firaga~!_ "

 _Fwoom!_ The large orb spun to life, arcing up, but failing to reach enough height to meet the rabbit, way up above.

"Hup!" Leaping up past it, the miko cast her armful of rebound stones to the air as she rose. " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

Click- click- click! The stones separated and surged up, encapsulating the rabbit within the eight lines of holy light-

 _Fwa~sh!_

The holy shaft initialized, before the light bathed the entire clearing.

" _Nnn~gh!_ " Grunting, the rabbit grit her teeth, a death grip on her dreamcatcher as she was assaulted by holy energy…

...Her cast complete, the miko fell to the ground.

 _Thud_. She landed solidly into a small inferno. ' _Woah, hey._ ' Casually, she side-hopped out of it, none the worse for wear.

Sprri~tz. Marcus extinguished the blaze with a small gush of water from his arms…

…

Thud. A moment later, Tewi belly flopped onto the floor, her fiercely glowing dreamcatcher bouncing out of her hands as she lightly bounced. "Nguh- hngh…"

...Holding a hand to the bleeding hole on her stomach, the miko stepped up to her.

...Slightly pushing herself up off the floor, Tewi looked up at her. "We- well… no shit, huh."

"You believe me _now?_ " Sendai crouched down before the rabbit. "Or do I need to smash you against the bamboo a few times to make sure?"

' _The stinging from all those carvings she made on me are coming…_ ' Biting her lip, the miko felt herself bleed.

"He- heheh…" Grinning up at her, Tewi moved to begin standing… "Well… I _guess_ you're the real enough deal. Even if a little rabbit like _me_ was enough ta make a run at 'cha…"

"If I actually felt threatened, I would've just cast Hydro Storm over and over until you were dead." Sendai argued. "You're more of a pest, really."

Tewi blinked. "If ya'd cast somethin' like that to start with, I woulda believed ya sooner."

The miko double took, grinning in frustration. "You should've just said that to begin with…!"

"Well, before ya shit the bed, you used ta always open a 'bout spammin' yer flashy bullshit!" Tewi gave an incredulous grin back at her. "It was awfully bullshit for ya to just not use it 'till _now!_ "

"Aah, whatever…" Waving her off, Sendai exhaled… "Can we just go tear down that clinic now?"

"...I don't think that's the original goal." Rinnosuke meandered up to them, vaguely sweaty from the recent exchange. "We're looking for Eirin for answers, not so we can inflict violence on her."

...Sendai gave him a dry stare. "Why're _you_ all sweaty? All ya did was point a gun and _yell_ …"

He snorted. "Yeah, well, it was stressful..."

"Honestly~..." Stumbling about lightheaded, the rabbit girl brought a hand up to nurse her neck… "With the luck you guys have, you're probably gonna fight every damn rabbit Eirin's got in there. Not that you'd wanna, 'cause if _I'm_ givin' you a hard time, Reisen'll lop your skull off 'n' fuck it."

...Turning her head towards the rabbit, Sendai blinked at her phrasing. "Reisen? You mean that flower-headed chick back in the village?"

"If she was tryin'a peddle ya drugs, yeah." Tewi nodded at her. "Them looney rabbits're fun to fuck with, but y'know, only if you're like us small people over here. Someone like you'll probably get turned ta swiss cheese."

Sendai rolled her eyes. "That's every Tuesday. Not that you did any different to me."

...Tewi glanced at the stomach wound she inflicted, before nodding hastily. "Yeah- case in point whatever- still. Although…" Looking over Marcus and Rinnosuke, she gained a focused expression. "...Those two useless windbags oughta actually be a bit _useful_. Y'see, them looney rabbits- they got this thing called _strategy_ , which is a whole buncha bullshit that ain't at all useful for dealin' wit' folks like us. S'almost like you've always got the element 'a surprise if you don't just _walk straight at 'em_ or some stupid shit like that."

' _...Not sure what she means by that, but I'll keep it in mind._ ' Sendai nodded at the rabbit girl. "Anything else we should keep in mind?"

Tewi began walking off. "C'mere. And, uh, if you actually _do_ fight 'em, work on your dancin' skills. They got guns 'n' shit if you didn't know- which you _better have_ but if ya didn't, well, they got _guns_. Don't let it scare ya though. Well, do, but don't."

"Won't they be using _danmaku_?" Marcus interjected on her rambling. "Y'know, the safe bullets?"

"Ah…" Tewi took a moment to process this. "Pfft, yeah, actually, they should be. They probably will, too; unless you're from the moon, they won't use any higher grade lasers. Nevermind, their guns'll probably be like throwin' marshmellows at you. Just, keep yer eyes open… 'n' since you guys're _slow_ , be a little tactical yerselves. I dunno, guns suck."

Sendai sighed. ' _I wonder if they'll treat our wounds before they beat us up._ _They better do it first time for free though, or I'm decking them on principle._ '

"Oh!" Tewi's head shot up as she moved into the brush at the end of the clearing. "Almost forgot…" Holding up her dreamcatcher, she looks down at it for a moment, before shaking her head. "If ya see Reisen, don't look into her eyes, whatever the _fuck_ you do. She'll make you see things that aren't there, and then you'll be dead, or close to it."

' _Sounds like something my Eye of Truth talisman could get past._ ' Sendai nodded at the warning…

"And, since you lot're goin' to _Eirin…_ " Tewi smiled at them. "Don't fuck wit' her. I can count the people that can fuck wit' her on both 'a my hands, and you three? You ain't them."

' _I get it, everyone wants to kill us, this much was understood already._ ' Sendai was tired of hearing the wise rabbit's words, but wouldn't say so.

…Although, the rabbit was able to sense it, perhaps due to the miko's annoyed expression. Turning around, Tewi began moving into the woods. "If ya'll still wanna get _fucked up_ , c'mon…"

Rinnosuke sighed. "I'm sure they'll be some degree of civil. This is _Eientei_ we're talking, here."

"...Hmm." Following behind them as they stumbled into the thick brush, Marcus had his eyebrows raised skeptically. "You shoulda seen some of that rabbit girl's previous prices 'n' gotten back to me on that…"

 _Fwi- fwish_. The brush rustled as the four mangled and abused it on their way to the lunar clinic.

…

 _Shi- shink! Fwi~sh_. A clearing's worth of scattered bamboo fell, showering the party with uneven tree lengths and particles.

"Marcu~s…!" Sendai yelled somewhere within the forest as she was assaulted by the trees themselves.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.

(3x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

(2x) Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

(5x) Potion - Low tier restoration items. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

(2x)Ethers - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

Hi-Ether - Expert mana restoration item. Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to appreciate.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

=o=

 _Beetle Girl_ , the Ancient Disruptor Insect Youkai

WEAPON: Unarmed.

INVENTORY:

Hard Shell - A very hard shell. Halves all major damage from behind, be it magical or physical. Nullifies lesser attacks. One hundred percent magnetic resistance.

(no slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Magnetize - Charges all nearby youkai-like beings with magnetic energy. Makes them immune to magnetic damage and statuses. Makes the physical attacks of those affected partially magnet elemental. Confers magic resistance relative to how far a youkai is from the beetle, capping at ninety percent resistance.

Whack - With brutal youkai strength, the beetle runs up to an enemy and whacks them with the broad of her arm. Deals heavy magnet damage. May strip targets of their mana.

Magnetic Anomaly - When resting, the beetle's control over magnetism relaxes and causes magnetic storms in the air around it.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

tewi fight

i think this suitably demonstrates tewi's wit for now - w -

gave 'er a _stabby blade_ 'cause it's fun and kinda suits her delinquent personality; that and she's gotta have something for more serious encounters - w -

and even here she was being sorta nice and testing the waters instead of just slitting throats and gouging eyes

the interior of eientei should be a fun place for rinnosuke and marcus to get their shit together a little more - w - especially since the lunar rabbits have a sort of cut and clear methodology and strategy to approaching hostile targets

oh yeah hakuryuu's review - w -

i've decided not to have the incident resolver party tag along with sendai mostly because it doesn't exactly pertain to them yet (although it could if sendai told them more about what was going on), also because for most of the raid they'd be _kinda overkill_

like, marisa, reimu, and sakuya all were bosses of their own merits, and to include them with the party would pretty much have them carry everyone but sendai

that said they're not out of the ballpark for some of the stronger people…! even so, eirin might be freakin' tough but we'll see, i'm kinda curious myself how i'm gonna make that fight go since she's pretty freakin' powerful

for now it's basically like, sendai 1v1s certain touhous out of honor, fights some of the less than fair and trickier / less honorable ones with a party, and always fights the greater entities with a party since those fights are just really unfair - w -

i also want to see rinnosuke and marcus grow a bit which won't really get a chance to happen if the big girls are around, unless the biome is just so big that they piss off and are essentially irrelevant until needed to carry but eeenh does that really have to happen…? i don't think so - w -

also decided to elaborate upon rinnosuke and marcus's available skills here for transparency's sake and so i don't just keep developing them as i go XD that and organized marcus's since he's _been around for awhile_ so he's already got a crazy amount of abilities compared to a newb like rinnosuke

as always, see you all next time!


	17. 4-2 - Hideout of Lunaria's Finest

The bamboo forest's canopy was thick and oppressive-

 _Shi- shi- shink!_ -even despite the party's best attempts to raise hell and reduce the forest to stubble.

' _Ugh…_ ' Sendai resisted the urge to treat her many carving cuts with a potion. ' _Why do the smaller ones hurt more?_ '

...Glancing over at Rinnosuke as they stumbled through the intrusive, dark brush, she asked a question to take her mind off her wounds. "When'd you learn that ectoplasm attack?"

"Ah…" Iron sword drawn, he lugged it out of a bamboo clump with some difficulty, before looking over at her. "Yuyuko taught it to me. She'd entered the room some time after she left with you."

' _...So she can clone herself then, too. I'm not sure what to make of that._ '

"It slows enemies." Rinnosuke provides. "That's… about it. It works well on magically vulnerable beings, for obvious reasons."

"Ah, she did the same fer me, after _you_ left." Grinning at Rinnosuke, Marcus took a hand off his wind blade and held it out-

 _Fwoo~sh!_ In the direction he cast, a small, fierce blizzard of snowflakes roared down from nothing at all-

 _Fwi~sh!_ The bamboo segment targeted was frozen solid after a delayed moment.

"...S'basically the blizzard she tried to kick my ass with." He nodded at the results. "Real basic spell when it comes down to it. I was kinda gyped! I was hopin' for somethin' _dark_ elemental, but…"

' _Considering how hard you used to try to use_ my _dark energy for magic, I don't think you could've done a lot with something like that. You still got some developments done, but nothing_ you _could use._ '

...Tewi leaned out from behind some bamboo ahead. "The hell're you farts doing? I said keep _behind_ me, not move across the country and send me postcards."

"Why're you showing us there, anyway?" The miko inquired. "Usually you'd just point me in a direction and I'd arrive there within a minute of walking."

Speaking of, the bamboo lush immediately ended, depositing the four before a sterile but still distinctly oriental structure.

' _Oh. Well, too late for that._ '

"So you guys don't get your freakin' heads blown off." Tewi gave them a sardonic glance as she moved for the glass doors ahead. "I still dunno _how_ the _hell_ you're alive again- if _even_ , but I'm pretty positive that everyone else is as trigger happy as me."

...Sendai watched the rabbit curiously as she- along with Rinnosuke and Marcus- moved towards the glass doors. ' _...Why're they just walking towards the-_ '

The handleless glass doors slid open automatically.

' _Holy shit._ ' The miko's brows rose at this. ' _Where can we get those set up…? Not that I could afford that, but still. The magic's simple, but it's still a pretty effect. How much did this glass cost?_ '

...Tewi grinned back at her. "Stop ogling the _doors_ and get your curvy ass in here."

"It's not every day I see a glass door…" Idly, the miko followed her party inside…

"Oh, yeah." Marcus looked back at her. "They _are_ pretty neat, aren't they?"

"They really are uncommon…" Rinnosuke slowly peered back to admire the doors.

"You guys make me feel sad." Tewi jeered.

...Glancing ahead again, Sendai saw Reisen standing at the counter, awaiting them.

' _Better slip that talisman on…_ ' Heeding the rabbit's warning, Sendai slipped out the Eye of Truth talisman, placing it firmly on her shoulder.

Marcus slid a hand into his dreamcatcher pocket as he meandered up to the counter, soon followed by the others…

Reisen stared directly at the miko, expression neutral. "Um… hey."

"Hi." The miko greeted her equally neutrally. "...We're here to see Yagokoro."

...Reluctantly, Reisen glanced away, before focusing on the miko again. "She's… awfully busy, you know. For what reason do you want to see her?"

' _Mmm._ ' ...Glancing down at her bleeding incisions from Tewi earlier, she looked back up at the rabbit. "She's a doctor, right? Do I look okay to you?"

"Well- we have professionals who may service you who _aren't_ her." Reisen rebukes. "It'd be best if you only requested her for more dire circumstances."

"A Hakurei miko needing a patch job isn't a dire circumstance?" Sendai grinned at her. "You drive a hard bargain. What, do I need an appointment or something?"

Smiling, Reisen tilted her head. "Aa~h… normally, that'd be the case. But first- um, tell me, _why_ do you look like a Hakurei maiden, again…?"

Resisting the urge to slouch at her, Sendai gave a blunt response. "Because I _am one_."

"I know it sounds hard to believe…" Rinnosuke tried to contribute-

"Honest to gods truth." Marcus nodded his head, also chipping in. "And if ya doubt _me,_ I'll sell ya some potions at highway robbery prices."

In the next moment, Tewi leapt up onto the counter, slipping up between Sendai and Marcus. "He~y, _Reisen!_ "

"A- aah…" The lunar bunny stepped back, blinking. "Tewi? Do you know anything about this?" She gestured to the miko.

"Yeah, it's her. I checked. Have ' _Yagokoro_ ' run DNA if yer really that loosey 'bout this." Tewi gave her a suggestion. "I know it looks real _fishy_ , and it _is_ , but it's nothin' we gotta explode over."

...Looking down at Tewi's bloodied knife, and at the miko's cuts, the rabbit didn't respond for a moment.

"Reisen?" Tewi gave her a dry stare. "Phone doc already."

...Blinking, Reisen met the miko's gaze-

 _Fwish_.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - Hideout of Lunaria's Finest

The sterile, magicless halls of the clinic suddenly lit to life with red magical energy in the miko's vision. ' _Oh, okay._ '

Marcus blinked repeatedly, a flash of light emanating from his pocket.

Tewi held an arm to her eyes. "Ah- crap…"

Quickly, the firestorm of red, violet and scarlet energy in the miko's gaze began to dim to a faint glow. Before her, Reisen began to step away from the counter, although a pale pink afterimage of her remained before the miko…

"So, that appointment with Yagokoro…" The afterimage placed her arms onto the desk, looking straight at Sendai. "When would you like it to be? Now that I think of it…" Leaning over, the illusion reached for a binder that was open across the desk.

As it clutched it, it dragged a pale afterimage of the binder from the actual object, bringing it closer. "Let's see…"

Meanwhile, the actual Reisen moved to the phone in the background, taking it off the hook and pressing numbers.

Tewi pivoted to the party. "Dammit- you guys better go _now_. It's about to get _stupid_ in here."

The afterimage and the real Reisen glanced at her, before the true one focused on the phone again.

"Tewi, stop scaring them." The fake Reisen smiled at the earth rabbit, before looking up at the miko. "Sorry about that. She's a real troublestarter around here…

Ignoring her, Tewi looked at Sendai, before the miko saw an afterimage of Tewi spawn within the rabbit's own form at the same time.

They talked at once. "Get the hell outta here!" "Aw~, you got me~..."

Sendai silently held up a hand, before bringing her other hand up and gesturing to her eyes, before giving the rabbit a thumbs up.

...The real Tewi saw this, and blinked. The afterimage turned back to Reisen.

"Master…" The real Reisen spoke into the phone after a moment. "The door scanner and illusion stripper, it didn't work. Um..."

"Anyway, I believe I can get you an appointment right now!" The fake Reisen gave the miko a smile and a nod. "Let me just ring her up so I can phone you through…"

' _You're talking to her right now._ ' Sendai gave the real Reisen a dry glance, but kept her eyes vaguely on the fake one to maintain the illusion of being tricked. ' _You could just be sending me to her, but instead you're talking to her about scanners or something._ '

"It's a… shrine maiden doppelganger." The actual Reisen spoke into the phone. "She came in covered in cuts- Tewi's here, too, she gave the cuts to her, but seems to be convinced she's a Hakurei now, so…" Glancing back at the party, she focused on the phone again.

...The fake Reisen picked up a shallow variant of the phone, and dialed on it.

...Rinnosuke looked over at his party. "I feel like something's off about this…"

' _No shit._ '

"Alright." The real Reisen nodded. "Okay, Master. You… oh. Okay. Alright, I'll begin the process at once, and delete the necessary files at the same time. Goodbye."

' _Delete files?_ ' Sendai rose a brow, before forcing her expression to be neutral again. ' _I don't know how you delete files, but that sounds ominous for some reason._ '

Click. The real phone was hung up.

"This is taking awhile…" The fake Reisen was still waiting for the doctor to pick up. "Sorry for the wait."

"Ah- it's no problem…" Rinnosuke glanced over his curiously still party members. "Should we, um, take a seat?"

"Oh- that won't be necessary." The Reisen image instructed them. "I'll be done in just a moment. I'll need you to wait there to sign things."

"...Okay." Rinnosuke nodded…

...Stepping up to the counter, Reisen crouched down.

...In the next moment, she came up with an immense weapon lugged in both her arms, almost weightless looking in her grasp.

' _That's… a big gun!_ ' Sendai's eyebrows rose at the huge, black armament, before she forced her expression to be neutral again. ' _What the hell is that…?_ '

"Danmaku, on…" Flipping latches on her gun, the rabbit slowly held it up, stepping back a little and pointing it directly at Sendai's head.

' _Oh hell no._ ' Sendai ducked pre-emptively-

 _BAM_

 _Cra~ck!_ The glass door at the front of the lobby shattered, pierced by a powerful, red laser.

 _Fwa~sh!_ Holding his hand up, Marcus clotted the gun's barrel with ice.

The real Tewi was at the miko's legs, trying to push her, before perking up at the sound. "Ah- whah…!?"

Rinnosuke snapped out of the drowsy trance he found himself in. "Ah…!?" His head shot towards the shattered door, before looking forward at the sniper rifle toting bunny.

…

In the next moment, Sendai began to properly crouch around the countertop she'd ducked before. ' _That's a hell of a-_ '

In the next moment, she glanced up to see the tall bunny behind her and the party, immensely long rifle aimed down to her face.

 _Woosh_. Reisen slid back when she noticed the ice on her barrel, before letting go of it and grabbing the barrel itself with both arms and inhuman reflex.

 _Woosh!_ She slid back towards the miko-

Thud. Tewi landed on her head. "Hey assha~t!"

' _Aah-_ '

 _Bam!_ The miko crushed the ground beneath her as she leapt, avoiding being clubbed with the person-sized sniper rifle.

Twirling the rifle around like a polearm-

 _Crack!_ Reisen smashed it into the counter next to the miko, shattering the ice on the barrel. At the same time, this brought the flank of the rifle near her face, which almost knocked Tewi off.

"Reta~rd!" Tewi barked at her, pulling at her hair. "She's not a fuckin'-"

 _Fwap!_ With a quick movement, Tewi was thrown from the taller rabbit, taking a clump of purple hair with her. "Wha~h!?"

 _Bam!_ Sendai whirled up and struck Reisen in the gut with a dark-accented fist.

Pale blue, almost cyan energy flared to life around the rabbit, protecting her from the attack's punishment-

 _Wham!_ She smacked the miko with the huge rifle's flank, but the miko latched onto it. ' _Like this thing, don't you…!?_ '

Hand on the barrel, the miko filled it with dark energy and began to grip it hard, intent on damaging it somehow-

 _Fwoo~sh!_ With a wave of Marcus's hands, a tiny but fierce blizzard began to brush over the encounter, causing the rabbit's shields to flare to life and flicker-

 _Shink!_ Sendai felt a blade from the rabbit's offhand enter her stomach. ' _Ow!_ _Hand's off her rifle then-_ '

As the miko tugged-

 _FwZap- zap- zap!_ Electricity coursed from the knife and into her body. ' _Aaa- aah…!_ '

 _Fwoomp_. The rabbit's shield fell.

 _Clonk!_ Immediately, Tewi lobbed a bowling ball at her. "Oh- that hit her…!? Hehehe~!"

"Ngh…!" Gritting her teeth, Reisen was forced to retract her knife, letting go of the sniper rifle and-

 _fwish_. She was gone before the miko knew where she'd intended to go.

' _Wh- ugh..._ ' Body jittering, the miko turned to look for the rabbit, only to drop to a knee. From there, she slowly shifted to collapse… ' _I can't move anything…!_ '

Eyes wide, Rinnosuke ran up to her-

"Just stunning!" Tewi barked out, looking down a hall Reisen had darted off into. "She'll be fine with a few slaps and a moment!"

' _If you say so. Everything's numb…_ ' Sendai exhaled. ' _Fuck._ '

...Di- di~ng! Rinnosuke cast one of his potions into the air, the liquid splashing onto the miko.

' _Yeah, I needed that._ ' ...Even so, she was still numb, albeit slightly less so.

Looking around, Marcus moved closer to the miko and the rabbit. "Well, this went to shit!"

"No _kidding_." Rinnosuke had his pistol and wand out. "This is a more hostile reception than I'd expected…"

...Slowly, Sendai began to sit up. "He- here… we go…"

Tewi snorted. "Awful _lucky_ it stopped affecting you that early, huh?"

... _Fwza~m_.

The eight foot long magnet beetle scuttled through the broken glass of the front door. Crawling up to the party, it shielded Tewi and Rinnosuke with magnetic energy.

Grinning wider, Tewi stood and pulled a slingshot from seemingly nowhere. "...You know, I _was_ gonna fuck off and try to gank a bunny or two, but if you manage to keep this beetle around I might actually be able to hang close to you."

' _Good._ ' ...Slowly, the miko began to stand.

"If you still wanna do this, that is." Tewi gave the door a stare. "...Which would honestly be _insane_ and _stupid_ , but you got this beetle, so it's actually _doable_. _I think_."

"We're _finding_ that doctor…" Taking a breath, the miko articulated her limbs, before flaring dark energy through them a few times experimentally. "I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind about these scummy fucking techno rabbits."

' _These are the dirty tricks I'm more used to…_ '

 _Click_. A sudden click bathed the room in red, pulsing light.

 _Vhii~r_. A siren went off.

"We are under attack." Reisen's voice came in through an intercom. "Sector intro is currently occupied by four hostiles who may only be incapacitated by non-lethal means. Threat level minor. Lethal permissions are only authorized when there is significant jeopardy present to one or more lives of fellow operatives."

' _One hell of an alarm, too._ ' Sendai glared up at the intercom where the noise came from.

"Let's get going!" Tewi dashes up to a hall ahead. "I know where Reisen holes up and shit! We don't go to her, we fight the entire goddamn rabbit force, and lemme tell ya, that thing about breeding ain't a _myth!_ "

...Lifting the clunky sniper rifle, Sendai looked it over. ' _How does this even work…?_ '

"We should _not_ be doing this…" Rinnosuke jogged up along Tewi. "This is a _bad_ idea."

"No one cares." Tewi shot back, bringing up her slingshot and sliding a small pellet into the band. "Get yer pistol ready, it'll actually work here."

He grimaced as he held up his single shot pistol. "Well- I'm not going to _shoot it_ , but-"

Tewi bared her teeth. "Just wave the fuckin' thing around then!"

Marching into the right deviating hallway from the lobby with her party, the miko looked down the corridor…

From diversions and deviations ahead, bunny-eared, similarly suited youkai with rifles and variants of rainbow colored hair marched out, weapons already pointed in the direction of the party.

' _You're telling me there's an army of these things…_ ' Sendai realized why Tewi said this was a stupid idea. ' _Reimu, what the hell…_ '

 _Chu- chu chu chu- chu chu!_ The five rabbits ahead began unloading their high-tech rifles, shining blue danmaku projectiles whirling out linearly towards the party.

"I- I'll _shoot!_ " Rinnosuke yells at them, crouching beneath the bullets-

Sendai flared her form with dark energy-

 _Fwza~m_. The humanoid beetle's magnetic energy covered her.

' _There…_ ' Sendai tried to wade through the projectiles, but the rate at which they came made it quite difficult. Even so, the magnetic energy reduced the oncoming energy to light taps. ' _Huh._ '

" _Here!_ " Tewi began sprinting forward with incredible speed, aiming her slingshot-

 _Fwap!_ A pebble flew at the lunar bunnies-

 _Crack- bap- pop- bam!_ It exploded into a small blast storm, making their shields briefly ripple and flicker.

"Made contact!" One of them yelled.

"Three armed, four youkai, one human!"

"Focus magician!"

 _Chu- chu- chu chu chu!_ Bullets began coming from behind the party. ' _Oh, geez. This is gonna be a mess._ '

...Looking around, she tossed the club-sized rifle aside as she hefted up the magnet beetle by the shell, before moving to sprint after Tewi, in Rinnosuke and Marcus's wake.

She met the hallway at the same time as the first five armed rabbits did, shielding the magnet beetle with her own body by rotating awkwardly as she made the corner.

' _An item crash or two should clean this up once I get a moment..._ '

Ahead, she noticed Tewi moving into a room on the side of the path ahead, the others following her.

 _Chu chu chu chu~!_ " _Hahaha~!_ " A cyan-haired rabbit opened fire on the magnet-aided Rinnosuke from the side. "Contact in hall A-three!"

"Aah…" Rinnosuke managed to get himself into the door the rest fled into, shielding himself half-heartedly...

"Passing on my sights." A different, raven-haired rabbit had her rifle aimed at Sendai. "Don't fire at magnet-enhanced targets, you're wasting ammo. Focus disruptor youkai."

Reaching the door, the miko got through the threshold-

An arm latched onto her, pulling. "Get back out-"

 _Fwioo~sh!_ Coated in magnetic energy, Sendai elbowed the rabbit, the energy causing her shield to become unfocused and weak.

The cyan-haired bunny darted back, shields intact but crippled. "Ah- shields disrupted!"

"Close range requires go." The raven-haired rabbit announced. "Need shield augments. A-one company, need you, do you copy?"

Inside the room Sendai looked around at the sterile walls and the bleak white lighting…

Tewi panned her gaze around. "Alright- this room has a door, but it's tiny as hell so you're all outta luck. Otherwise, aah… we'll have ta push out or something. Cream pies only go so far…"

' _We're talking about what now?_ '

Moving up to a wall, Sendai reeled an arm back, and hit it-

 _Bam!_ The wall cracked, betraying damage.

"...Or you could do that." Tewi grinned up at the miko.

Moving close to the wall around the door, Marcus held his arms out-

 _Fwi~sh_. Ice generated on the interior floor, just past the door's threshold. "Ice is so useful…!"

 _Bam, bam, bam!_ Sendai began tearing into the wall closest to her again-

 _Crack!_ Through her mining, a hole already revealed a nearly identical sterile room on the other side.

"Shields up!" The jaunty cyan-haired rabbit announced again. "Going in!"

"Ayasawa- _don't!_ " The raven-haired one barked at her. "Ugh- fine, just a brush..."

Sendai looked over at the door, as the rabbit aimed inside-

 _Chu chu chu chu~!_ A barrage of bolts made the miko shield herself with her arms…

As the bunny ran inside-

Thud! "Aah- _woa~h!_ " She began to slip on the ice Marcus laid down earlier-

Thud! "Oh- _aah!_ " The raven-haired rabbit followed directly behind her, sliding forward as well.

Grabbing a nondescript but clean looking white device from a nearby counter, Tewi yanked its cord from the wall and ran towards the downed rabbits. "Wahaha~!"

Parting from the wall, Sendai moved for the downed cyan rabbit. ' _Let's clean this up…_ '

Plopping down onto the rabbit's torso- which was curiously difficult with the shield active, the miko's legs sliding about on the reflective energy- Sendai began wailing on her with her fists-

 _Bwoom- bwoomp bwoomp!_ The shield flickered with every hit. "Aah- Rika-chan- _help, help!_ " She brought up her arms to shield herself-

 _Bam!_ Tewi brought the junk she lugged over down on the rabbit's head-

 _Fwoom_. The shield fell-

 _Bam- bam!_ Sendai delivered two dark strikes to her gut.

" _Guafuh!_ " Eyes widening, the rabbit hugged herself-

 _Wham!_ 'Rika-chan' kicked Sendai in the face, up again in a flash.

"Hnh…!?" Sendai's head whipped to the side awkwardly-

" _Thunderbolt!_ " Marcus held his wind blade up high-

 _Fwazam- fwazam- fwazam!_ Three convergences of smaller electricity strikes came from above, ravishing the shields of the raven-haired one. " _Aaa~h!_ "

 _Bam!_ Tewi beaned the downed rabbit in the head again-

 _Whack_. Sendai hit her in the jaw.

"Nngh…" It didn't knock the rabbit out, however. "He- help…!"

 _Bam!_ Sendai hit in the same way again, but harder. ' _Just stop._ '

"Nnh…" The fight left the bunny girl, as she slipped into unconsciousness.

" _Aya~!_ " The raven-haired girl wailed at her comrade.

 _Bo~nk_. Rinnosuke clubbed the standing rabbit with the flat of his iron sword.

"Hnh…!?" Rubbing the back of her head, she turned to him-

 _Whack!_ -and punched him in the face. " _Agh…!_ "

Marcus sprinted up to her and jabbed an arm towards her-

 _Wham!_ Her arm met his stomach-

 _Fwa~sh!_ She was frozen solid.

"Oogh!" Marcus fell backwards.

 _Chu chu chu chu~!_ Looking up, Sendai saw a lime green rabbit peek her gun into the room next, and unload her rifle on the magnet beetle in the center of the room.

The bullets patter against its shell uselessly…

' _Are they just going to keep coming in through the door…?_ ' As she began to stand, the miko prepared to tear into the wall. ' _We're going to be seriously overwhelmed if we don't get a move on._ '

 _BOOM_

Eyes wide, the miko turned to the back wall of the room. Now blown open, four new rabbits leapt in-

 _Chu chu chu chu chu~!_ They all unloaded simultaneously-

 _Fwash! Fwa- fwash!_ Erecting ice crystals in the air to defend himself, Marcus shambled towards Sendai's location-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ She hurled talismans out, only for them to meet shields and flutter off. ' _Seriously!?_ '

Rinnosuke aimed his gun at them. "I'll _shoot!_ I've- I've got you, in my sights!"

At this, the rabbits swiftly slid back and behind the edges of the hole into the room.

' _...What. That actually worked?_ '

Tewi had her slingshot aimed at the door, the lime-haired rabbit outside now ducked around the corner to avoid taking damage. " _Shriney!_ Could really use that hole right about now!"

Turning to the wall, Sendai took a few steps back. ' _No time to be clean about this._ '

 _Bam!_ Kicking against the floor, she flung forward-

 _Boom!_

On the other side of the wall, she rolled to a stop. "Ngh…"

' _Hell yeah!_ '

Immediately, Tewi and Rinnosuke filed into the room, soon followed by Marcus…

Springing onto her legs, the miko peered back out the her-sized hole she made…

The magnet beetle was now standing-

 _ChChChChChChCh!_ A loud roar of danmaku rifle fire filled the air, the rabbits unloading on it.

It peered around thoughtlessly… "Hrrn…" Dissatisfied with the sudden immense damage, the beetle hobbled up to one of the standing rabbits-

 _Whack!_ -and slammed them with her arm.

 _Fwoo~sh_. Instantly, the rabbit was sent sprawling, the shield decimated instantly. " _Aaa~h!_ "

"Making hard contact with disruptor, got it singled! Three down!" One of the rabbits barked out the situation.

...Looking back out the hole, Marcus raised an arm-

 _Fwoom_. He sent a non-elemental orb of mana into the room…

"Threat level increased to two." Reisen announced from the intercoms above. "Machines and augments, authorized."

 _Bam!_ Sendai softened up the next wall with a dark kick, making the curiously clean substance turn powdery and crumble like dust or sandstone. ' _What is this stuff? Whatever..._ ' Stepping back, she prepares to leap through again…

Fwoo~sh. Marcus made the orb dissipate, the mana washing over the rabbits.

Instantly, the rabbits responded. "Unexpected magical surplus, get out!"

"Fall back and suppress!"

"Let's just wait for augments…!"

 _Fwi~sh_. Marcus tugged the arm back. "Wo- woah. The hell…?"

"Shield's compromised!"

"We have energetic tampering!"

"What the…"

Tewi giggled. "Hehehe~. Good shit."

 _Bam!_ Kicking against the floor-

 _Boom!_ -Sendai hurled herself through another wall. "Anh…"

' _Oof._ ' Her limbs were starting to ache slightly. ' _How many more rooms do we have to go through…?_ '

This room was different, having an awkward, thin segment in the back.

Darting inside, Tewi made for this area. "C'mon, we can get up to the higher levels. Reisen'll be all cozied up in her tower somewhere, and like hell will we find Eirin if she don't wanna be found."

Bam! The door to this room swung open, another rabbit barging in-

 _Choom! Choom! Choom!_ "Nnh…!?" Bringing up her arms, Sendai ran back and to the side to avoid the shotgun spreads of neon blue danmaku bolts… ' _Burns…_ '

 _Voom_. From the hall outside, a blue line of light connected with the yellow-haired, shotgun-toting hare, her shields glowing a bright cyan as she marched further in…

Marcus cast his arms forward through the hole into the room, electricity traveling down from the bleak light above and meeting at the rabbit.

 _Fzam- Fzam- Fzam!_ "Under _fi~re!_ " Despite the electrical damage, her shields held, and she turned her aim to the magician…

Baring her teeth, Sendai charged up to her, bringing a leg up to kick-

 _Bwamp!_ Her strike met the rabbit's face, stopped completely by the shield. ' _What the hell…! Ughu-_ '

 _Choom!_ _Choom!_ She drilled into Sendai with two more shotgun shots as she began to back out. "Shields depleted, returning for recharge, cycle!"

Running into the room, Marcus aimed his blame out. " _Firaga!_ "

 _Fwam!_ A large orb of flame rolled out towards the doorway as Sendai cringed back from the shotgun blasts, still reeling…

Boom! It exploded into a small inferno. "Someone grab a fire extinguisher!" A rabbit called for aid in clearing the path.

' _Pft. You'd think with their shields they'd just-_ '

 _Choom! Choom!_ A different shotgun-toting rabbit came walking through the flames, her shields overcharged and flickering as the fire licked at her legs.

Cre- crea~k. Behind the party, Tewi was doing something that made a creaking noise…

Drawing a yin-yang orb-

 _Bam!_ Sendai punched it forward-

 _Bwamp!_ It stopped dead after striking the rabbit's shields, causing them to ripple-

 _Fzap- Fwazam- Thwash!_ Three more clusters of lightning came down from the bleak lighting above-

 _Zip_. After they were done, the light went out, casting the room in darkness, aside from the glow of the rabbit's shield and the smouldering flames in the doorway.

 _Chioo~m_. As the shield fell, the rabbit stumbled back, catching ablaze. "Ru- Ruri-chan you son of a~...!"

"Ah, we really _do_ need a fire extinguisher!"

Looking back at the light coming from Tewi's position, the miko saw that the rabbit had unfolded a very aged looking wooden staircase from above.

"Up here!" Tewi called out to the party.

Sendai stood back as Rinnosuke and Marcus made for the stairs-

 _Chu chu chu chu!_ Having overcome the magnet beetle, the horde of rifle rabbits were in the previous room now, firing wildly into the room the miko was in.

Impatiently, the miko marched up behind the two and hobbled up the stairs with them. ' _Aa- great..._ ' Gritting her teeth, she felt the magical energy pulse painfully through her body. ' _Those guns aren't a joke when set to stun mode… the hell's lethal mode like?_ '

The next floor was a stark contrast to the first. Up here, the party found themselves on old, aged wooden boards.

Paper and wood walls stretched high, glowing with faint luminescence, making up for the dim light of the lanterns that dotted the room.

Despite how open it seemed, at the ground there was great dividers, segmenting the room into corridors still. Atop these dividers were fancy looking trees and plants, settled inside small environments.

' _This is totally different from the clean halls we were just in…_ ' Sendai panned her gaze around at the ornate, atmospheric surroundings-

From around a corner, a hovering, tiny winged robot of some kind came out, projecting blue lines of shield energy to entities around the corner-

 _Chu- chu! Choom! Chu chu!_ A mixed company of rabbit soldiers began to commandeer the room segment, firing wildly at the party from thirty feet away or so.

"Sighted infiltrators on second floor!" One of them announces their discovery. "Seven-B-H! Need all companies to respond!"

"Let's skedaddle!" Tewi began running forward, before stopping and picking the left path instead.

Moving after her with her party, Sendai rounded the corner-

 _Chu- chu- chu- chu!_ Rifle rabbits hugged the sides of the isolated pathway the party moved onto, before darting into the middle once they made contact.

"Found 'em! Blocking the way!"

"We need a pincer follow up!"

Glaring ahead at the growing roadblock of armed rabbits, Sendai drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo from her sleeves. ' _Let's make a way forward, then…_ '

 _Voo- voo- voom_. A myriad of small, winged robots joined the four rifle rabbits, before even more and a myriad of others began to block the back.

"C'mon- go around…"

"There's so many of us, can't we just move forward?"

"Wait for sarge's call, Nishi."

"But-"

" _Holy Spark!_ " Casting the tome behind herself, Sendai aimed her arm forward as the book split into nine, each copy revolving to form the traditional octagram above and behind her…

 _Chu- chu- chu! Choom! Choom!_ They began to fire at the books instead of the miko's party members-

VRRRRRRR~

The massive rainbow-colored laser of annihilation tore forward into the fifteen rabbit strong barricade.

" _Aaa~h!_ "

" _Nooo~!_ "

"Eugh!"

" _Takako~!_ "

RRRRRrrr…

As the spark came to an end, a myriad of now unconscious rabbit soldiers lied in its wake, all pushed up against the now smashed back wall, some of them propelled down the hallway ahead. All the hovering shield machines were destroyed as well…

"We lost _two companies!_ "

"Oh, _crap._ "

"Threat revaluation…! We need a threat reval to proceed!"

Promptly, as the miko marched ahead, she heard Reisen over the intercom. "Threat level three recognized. Additional personnel authorized for neutralization of threat."

Sprinting ahead, Tewi waved for the party to follow. "C'mon… we just gotta run like hell down this hall. And whatever that big fuck off laser is, keep doing it!"

 _Choom- chu chu chu~!_ As they all ran ahead, the company of rabbits behind them decided to engage, because of the new threat orders being finalized.

"Ga- aa~h…" Rinnosuke was crackling with energy from all the brief brushes with gunfire. "Nngh…"

Marcus was faring marginally better, though he huffed from the running. "Aah, aah…"

As they ran by the downed rabbits, Tewi scooped up one of the rifles and tossed it at Rinnosuke. "Here!"

He fumbled to catch it, before looking it over. "Wh- aah- what…!?"

"Put mana into it at all and it shoots!" Tewi instructed him as they moved. "Pro'lly not for long once they know yer usin' it, but it'll give 'em a good surprise!"

...Looking back at the crowd sprinting rapidly behind them, Rinnosuke held his pistol out-

 _Fwam!_ A flare rocketed forth, filling the hall with great, dazzling light.

 _Chu chu chu!_ The shotgunners stopped shooting entirely, and the rifle rabbits hit the sides of the hall more than they did anything else. "They're blinding! Holo-sights need recalibration…!"

"We're not outfitted for this…" One of them complained. "C'mo~n, we need snipers…"

Tewi sprinted up to one of the walls ahead and to the left, sliding it open and revealing it to be a door. "C'mon, let's switch halls 'fore they block us as fast!"

Pausing, Sendai glanced back at her party to make sure they weren't banged up beyond mobility, before moving in aside them.

The divider lead to a curiously perpendicular hall, which joined up with an intersection ahead.

A clean, objectively more apparent door to the left opened up, a rifle-toting rabbit poking her head and gun out, before ducking back inside. "Got my eyes on 'em…! I'm all alone up here!"

The party heard her intercom as they stepped out and towards the intersection. "You're not alone, Asa-chan."

 _CHIU_

 _Thwack!_ "Aagh…!" Bringing a hand up, Sendai clutched her head, crackling energy whirling around it. ' _What the hell…_ '

"Snipers ahead!" Tewi announced, reaching into her pocket. "Here, lemme…"

 _Woosh!_ She lobbed a cream-colored canister forward-

 _Fwoof!_ It exploded into a cloud of powder, creating a momentary fog.

 _Fwa- fwash!_ Behind the fog, electrical noises were heard.

...Rinnosuke held his new rifle at the door, as 'Asa-chan' poked her head out-

 _Chu chu chu!_ His shots were wide and imprecise, but they worked well enough as suppression to keep her from coming out.

"Commander, they've worked out one of our guns!" She was heard from inside the room. "Do something…!"

"On it." Reisen's voice was heard over her radio.

...Rinnosuke glanced down at his gun-

Cla- clack, clack. It fell apart in his hands, electrical energy fizzling out as the weapon self-disassembled. "Oh."

' _They can just do that…?_ ' Sendai gave the broken parts a jaded stare. ' _I guess it'd figure, but…_ '

Moving ahead, the miko clutched a handful of rebound stones. ' _This should make them reconsider focusing on us._ ' Running into the fog, she reeled her arm back and tossed them.

Cli- cli- click. Their bouncing was made audible as they progressed further into the hall…

 _Fwash!_ Rinnosuke fired a flare ahead as well.

As the fog lifted-

 _CHIU_

 _Crack!_ One of the three rebound stones the miko flung had shattered.

"Let's move!" Sprinting ahead for the intersection, she heard Tewi move up beside her.

"Take a right here!" The hare began to sprint ahead-

Scuttling noises were heard along the floor. Glancing down as she rounded the corner, Sendai saw small, pet-sized neon yellow robots whirl across the floor like tops, moving towards them. ' _They look annoying…_ '

 _Kri~ng!_ Ahead, Marcus erected a ten foot tall blade of ice down the hall to further shield the party from the two snipers ahead-

 _CHIU CHIU_

 _Kra- kriack!_ Cracks spiderwebbed in the ice blade, the rounds doing a number on it.

Sendai was in the deviating hall now, glancing down as the tiny yellow robot had seemingly multiplied, four of them whirling up to her now. "What _are_ these?"

...Tewi glanced back at them, before drawing her slingshot. "Oh- aha- get away from 'em!"

 _Pap- crack- bam!_ She flung a seed at them which exploded into a tiny blast storm, making the thing's shields flicker. ' _They have shields…?_ '

As three gathered around Sendai, they seemingly panned their half-sphere heads up at her-

 _ZaZaZaZaZap!_ The three projected concentrated beams of electricity onto her from their limbs. "Aaa- _aaa~h!_ "

' _Ho- nnh- nnh…!_ '

 _Shink!_ Tewi pounced on one, plunging her tiny blade into it-

 _Woosh!_ Marcus flung his wind blade, sending the four whirling electric bots skidding down the hall, Tewi sent along with them.

Limbs stiff and locked up, Sendai hobbled vaguely towards the rabbit, before reconsidering. "Fu- ah…" Unexpectedly, her legs buckled, forcing her to kneel. "Holy... crap…" ' _Magical damage sucks..._ '

"Do you need a potion?" Rinnosuke marched up near her, keeping his pistol down the hall behind them.

"No- not yet…" Pushing herself back up, her legs stabilized with dark energy, she glared ahead at the small rover bots. "Pro'lly soon."

Looking back, she noticed another set of four rover bots whirling past Marcus's ice pillar. ' _How many did they need to make!?_ '

"Visual in hall V-seven!" Stepping out from a door, a yellow-suited rabbit held up a long, slim gun. "Engaging solo, calling for idles to assist, don't just scout if you can harass!"

 _Crackle- snap, pop!_ Tewi dropped a maroon bag into the cluster of rovers around her, igniting them with purple flame. "So they're _actually_ using these things…!"

Before she did anything else, the yellow-suited rabbit threw her arm forward-

 _Fwoo- vhip!_ A rectangular pad of shimmering energy deployed on the ground some feet ahead-

 _Fwash!_ Marcus cast his arm out, creating a small blockade for the incoming rovers to get stuck on-

 _Fwash!_ Another rover spawned from the pad the rabbit placed down-

Cla- clack! Four more rovers from the intersection came out, making eight rovers attempting to come from Marcus's direction.

' _Where are these things coming from!?_ ' Sendai sighted the pad, and began limping towards it-

 _CHIU_

 _Thwack._ She stumbled back, the maroon-haired rabbit shooting her in the face with her slim sniper rifle from a few feet away. "Aga~h…"

Reaching into her pocket, she began to draw a health potion. ' _We're all hurting right now…_ '

 _Crack- zap! Shink!_ Tewi lopped the head off of three of the rovers she was fighting, electricity running through her form. "Nn- eheh…"

Marcus swung his wind blade back and forth, pushing back the increasingly large horde of rovers from behind as he backpedaled. "Hey- we might wanna get the fuck outta here…!"

 _Zap!_ "Oo- ho ho!" He flinched back as electricity darted out from the horde of bots, briefly connecting with his form.

 _CHIU_

 _Thwack!_ " _Go~h…_ " Rinnosuke cringed from the shot to his gut. "Why~...?"

The sniper rabbit began to march out, confident with the situation-

" _Evolution!_ " Sendai cast one of her three potions into the air-

 _Di- di- di~ng!_ Mint-colored splashes of liquiterialized over all four party members, before connecting with their forms and healing their wounds.

 _Bam!_ Knocking aside the last rover ahead, Tewi kept sprinting. "Get _over_ here!"

 _Bwomp!_ Whirling up to the yellow-suited sniper rabbit with renewed vigor, Sendai palmed the front of her, meeting a shield.

" _Eee~!_ " Squealing, the rabbit swung her gun wide-

Ducking, the miko followed up with a dark uppercut-

 _Fwao~sh!_ The blow shattered the shield, sending the rabbit sprawling. " _Help!_ Da- bad idea! Bad- oof! Aah-"

 _Wham!_ Sendai stomped down into the rabbit's gut with a dark-enhanced leg.

"Guh- aagh…!" The rabbit squirmed-

 _Wha- wham!_ She brought her leg up and down twice more, making the rabbit writhe. "Aa- anh- _ngh!_ "

' _Should do it._ ' Pivoting around, the miko began running after her party as they followed Tewi...

She paused, glancing back. Marcus had hung back to keep her protected from the incoming, now sixteen robot strong rover army. ' _Oh my god…_ '

Swinging the blade back and forth as wildly as he could, Marcus slowly kept backpedaling. "Ooh- geez, tha's a _lo~tta robots…!_ "

Glancing over at Sendai, he grinned. "Ey- hey, c'mere 'n' swing this!"

Sliding up to him, Sendai plucked the sword from his arms as requested. "I channel, you channel 'n' swing- we all channel!"

Sendai swung the sword as he scrambled to keep his arms on hers, channeling-

 _Fwoosh!_ A strong gale tore through the hall, sending the now twenty rovers skidding back.

Tewi was at a door ahead, near what looked like the end of the further hall. " _I said get over here!_ "

Turning around, Sendai stabbed the blade through her clothes, before scooping up Marcus-

 _Boom- boom- boom!_ -and powering ahead, punishing the floor beneath as she closed the distance between her and the other party members in moments.

The room Tewi lead them into had windows, and a door in the back. "We're gonna cross like five doors ahead, then we're gonna go across the big open walkway, it'll be fun…"

As the three moved into the middle of the unremarkable room, Tewi flipped back behind them-

 _Thoom_. -and shut the door, which was made of steel this time. "Don't think those assholes can open doors. Hehehe~!"

Bam! Running ahead, Sendai slammed the next door open, a plain kitchen in the next room.

"We're in _so much_ trouble." Rinnosuke shook his head as he gave the now damaged door a second glance. "There's _no way_ we're leaving here without getting bombarded."

' _At this point, that's the idea…!_ ' Setting down Marcus in the kitchen so she could utilize all her limbs, Sendai ran towards the next door-

 _Boom!_ -and elbowed through it, this one made of wood and paper.

"That might be a little unnecessary…!" Running after her, Rinnosuke glanced at the windows cautiously-

 _BOOM!_

The ceiling in the next room- this one more like a meeting room of some kind- exploded.

" _Go, go, go!_ " From above, a squad of four rabbits dropped in from the roof, before a fifth one plunged down in the midst of them.

Drawing a box from her shoulder, the rabbit tossed it up-

 _Vhoo~m!_ It was revealed to be one of the shield-producing bots once it unfurled and took to the air, defending the entire enemy party with blue lasers that connected with their shields.

' _So many youkai…_ ' Taking to the wall just before the room, Sendai reached for her pocket. ' _I got an idea…_ '

Marcus flexed his fingers. "I don't think I can strip _those_ shields…"

As the four rifle rabbits ducked around the large, oval meeting table, the red-suited one leapt off the table and marched straight for the door, her large, bulky gun ready.

 _Fwa-Zap!_ Casting his arms out, Marcus lit her up with electricity as she neared, but all it did was make her shield flicker-

 _Clap- bam! Clap- bam!_ Tewi was firing explosive pellets at her-

 _Fwoomp- splat!_ Rinnosuke shot ectoplasm at her from his weapon, coating her. " _Heheha~!_ " She found it funny, even though it brought her already lumbering speed down to a crawl.

Drawing a yin-yang orb, Sendai half-maximized it, and punched it forward-

 _Bwamp- oosh!_ It bounced off the shield, only for Tewi's continued fire to make the energy actually drop.

"Going i~n!" Grinning widely, the rabbit activated her weapon-

 _ChChChChCh-_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap! Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Now that her shield was down, Sendai flung two spreads of three ofuda forward, before she could actually get into the room.

"Aa- aah…" Blinking, the rabbit stopped firing briefly, before continuing to lumber into the room-

 _ZAP_

"Rrgh…" Grimacing from this amount of holy energy, she continued to progress. "You'll be _dead!_ "

...Crouching down, Sendai slid into the door as she crossed the threshold-

 _Bam!_ -and delivered a dark uppercut-

 _Clonk_. -hitting her head on the door frame on the way up. "Aguh- aah…" ' _What ah-... oh._ '

 _Thud_. Even so, this blow sent the rabbit onto her back, immobilized.

Voo- voo- voo- voom. Energy shields flickered to life in the next room. Not the rabbit's energy shields, rather, projected external shields of energy, wielded on their wrists.

' _How much protection do you need?_ ' Sendai frowned at the overshielded and externally shielded rabbits ahead-

 _Ch- ch- ch- chu, chu!_ She ducked out of the way, avoiding all four rabbit's fire at once. ' _Hrrm…_ '

Cli~ck. A rabbit opened the door at the start of the room sequence, prompting Tewi to look over there and curse. "Ff- you broke the door ta this room! Them tiny asses're coming!"

Passing the wind blade to Marcus, Sendai moved out towards the four stationed rabbits again.

 _Chu- chu- ch- chu chu!_ "Ffh…!" Tanking the shots, she ran into the midst of the room-

 _Fwoomp!_ The fourth rabbit actually had a large, bulky, shoulder mounted weapon, which gently lobbed steel orbs of some sort. "Waves _deployed!_ We've got one isolated, too!"

Leaping onto the table in the middle of the room, Sendai arched back. " _Thousand Blades!_ "

Drifting into the air, ofuda flowed from her sleeves like a river, quickly shifting to form a ring around herself-

 _Chu- chu- chu- chu- chu!_ The three rabbits unloaded into her, making her limbs begin to numb. ' _Hhnh…!_ '

 _Fwamp!_ That steel orb stuck the table, a shockwave of blue energy immediately splashing out, making pain bloom through Sendai's body while not affecting the rabbit's teammates whatsoever.

Quickly, the axes of the miko's formation began to initialize, becoming a revolving series around her…

Noticing this, the rabbits began to focus their fire onto the gold and red origami axes-

" _Ha~h!_ " Casting her arms out, the miko forced them to spread out-

 _Wha- wham- shink- bwomp- fwoom!_ As they spun out, a mess of noises that the miko couldn't differentiate ran out, pain blooming through her body from the blue aura of the bouncing steel ball-

 _Boom!_ The shield robot exploded for reasons beyond her understanding. ' _Axe may've hit it- agh- ow!_ '

 _Pap- Fwomp!_ Tewi shot the bouncing shockwave orb, breaking it with a single exploding seed.

Rinnosuke and her began to move into the room, taking some of the pressure off the miko-

Darting in behind them, Marcus slid the wood door shut. "Haha~! Magician, one! Unholy robot army, _zero!_ "

 _Zap- zap- fwish- zip…!_ Electricity battered the door on the other side, to little avail.

The shieldless rifle rabbits began moving for the door out-

"Aah!" Tewi tackled one down.

Casting her bulky minelayer-esque gun aside, the visor-clad, short-haired rabbit brought up her dukes. "Hehehe~! Looks like it's a CQC drill!"

Sendai whipped her gaze to this rabbit-

 _Bam- bam!_ In an instant, the rabbit was on her, striking her in the face-

Sendai's form flickered out.

"Aah…" The rabbit looked around-

 _Splat!_ Rinnosuke pelted her with an ectoplasmic glob. "I see your _every_ move…!"

"Aah- gross…!" Looking down at the mess on her, she stumbled back, almost falling off the table as she did so. "The hell kinda weapon's-"

 _Boom!_ Sendai delivered a dark-enhanced fist to the back of the rabbit's head, having reappeared behind her.

...Thud. The rabbit collapsed onto the table, defeated by the blow. "Uu~h…"

...The other rifle rabbits had already fled.

Tewi stood up from the one she tackled, which was now on the floor. "Oh- right…" Doubling back, she took her pink wash cloth from the rabbit's face, shaking it before pocketing it. "C'mon- let's go…!"

With little other choice, the party ran after the retreating rabbits ahead…

Once they reached the end of the sequence of rooms, they were left at a hallway similar to the first one they entered, except to the left there was no wall marking the end of the halls.

Taking this left, Tewi gestured for the rest to follow.

' _Looks like those other two rabbits retreated to the right._ ' Sendai darted along with her…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Eientei Fourth Tier Defenses_ ====

This hallway was unlike any other. The left wall of it, past room sequence from earlier, was exposed, revealing the early evening sky, small wooden guard rails preventing safety hazards.

Past this guard rail was a large courtyard. From here, the party could see the roof segment blown up by the team sent to wipe them out a few rooms back…

Across the courtyard from them was a tall tower, the closest tall tower in the structure, connected to the same courtyard.

Tewi pointed up at it. "Reisen's up there!" ...Then, she gave it a middle finger. "Barking orders and shit."

' _Is she…?_ '

 _CHIU- CHIU- CHIU- CHIU_

"Woah…!" Sendai ducked-

"Gaa~h!" Rinnosuke stumbled back, before falling onto his rear. "Gh- nngh…!"

"Wh- why shoot _me!?_ " Tewi held her head. " _Fuck…!_ "

...Looking around idly, Marcus slowly ducked too, expression small.

' _Snipers, somewhere. Great._ '

 _Fwoo~sh!_

...Looking up, Sendai saw an amber projectile coming out from the tall tower before them-

 _BOOM!_ The left side of the catwalk was annihilated, a startlingly violent explosion consuming it.

"She's shooting _rockets_ at us!?" Tewi barked out her incredulity. "Holy _crap!_ How much firepower do you need to stop a fucking _doppelganger!?_ "

 _Fwoo~sh!_ Sendai tensed at the second rocket fired from Reisen, only to see it whirling towards the rightmost end of the catwalk-

 _BOOM!_

...Once both ends were destroyed, the catwalk began to shudder, before-

 _Kroo~m!_ The platform began to slide out from under the four, tilting forward and accelerating into the courtyard. ' _Ah…_ '

 _Ba- bam, bam!_ After a moment, it stopped, crumbling and ejecting them all out into the grassy, decorative courtyard-

"Woa~h!" Marcus drifted out-

"Aa~h!" Rinnosuke flailed wildly-

Tewi and Sendai prepared to land-

 _Thu- thu- thu- splash!_

...Sendai came down on her legs hard, while Tewi rolled multiple times, and Marcus landed softly.

Rinnosuke crawled out of a nearby pond. "U- ungh…"

 _CHIU- CHIU- CHIU- CHIU_

The sniper team opened fire again-

"Aagh! Gah…!" Marcus cringed, dropping onto his knees-

" _Hoo~h!_ " Rinnosuke grit his teeth, fighting sliding back into the pond as his limbs crackled with energy.

"Nngh…" Tewi was cast onto her side. "So- son o- of a _bitch_..."

Gritting her teeth, Sendai cast another potion into the air. " _Evolution!_ "

 _BAM_

From Reisen's personal sniper tower above, a red laser came down, piercing the miko.

 _Ba- bam!_ Sendai was thrown against the grass and dirt like a ragdoll, her legs protesting the awkward downward momentum. "Ff- _nnh…!_ "

 _Di- di- di~ng!_ The healing solvent came down on all four of them, relieving them of their suffering.

Marcus stood up straight again. "Heaven almighty…!"

Rinnosuke held his pistol up at the sniper tower. " _Rei~se~n!_ "

...Standing and reaching into her pockets, Sendai drew a mana molotov. ' _Let's see how these snipers like this…!_ '

" _Hydro Storm!_ " She pointed up at the sky as she cast the molotov into the air.

It traveled up, before vanishing from sight.

...Then, it began pouring.

Heavy drops muddied the clearing the party was in, and pattered off the roof of the clinic all around them…

"Fah- nnh- aah…!" Rinnosuke burned from the holy water, sprinting over to a nearby overhang to take cover.

' _Shit. He'll be fine..._ '

"Woah, aah- ahaha what the fuck…!?" Tewi began dancing around, before-

 _Fwoomp_. She pulled an umbrella from nowhere, protecting herself. "There…"

...The shields of the snipers on the rooftops nearby flickered, before the snipers themselves began to retreat.

Reisen was an exception. Her tower had an overhang to it, protecting her from the rain's holy, harmful effects.

...Even so, once or twice Sendai got to see her shield flicker from the rabbit's arms being held out past the overhang to aim her sniper rifle.

...For a moment, Reisen relented.

The intercoms were heard as she ducked and tilted her head to the side, rabbit ears visible over the wall. "Threat level increased to four. I'm sending in reinforcements, an X-thirteen-K Doz-K-eight, area denial series."

"A _whah?_ " Tewi blinked up at the tower.

…

The rain ended, the pitter patter of heavy drops fading out to the quiet noise of water dripping and flowing across the land.

Sendai looked around, taking in the peace. ' _Too quiet already._ '

...Looking perturbed, Rinnosuke stomped out into the clearing again, form still slightly smoldering.

"Hey- you got enough mana fer that ether crash?" Marcus looked over at Sendai…

"Fuck no." She exhaled. "I'm gonna need some mana of my own before I can even do that."

"Trade ya, then." Taking this moment, Marcus cast an ether into the air-

 _Fwa- fwi~sh_. The pale purple liquid phased into the miko's form, restoring her energy. "Alri~ght… _Mana Gift!_ "

Casting one of her own ethers into the air, Sendai cast the spell-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa~sh!_ The magical liquid splashed over all four party members, refilling their energy marginally.

"Al~right…" Marcus rubbed his hands together. "Ready for a brawl, I am!"

"Oh? Thanks…" Tewi didn't expect getting a mana restore. "Actually needed that."

 _Thoo~m!_ Before the party, a large, rust-adorned machine dropped from somewhere above.

' _...Do these rabbits drop things on people's heads too?_ ' Sendai smirked at the metal box.

" _Rhe- hi- hi- hi- hi~r!_ " Letting out a stuttering call of some kind, the machine slowly rose onto two stubby hind legs-

 _Clank- clank!_ From inside, two immense, clunky slabs of rust and red metal were erected, extending out to defend the front of the machine.

Darting to the side a little, Tewi sighed. "Oo~h. It's the _bulldozer…_ "

' _Sounds like fun._ ' Sendai began to step towards it…

Tink- tink- tink- tink! It prodded across the muddy plain, moving straight towards her as she made for it.

' _If it's a melee fight it wants…_ ' She whirled up to it and punched the front of it, going for the tube-like device at the top that appeared to be a viewing port-

 _Bwomp_. Her dark fist met shield. ' _Fucking, really-_ '

 _CLANK!_ Bringing its slabs up, it dropped down into the ground, splashing mud and holy water up gloriously as it did so.

"Wa- aah…!?" Sendai was sent flying by the resulting shockwave, flipping back into the air. ' _What's with that power!?_ '

 _CLANK!_ Even after the miko was gone, it kept pounding the ground-

 _CLANK!_ -again-

 _CLANK!_ -and again.

"Stay close but not too close to it!" Tewi rattled off what she knew about it. "This thing's made to fuckin' _last_ , so unless you got any bright ideas, we're gonna be punching this thing 'till the sun comes up…!"

Marcus pointed his blade out. " _Thunde~r!_ "

 _Fwa-ZAP- ZAP- Thwash!_ The wet machine was struck by three clusters of thunderbolts from above-

 _Fwoo~mp_. The fierce, water and rust-aided electricity ravaged the comparatively weak shields, leaving the hunk of metal vulnerable.

 _Splat!_ Rinnosuke lobbed ectoplasm at it, slowing its already moderately slow demeanor down even further-

 _CLANK!_ -only for it to strike the mud beneath it, the ectoplasm thrust off in a heartbeat.

 _Splosh!_ "Hup!" Leaping through the muddy grass, Sendai soared over the machine-

 _Splat_. -before landing behind it. Here, she saw there was a control panel of some sort on the back. ' _Hit the computer for massive damage…!_ '

Trudging through the mud, she sprinted up to the machine as it began to pivot-

 _Bo~ng_. She punched the metal console, before wincing, her hand actually aching from the impact even with dark enhancement. ' _Nevermind, looks like physical attacks aren't even an option…_ '

 _Po- pop- pop- pop!_ Thrusting his arm out, Marcus sent a surge of bubbles at the machine as it awkwardly turned between Tewi and Sendai, allowing for the bubbles to strike the console on the back.

 _CLANK!_ It hit the ground-

"Oh- aah…!" Sendai flew back again, but flipped to maintain her landing posture this time.

Being wet didn't bother this machine. Still, Marcus cast again, thrusting the blade of Japan into the air unnecessarily-

 _Fwoo~sh_. A tiny blizzard was onset over the mechanical menace-

 _Fwa~sh!_ -allowing it to be frozen solid from all the liquid all over it.

…

Sendai smiled at the frozen robot ' _Is it over-_ '

 _Kra~ck!_ It broke free from the ice within seconds of being frozen, returning to pivoting around awkwardly-

 _BAM_

From above, Reisen sniped Sendai in the back again. "Fhuaa~!"

' _This stupid rabbit…!_ '

"Oh, shit…" Marcus hobbled up to the miko as Tewi ran around the bulldozer-esque robot to kite it. "Hey, you think this sword'll do anything to it?"

Sendai gave him an irritated stare. "When's the last time _wind_ did anything to a robot? _Does_ wind do anything to a robot?"

"We're 'bout ta find out!" He handed the Sword of Kusanagi over to her. "I'll fill it wit' magic while you try to crash it or whatever it is you do!"

...Nodding, Sendai brought the sword up similar to a katana as she searched the robot for an opening. "Alright…"

Focusing on the blade, Sendai channeled her energy as she strafed up to the robot…

Tewi gave her a sarcastic stare. "You gonna _stab it?_ Good idea…!"

...She felt her mana doubleback into her. ' _What…? I don't have enough for it?_ '

"What's takin' ya?" Marcus inquired as he stumbled about next to her erratic movements.

"Need more mana!" Sendai barked. "Spare a ether!"

"Pfft- okay!" Reaching into his pocket, he cast it into the air-

 _Fwa- fwi~sh!_ The mana splashed into the miko's form through the format of liquid…

Once the robot turned around again, she allowed herself to slide up once more, channeling mana into the weapon and searching her mind for the incantation that would be associated. ' _C'mo~n. This better be enough for-..._ '

" _Wingblade!_ " Bringing the sword out, she felt energy surge her form-

 _Woosh!_ Snapping to the back of the machine, she spun-

 _Cli- cli- cli- cling!_ The elongated, jagged blade of Japan passed through the machine's form as she spun around in a cyclone of wind, whipping against the rust's rear like a gale-

 _Fwoosh!_ Two wings of three blades each generated behind the miko as she struck at the panel on the back with purpose, decisive slashes cutting through the unknown metal as wind and no longer as steel.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish fwish! Fwish- fwish!_ The miko's form was a blur as she began to utilize all six blades along with the Sword of Kusanagi itself, multiple blades attacking without her consent or with knowledge. To her, it looked as if she was flailing her arms, but to someone else, she was swinging her blades with grace befitting an experienced multi-swordsman.

Flipping, she brought the blade down on the center of the machine-

 _Fwash!_ It dug down, the wings dissipating and slamming into the floor around the machine to form a pentagram-

 _FWA~SH_

The pentagram initialized, a torrent of wind stretching to the sky, infused with magnetic energy. The magic bounced around within the five-sided barrier that was erected...

...In this moment, Sendai stood up, stumbling back from the robot as the shaft dissipated, the magic vanishing in an instant. ' _O- oh, oh wow…_ '

 _Thunk_. The machine collapsed, the control panel hanging loosely off the back and blown up the side of the machine awkwardly, as if a gale had struck it and simply made the strong bolts and welds undone, nature's course accelerated.

The panel glowed a sad yellow in distress, however, revealing the machine wasn't broken by any means.

Sendai flopped back into the mud on her bum, lightheaded. ' _That… took a lot out of me._ '

Slowly, the Sword of Kusanagi began to dim, returning to normal…

...Sprinting up to the machine fast enough to kick up a trail of mud, Tewi grabbed onto the panel on the back of the robot. "Apparently stabbing this thing _does_ work, good to know. Don't know what the hell _that_ was all about, but if you keep doing it, we might actually survive this without getting interrogated!"

' _I'm… not sure if I want to keep doing that. That was half my mana pool…_ ' Sendai drowsily smiled up at the night sky. ' _It looks nice out. Too bad I'm down in this muddy ditch fighting youkai… although it's preferable to fighting them in a muddy ditch in the rain._ '

...Marcus slid out a Hi-Ether. "Might as well feed ya one 'a these at this point. You look dead."

"Ye- yes, yeah…" Sendai exhaled. ' _So tired… and that's not a good thing..._ '

Rinnosuke neared the party… "So…" He looked back up at Reisen's sniper tower-

 _BAM_

Sendai shut her eyes, the pain blooming through her. ' _I'm gonna tear her ears off, I swear..._ '

"I can't believe she's _this_ violent…" Rinnosuke shook his head…

Marcus chuckled. "Pfhahaha! It'sa _bit_ late to realize that…!" He cast his Hi-Ether into the air-

 _Fwa- woo- fwish!_ The bright, luminescent magical concoction splashed into the miko's form.

Her head spun as her mana pool was topped up all at once. "Oo~h… I'm good."

…

She looked over at Tewi as she rose from the floor. "What're you doing? We go anywhere now…?"

"Hold up, just tryin'a _hack into the mainframe_." She quipped. "...Well, I actually _am_ hacking, just not a mainframe. This old thing's got some cruddy computer systems compared to the rest of the place, even _I_ learned how to tinker with it after long enough."

...Tilting her head, Sendai paced about it. "Why?"

"So we can use it to get back at Reisen." Tewi explained, mirth leaking into her expression. "Oo~h, 'sending in reinforcements, a K-niner-niner-whatever'! How's _this_ fer reinforcements…!?"

Bwoo~mp. Energy flooded back into the machine as Tewi snapped the back panel into place again.

She hopped onto it, one arm clutching around a still-attached bundle of wires she'd tugged from the machine's innards. "Everyone, get on. We're gonna show that bimbo bunny what for. Fuckin'- up and thinks a doppelganger got to me. _Me_. An' who the hell's _she?_ "

' _Get on…?_ '

...Reluctantly, Sendai stepped over to the standing, now idle great machine…

Rinnosuke did so with equal reluctance. "If one of us loses a limb, it's your fault."

"Eh." Tewi shrugs.

Awkwardly, the party all sat atop the clunky metal machine, forcing Tewi to get onto Sendai's shoulders, since the miko sat in the back. "Oka~y… three, two, one, a~nd… any moment."

" _Rhi- he- hi- hr- hrr~!_ " The machine made a squeal similar to before-

 _Tink, tink, tink, tink!_ It clattered as it bounded towards the tower, before stopping and twirling around three sixty degrees. ' _Why._ '

Tewi chuckled. "Hehehe~. Testing the controls!" She was playing with the bundle of wire she'd pulled from the interior console. "Now, if those all move and stuff, then this curvy thick one…"

Pressing the wire to another, Tewi waited to see what they do-

 _Clank- CLANK!_

' _Aah…_ ' Sendai found herself and the party ascending, slowly making for the tower. ' _Well-_ '

 _Bam!_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Reisen Udongein Inaba_ ====

 _Boom- Thoo~m!_ The clunky robot found itself embedded in the floor of the tower's top perch, plunging through the roof to do so.

...Slowly, Rinnosuke slid off the side of the machine, before getting off it properly and stumbling away. "I~ don't feel safe up here…"

Looking around, Sendai simply saw armaments lining the inner lower walls of the top perch. There was a trap door to their left, but it was shut.

"Now, where the hell's she…" Jerking the wires with her hands, Tewi started erratically jerking the commandeered walker around.

...Hopping off, Sendai began to pan her head around. ' _There's a lot of guns, up here…_ '

"Wha- hey, hey…!" Scrambling off her shoulders, Tewi hops back onto the box-like mech. "I don't think y'wanna be hopping off _now-_ "

 _BOOM- BOOM BOOM_

The sniper tower began to shake and shudder, before sliding towards the clearing the party just got out of…

' _Is the whole place rigged to explode…!?_ ' Looking back at the muddy clearing, the miko noticed that the tower was tilting, too.

Marcus began drifting up to the back wall of the perch. "Get up here 'n' you won't fall and break everything!"

Sendai and Rinnosuke ran up to the ledge…

"Aah, darn…" Begrudgingly, Tewi hopped off of her captured robot and moved to meet them on the wall.

Sendai and Tewi nimbly grabbed the edge of the wall, hopped over and clung to the tower's side by still hanging onto the ledge as they hung off the side.

...Awkwardly, Rinnosuke starts to stiffly navigate his legs over the side-

 _BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_

"A- aah, really…" Flinching at the explosions below- which could be seen at this point by looking down the tower's side, he cautiously worked over the wall-esque guard and hung onto the ledge with his arms…

Marcus had it the easiest of the three, simply drifting near them the entire time.

...Slowly, the miko found holding on grow easier as the tower's wall became more and more vertical.

' _Once this gets to a certain point, we should probably leap off…_ '

...Once the tower was vertical enough, Sendai stood, moving to whisk Rinnosuke up-

"Hmm…?" He flinches, before realizing what happened…

Running to the side of the tower, Sendai leapt.

"Hup!" Seeing the ground below some distance, she awkwardly tilted Rinnosuke to the side before-

 _Woosh!_ She kicked forward towards the walling along the side of the clearing-

 _Crack!_ She ran up the angled rooftop for a moment, her legs coming down hard on their first impact, damaging the tiles.

...Tewi nearly silently floated down onto the rooftop beside her, alongside Marcus. ' _Oh, right. Forgot she can fly, for whatever reason. Do all youkai just know how to do that now?_ '

 _KROOM_

The sniper tower shattered with great volume, as it sank into the clearing and crumbled. A great cloud of dust was cast into the air, rising into the dark sky and making the courtyard seem like a formless pit of dust, dirt and mud.

...Rinnosuke looked up at Sendai with a stoic expression. "I'm terrified."

"Mmm." Idly, she stepped across the slanted roof to gaze across the clearing…

Tewi slid on her butt down to the edge of it, before stopping and looking back at the others. "Don't just stand there- into the crap! We're sittin' ducks up-"

 _Chu chu chu chu chu!_ Twin barrages of energy bolt danmaku came up from the abyss.

"Oo- wo~h…" Marcus drifted to the side in response to the scattered fire that hit him.

"Ff- aah!" Tewi was knocked off her perch, falling down into the dust and debris.

"Hup!" Leaping off the slanted roof, Sendai allowed herself to fall down into the clearing, before doubling back-

 _Pap!_ -and kicking the wall on her way down, charging her legs and-

 _Plap!_ -executing a backward flip before plunging the dark legs into the almost equally dark mud that had pooled around the edges of the courtyard. ' _O~kay…_ '

Rinnosuke looked around, disgruntled by the acrobatics. "Wha- was that really _necessary_ …? I don't think I can handle a lot of that..."

...Gently laying him down into the mud, the miko trudged away from him and towards the midst of the yard, as the fog began to lift.

The crumbled mess of the sniper tower was before them, random shards of stone, paper and wood everywhere, but mostly contained in a large wall in the center.

Guns of all shapes and sizes were strewn about, as if the innards of the tower were lined with weaponry.

...As the party united down here and looked ahead-

 _Fwoom!_ From behind the divider of ruins, a pink mortar payload rose into the air, causing Tewi to scramble up towards the ruins.

Following her lead, Sendai and Marcus moved behind her, while Rinnosuke moved along the side of the clearing, stepping around the remains of some decorative bridges and a now ill-defined pond-

 _Fvish-fwaa~m!_ On impact, the shell-shaped payload exploded into a large, stationary red orb, a visible yellow and white electrical charge going wild on the exterior of it as it pulsed.

Up along the ruins of the tower, Sendai peered around, ofuda ready… ' _Actually, she'll have that shield up. Perhaps I should simply pull that flintlock instead…_ '

…

Once the sounds of rubble finally quieted down- the tower's disaster dominoes coming to an end- the party looked around restlessly.

Sendai sighed. "Where's she?"

"Pro'lly about to fuck us up." Tewi was clung against the wall they'd huddled up against. "That mortar was probably jus' ta gauge our positions…"

 _Fwoa~m!_ Marcus erected a magical shield before their small wall they'd huddled behind. "There. Now there shouldn't be no way in…!"

' _Did Kourin really just run off? Although, considering everyone knows him as a non-threat, he'll probably be fine standing at the side… more importantly-_ '

 _Spla~sh!_

Landing loudly in the mud ahead of them, Reisen pivoted to face them.

Her dress coat was now off, leaving her in her mud-spackled undershirt. Along her back was a large, metal gun that seemed fit for shoulder mounting, and she held rifles in both arms.

Casting aside one of the rifles, she slid the remaining one into the seam of her skirt, staring ahead at the party neutrally.

"If only she was a lil close~r…" Jaded, Tewi hugged herself against the back wall. "Kirisame-guy, what's that shield supposed to stop? Magic…?"

"Well- yeah." He gives her a blunt stare. "S'this thing look ready to stop bears ta you?"

"Like I know shit about barriers." Grinning, Tewi dug into her pockets. "Well, we should be fine until she wisens up in about _two seconds_ …"

' _All we have to do is watch out for that scummy electric knife and we'll be in the clear._ ' Sendai cracked her knuckles. ' _She's shown herself to us, so it's not like she's going to just run away without making some kind of a move. Not now._ '

…

"I'd like to know…" Aiming the rifle up at the barrier, Reisen glared at the party. "Why have you come here? Who sent you?"

"The moon people." Sendai jested.

Breaking into a grin, Tewi still flinched at that. "Pfft- freakin'- you _ragheaded_ …"

...Resisting the urge to close her eyes, Reisen panned her gaze towards the ground.

…

Slipping a small, retro cellphone from her pocket, Reisen flipped it open and held it to her ear. ' _Why's she got human ears_ and _rabbit ears?_ '

"...Threat level five. I'll handle this one from here." Reisen's voice was projected from the surrounding intercoms, as well. "I'll call on the private channel if I need any support."

Click. She flipped the phone shut.

Sendai held her flintlock up. ' _...If I fire, won't Marcus's barrier catch it? Not like she knows that._ '

"I can't let you four leave." Reisen announced. "If you'd all come peacefully, that would be… good."

The shrine maiden kept her flintlock held up.

...Tewi cupped a hand and held it to her mouth, calling out from their place in the courtyard. "Fuck yo~u!" ' _That works too._ '

…

Sendai saw Rinnosuke walking up behind Reisen, his own pistol held up. ' _Is- is he…_ '

...After a moment, he reached her, holding his gun to the side of her head.

"I'll have to ask you to stand down." Rinnosuke spoke normally, instead of trying to ham it up. "I know these people. I can give you a discount at my store if you let them go… or something like that."

…

"If you don't… I probably won't shoot your head, because that might kill you, but I will… shoot you. Somewhere." He reinforced his point. "It's a pretty powerful pistol, too. It'd probably break your shield."

"It would." Reisen nodded.

Rinnosuke blinked. "It… would?"

"Uh huh." She didn't bother turning to him. "I recognize that model. The ammo capacity makes it very useless, but it has respectable close range and pseudo-sniper capabilities. It's a tiny hand cannon, in a way…"

...At that, the shopkeeper took a moment, before responding. "I'm sorry I have to do this to you."

"I'm sorry, too." Reisen apologized.

...Sensing this as a threat, Rinnosuke spoke again. "Reisen, I'm warn-"

 _Wham!_ Barely fast enough for Sendai to read, she saw Reisen deliver her knee into Rinnosuke's gut. " _Hoo~h!_ "

 _Splosh_ \- plap- plap! The miko's legs marred the mud in her wake as she roared towards the rabbit girl, plowing through the liquid of the ruined courtyard-

 _Splash!_ Digging her legs into the mud, Reisen threw Rinnosuke over her shoulder, sending him plummeting into the muck behind her-

 _Bwamp!_ A dark shockwave echoed off into the air, after the miko's enhanced leg met the rabbit's shield.

 _Chu chu chu chu chu!_ Turning to the miko in an instant, Reisen unloaded-

"Ffh-…!" Flinching from the sudden burns in her gut, the miko lunged forward and grabbed onto the rabbit's rifle-

 _Chu- chu!_ The two promptly ended up in a tug-o-war over it, before the miko saw the rabbit reach for her skirt again-

" _Hah!_ " Using her entire body as leverage, the miko retrieved the gun and rolled away into the slimy earth-

 _Fwish!_ Reisen swung with her electrical knife again-

 _Ka- ka- ka- ka- fwish!_ From a distance, Marcus assaulted the rabbit with ice magic, a shard of ice generating in her form although not truly, as her shield protected her.

 _Zap!_ Sendai fired her flintlock as she sprung back into standing-

 _Fwoo~sh- zap!_ Reisen's shield fell, prompting Sendai to fire again, although the bolt caused little other than a twitch from the wet rabbit.

...Reaching for her back, Reisen began to lug the big, metal weapon onto her shoulder. The machine naturally aimed straight ahead like this.

 _Zap!_ Sendai fired at her again to keep the pressure on. ' _Not sure if this does-_ '

 _Kapow!_ The boxy, shoulder-mounted metal fired a grey payload-

Sendai darted back, sliding on the mud as she tried-

 _BOO- boom- boom!_ The payload became a cluster bomb, which exploded into three swaths of flames and grey, translucent bullets.

"Aah…" Ignited by these painful, needle-like bullets, Sendai allowed herself to fall over into the mud and begin rolling, discarding the rifle she stole. ' _Another one of these kinds of days…_ '

...Gently, a piece of paper drifted up to Reisen while she was unaware, and stuck to her side, before beginning to glow.

"Now we should be able to see 'er in the dark a bit better…" Marcus resolved.

Tewi gave him a hard grin. "...Y'sure half of us even needed that?"

...He nodded. "Good point."

As Sendai got back up-

 _Kapow!_ Reisen shot another payload. ' _Okay, we can do this all-_ '

 _BOO- ZAP- ZAP!_

" _Aa- aaa…!_ " Sendai let out a strained wail, a thick glob of electrical energy washing over her, charged grey pellets of danmaku from the payload thrusting into her.

 _Plap_. Stunned into stillness, the miko fell on her side, half her face sunk into mud. ' _Shh~...! Nnn~...!_ '

 _Beep- beep!_ Looking over at the mage, Reisen flipped out her phone with her offhand. "Barrier on my twelve."

...Marcus rose his arms. "If that's how you wanna be-"

 _Woo~sh!_ Overhead, a sleek, grey, lunar jet passed over the battlefield, before beginning to orbit it-

 _Fwow- fwow- fwow- fwow_. A dull red barrier began to form before Reisen, comprised of translucent hexagons.

" _Thunder!_ " Marcus cast his arm out-

 _Thwa- Thwa- Thwash!_

...Bolts met the barrier from above, achieving nothing.

Looking up, he saw that the barrier had lines of light that traced back to the slowly orbiting jet. "Ho~ly crap…" It seemed that the jet was projecting the anti-magic barrier.

 _Kapow!_ Aiming her big metal gun behind the barrier, Reisen steeled herself and fired.

A payload of black with red runic carvings flew for the mage's barrier-

 _Fwam- fwoa~h_. On impact, it burst into a small black ball, which bloomed two tails and began spinning.

Slowly, the barrier Marcus had up withered away, dispelled by the dark burst attack. After its job was done, it itself withered out.

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Marcus erected his barrier again. "Dark magic, too…!? Gimme a break here…!"

Reaching into his pockets, he brought out a very worn looking Hakurei seal, and slapped it onto the barrier. "Hey, Tewi. How much you wanna bet this old thing'll hold…?"

Tewi pulled a cream pie from her pockets, and was waiting for a good moment to chuck it. "Wouldn't bet my _ass_ on it…!"

...Soaked in mud, Rinnosuke's gaze was fixed on the miko as he pulled a panacea from his backpack of things, and tossed it into the air.

 _Fvhir- fvhing!_

...Sendai's limbs twitched, before she realized she was the one able to make them twitch again. ' _Oh- oh my- fff…_ '

Raising her jittering body from the mud, the miko channeled darkness into her limbs as she attempted to raise as quietly as possible. ' _Thunder. Thunder magic, I hate thunder magic. I hate a lot of things, and this includes thunder magic…_ '

 _Kapow!_ After Reisen fired at the mage's barrier again, she turned to Sendai-

 _Spla- shwish!_ Kicking one leg into the mud behind herself, Sendai slid forward on one sandal, gliding towards the rabbit.

She aimed her gun at the miko as she neared again-

" _Vol Fulger!_ " The miko arched her limbs back, and nearly tackled the rabbit as she cast her own electric spell-

 _Zap- Zap- Zap- Zap!_ The close-range orb of electricity initializes four times on the rabbit's form, their more than melee-range impact unkind.

" _Nn~h!_ " Reisen grunts in response as she leaps back and out of the item crash, her expression hard as her form jittered with electricity.

This leap left her outside of the shield's radius.

" _Thunder!_ " Marcus followed up swiftly.

 _Thwa- ZAP, ZAP, ZAP!_

" _Aaenh!_ " Reisen threw her limbs back, body wracked by the electricity's effects. Multiple bolts converged on her form three times, once again tearing into her.

...Once her form was revealed by the lightning bolts, she kneeled down, the mud under her jittering with electricity.

...Sendai huffed. ' _She's just one rabbit with some big guns. Kinda stupid of us to let her hype us up like this-_ '

 _Beep- beep!_ Sendai glanced at her after a beeping sound came from her.

 _Woo~sh!_ A tiny jet, different from the one currently orbiting the battle, whirled overhead.

...Sendai stared as a tiny pouch began to flutter down, attached to a parachute-

 _Splosh!_ Reisen rocketed from the mud, moving to meet it-

 _Fwish- fwish- fwish!_ Sendai threw ofuda at the quickly accelerating rabbit-

As none of them met, Reisen met with the slowly drifting care package-

 _Fwoash!_ The pack dissipated, and Reisen's form flickered with regenerative energy.

' _So she can just call in potions._ ' Sendai made a note of this. ' _Good to know._ '

...Now in the air, Reisen called out. "Illusion Wave! Mind Blowing!"

The dull red anti-magic barrier she made earlier flickered out, the jet providing it leaving.

 _Fwi- fwizi~p…!_ Her weapon began to churn and wind, the tip of it crackling with scarlet energy-

FWOMP. In Sendai's direction, she fired two barely visible rings. With the Eye of Truth talisman still equipped, Sendai made out the faint forms of two halos of _individual payloads_ blooming out, looking more like they came from the rabbit's eyes than her gun.

' _There's no way. Probably another illusion._ '

 _Fwap!_ In an instant, the two rings snapped into reality.

From here, they remained not as rings; they were something far greater. They were merely the epicenters of explosions, flourishes of an entire onslaught of bullet shell-shaped danmaku particles, blooming out and washing across the clearing, bathing the world in pink and red light.

Sendai stepped back in the mud, before bringing her arms up. ' _Are- oh, okay…!?_ '

As the great wave of payloads began to near her-

FWOMP. Everything phased out, Reisen firing two more halos into the great surge. ' _...Are they illusions after all, then-_ '

 _Kapow!_ Doing a swift rotation, Reisen fires another antimatter payload at Marcus's shield-

" _Thunder!_ " He counters with another cast of thunder-

 _Thwash- thwash- thwash!_ Reisen vibrates in the air from the spellcast-

 _Fwap!_ -although it wasn't enough to keep her from continuing the spell, the danmaku snapping back into reality again.

' _Wasn't she wet a moment ago- aah…_ ' Anchoring down in place, Sendai withstood the thick danmaku mortars that drifted into her-

 _FWA- fwa- fwa~sh!_ Each one that struck exploded into a pulsing red orb of what seemed as if it was electrical energy, and while it was _energy_ … ' _It- it just makes me feel weird. What_ is _that…?_ '

FWOMP. Reisen submitted two more halos of great destruction forward-

 _fwosh_. The antimatter payload destroyed Marcus's shield again-

"So much for loafing around…" No longer shielded, Tewi darted out and began dodging the danmaku. "Hey, _here!_ " She lobbed her pie-

 _Splat_. ...With the speed of an arrow, it met Reisen's face, obscuring what Sendai only now realized were red, mesmerizing glowing eyes.

The danmaku all flickered out. "Ah- hnh…" Bringing her hands up, Reisen wiped off her eyes-

 _Fwap!_ The spell continued again, the bullets reinitializing where they left off.

Incredulous, Sendai gaped through the pain of the exploding mortars. ' _What the hell's going on…!?_ '

"Faah- thu- thunder!" Getting bombarded himself, Marcus threw an arm up sloppily-

 _ZAP!_ The one bolt that came out shook Reisen to her core. " _Nnh!_ "

The danmaku all dissipated, broken.

...Bringing a shaky hand up, Reisen wiped the electrical pie cream from her face, before giving Tewi a tested glare.

Tewi waved up at her. "Hehehe~. What's good, Reisen?"

...Flipping her phone open, Reisen phoned more backup as she glared down at the earth rabbit. "Net my twelve, you'll know."

 _Woo~sh!_ Nearly instantaneously, a large jet flew by-

 _Clink!_

Tewi rolled to the side through the mud, dodging a black wire net that came down with almost phantom-like presence until it'd landed. "Can't fool _me~_ twice! Y'should know that!"

"More conscious than I'd anticipated…" Reisen scowled down at her, before reaching into her skirt-

 _Clink!_ She pulled the pin off a grenade with her teeth.

"Pfft- aah, grenade…!" Chuckling incredulously, Tewi ran in the opposite direction as the projectile came down behind her-

 _BOOM!_ Sendai flinched at the sudden, violent explosion. ' _One hell of an explosive…_ '

 _Fwish!_ Reisen's eyes flickered.

Sendai's vision was flooded momentarily, before the light faded. ' _Okay…_ '

...Tewi turned around, now wearing sunglasses. "I regret to inform you, that you do not meet security clearance!"

...Slowly, Reisen drifted down from above.

"That will be ten million zillion yen please and thank you." Smugly, the rabbit kept teasing her taller friend.

' _This could be my chance to get closer…_ ' Slowly, Sendai began trudging forward-

"Weak Heart…" Reisen closed her eyes-

She was right before Sendai. "Demotivation."

The miko brought her arms up-

Reisen pressed her face to the shrine maiden's.

 _FWI-FWI-FWISH_

Lunatic red transitioning to blue, Sendai's vision was overloaded with otherworldly light from the lunar rabbit's eyes, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

Just as quickly, Reisen parted from her. "Hey…!" The miko threw her arm out-

' _...Wait._ '

Flexing her hands, she realized something. ' _I can't call my darkness…!_ '

 _Kapow!_ Turning, Sendai brought her arms up defensively-

 _BOO- ZAP ZAP!_

...The electric payload exploded near Tewi, but the rabbit had slid out of the way long before it came down.

"You really think some stupid gun like that'd hit a _rabbit?_ " Tewi teased her some more. "You sure _you're_ not the one losin' it?"

...Pocketing her phone, Reisen brought two fingers up, as if holding a pretend gun-

 _Chu chu chu chu chu!_ She fired plasma bolts from her fingertips, towards the rabbit.

Sliding past them and into the air like a blur, Tewi caught up with Reisen's form in the air.

" _Ancient Duper!_ " Tewi held her arms out.

Two maroon bags flew from her pockets, to her sides.

Eyes widening, Reisen aimed at her-

 _Fvhi~r!_ The two bags exploded into orbs of scarlet light-

 _BWOMP! Bwomp! Bwomp! Bwomp!_ Abruptly, they expanded out to form corridors of light that trapped her and Reisen together.

Throwing her arms out repeatedly, swinging her knife wildly, Tewi sent out spreads of blue orb danmaku to catch Reisen.

Keeping her distance and weaving between them, Reisen aimed her shoulder mounted weapon at the smaller rabbit-

 _Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap!_ Repeatedly, an orb of plasma generated within Tewi's form, pulsing and powering into her. "Nnh…!" Visible lines of electricity were drawn between the plasma orb and the weapon.

Fluttering, twirling, teasing waves of red arrow danmaku snaked along the edges of the laser corridor Tewi's bags had made…

As Reisen kept her distance, she looked to the sides, and bit her lip.

...Suddenly, all the lines swooped in at once, tackling only the distance, where Reisen thought was safest.

 _Bwoo~mp._ "Aah- nnh…!" Reisen's shield fell once again as she was exposed to a sea of raw danmaku-

Tossing up a yin-yang orb as she approached the laser corridor-

"Hup!" Sendai rolled into the hell in a cell through the gap that was briefly made by the orb's interference with the laser.

Reisen was too focused on Tewi at the moment, however. Bringing both arms up, she adjusted some latches on her weapon-

 _Fvhii~m…_ Particles flickered in the air around the gun's cannon, and the weapon became charged with a yellow energy.

Without her dark energy, Sendai contemplated a way to get up-

 _Bwomp- bwomp- bwomp- bwomp!_ Throwing her arms out again, Tewi continued with another fierce wave of knife slashes that left echoes in the air.

Reisen dipped beneath them, adjusting her weapon some more-

 _Whack!_ Sendai got her with a high kick as she came down. ' _Hey._ '

"Nnh!?" Reisen was thrown to the side-

 _Zap!_ She bounced off the left wall, twirling in the air. "Aah…"

...Suddenly, the flurry of red danmaku came again, forcing Sendai to dart ahead to avoid getting clipped. "Aah…"

"Gh- nnh!" Reisen erratically darted about, torn into by the magical projectiles.

 _Fwam!_ Sendai's form flared up with dark energy again. ' _Guess that broke her spell._ '

Running ahead, Sendai prepared to engage her-

Reisen aimed her gun at Tewi-

 _FWOASH!_

A massive, thick yellow laser roared forth for just one instant, before flickering out.

Tewi's laser barrier was no more after it, however.

 _Plap_. Tewi landed on her back in the mud, her lower body submerged in a pond…

Seeing this, Reisen nodded, before looking down at the miko-

-who'd leapt up and grabbed at her legs. " _Hah!_ "

 _Woosh!_ Reisen felt herself plummeting from a downward throw, the miko having tugged on her legs.

Sendai dropped down, kicking down with dark energy to follow up-

 _Pap!_ Loudly, her arm collided with the lunar bunny's shoulder as the bunny had tried to dart away after landing, keeping a grip on her-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai's pulled along as she continues anyway. ' _Ah…!_ '

Meeting Reisen's back once the rabbit stops, Sendai tries to bring her arms around her neck-

 _Woosh!_ Reisen executes a backflip with the miko hanging off of her, but she hangs on anyway. ' _Two can do this…!_ '

Then, they execute an awkward sidehop-

Reisen ducks out of Sendai's grasp and reappears some feet away.

' _It's not even fair when someone adult-sized does it._ ' Sendai sighs. ' _I should wrestle with rabbits more often._ '

Flipping her phone open, Reisen drifts into the air-

"Ho~h!" ...Rinnosuke swung his iron sword wide at her, intent to hit her with the flat, but instead he hit where she was two seconds ago.

Beep beep! She spoke into it again. "Poison Smokescreen! Orb of Gas, Treated Weave!"

' _She's got backup spell cards too._ ' Sendai's eyebrows raised. ' _How's that work?_ '

 _Ka- ka- ka- ka- fwash!_ Once again, an ice shard generates in her form from Marcus's magic, before freezing the air around her. "Gnnh…" The spell as a whole just makes her marginally sadder, though.

 _Vrroo~m!_ Overhead, a large, thick plane hovers by, the bottom shaft opening…

From above, glass canisters of powder dropped-

 _Kshoof- kshoof- kshoof!_ They shattered some feet before the ground, the powder inside blooming into thick, green, vaguely luminescent dust.

' _Oh, fuck that._ ' Sendai bit her lip. ' _Poison gas is pretty high on my 'things I hate' list compared to thunder. This girl's just a bundle of fun, isn't she?_ '

Floating to the side, Reisen drifted into one of the poison clouds, immune to its effects.

...Woosh, woosh! Marcus swung his sword to keep himself from getting afflicted by the poison.

"Ah…" Rinnosuke hobbled through it, but brief contact didn't seem to make him any worse for wear.

Sendai made for Marcus. ' _Let's not spend any more time in this crap than I have to…_ '

As she neared him, she had to run through the thick cloud of fog that generated around him as he swung. ' _Ugh…_ '

 _Zap- zap- zap- zap!_ "Oo~gh…!" Marcus suddenly found swinging much harder as Reisen slowly electrocuted him with her weapon from afar, in the fog.

Seeing the electricity, Sendai begins to move to tank it, only for it to stop, leaving Marcus stumbling. "Aah- kaugh, eeh…"

Huffing, Sendai turned in the direction it came from-

 _Fwoom!_ A ball of fire collided with her, igniting her. ' _Great._ '

Rinnosuke came up to them next-

 _Fwam!_ He fired a flare off into the fog, only for it to get consumed.

...Gradually, the fog dissipated to a mere green tint over the clearing.

"Empty Heart…" Reisen began casting another spell card. "Discarder!" Slipping away her phone, she held her pretend gun fingers forward again-

 _chu- chu_

Almost invisible bullets accented by shockwaves of red energy drifted into the party with great speed. Sendai felt nothing-

"Aa- aah, crap…" Marcus slouched. "She- she shot me…"

Sendai turned to him. "What!? Where?" Lunging forward, she began to check his form-

"I- in my _mana_ …" Clutching his stomach, he stumbled back. "Shi- shit…"

' _...What?_ ' Sendai blinked, the adrenaline rush that came to her preventing her from processing that statement.

"Illusion Bomb!" Floating up to them, Reisen held her gun ready. "Mind Starmine!"

Running out into the green poison, Sendai prepared to engage her. ' _Come closer, you piece 'a-_ '

As she got within range, Reisen held both arms out, her gun holding itself up unnaturally-

 _FVHIR- FVHIR- FVHIR-_

Shockwaves of red expanded in the air around everyone, before filling in with deep crimsons and reds, huge orbs drifting-

 _Za- za- za- zap!_ Energy pulsed between all of them as they grew, shrank, replicated and filled the air around everyone.

" _Aaa~h!_ " Rinnosuke was not well known for his magical resistance.

Running towards her, Sendai leapt up, body vibrating and numbing from the curious energy. "Khh-"

 _Bam!_ -and punched Reisen right in the jaw.

"Gkh!" Reisen doubled back, shutting her eyes. The bubbly orbs all dissipated…

...Finding herself, Reisen pulled out her phone, and flipped it open.

"Drop a VH-T-R, _now!_ " She called for more backup.

Maximizing a yin-yang orb, Sendai ran forward. ' _That's enough!_ '

 _Bam!_ She kicked it forward-

 _Boom!_ It met Reisen's stomach, sending her flying back. " _Ooh…!_ "

... _Plap_. After a moment, it fell from her and into the mud.

 _Vhii~r…_

The airy sound of a hover jet came from above. Looking up, the party saw a craft with rectangular thrusters lower down over the clearing, moving towards the ground…

...Once it got really close, Sendai ran towards it and tried to hit it to spite it-

 _Bwomp_. A powerful energy shield threw her back entirely, her punch meaningless. ' _Hey…_ '

Cli- click- _thoom_.

A vehicle was deposited from the landing craft, which rose up and began to take off immediately after.

...Rising up above the vehicle, Reisen held a vial into the air. "Life Elixir! Peerless Patriot's Elixir!"

...With that, she tossed her head back and began drinking it.

"Mmh…" Tossing aside the bottle of an ether spared by Rinnosuke, Marcus articulated his hands. "I'm ready again! What'd I miss?"

Rising from the mud, Rinnosuke shambled forward. "I- I… nngh…"

...Sendai exhaled, her breathing becoming heavier. "Ah…" ' _That poison…_ '

 _Fwi- fwish!_ She flung ofuda forward at the rabbit-

 _Ti- ti~ng!_ A green barrier around her prevented her elixir drinking from being broken.

"Oh, yeah." Marcus nodded at the vehicle that was deposited. "Tha~t looks like a tank!"

"A tank?" Sendai blinked. "...Oh. _Oh._ "

' _I hadn't thought about outside craft for awhile, but… that certainly looks like a tank, just a lot more glowy._ '

...Reisen cast her bottle aside, now glowing with green energy as she proceeded towards the craft-

Sendai climbed onto it, moving to get in her way. "No~. Not happening…!"

Dryly, Reisen aimed her gun at the miko-

 _Fwap- fwap- fwap!_ This time, the ofuda met the rabbit's form.

 _Zap!_ The initialized, causing Reisen to cringe. "Ah…!?"

Drawing three more, Sendai tossed them-

Discarding her cannon, Reisen flipped open her phone. "Tha- that poison should do you in any minute now. Ple- please, just…"

Sendai drew a potion from her pockets, uncorked it, and tossed it up. " _Evolution!_ "

 _Di- di- di~ng!_ Her, Rinnosuke and Marcus were all healed up by the restorative splashes of the potion's liquid.

"What…" Reisen's eyes were wide. "Why?"

Saying nothing in return, Sendai cracked her knuckles, staying firmly atop the tank.

...Unsurely, Reisen brought up her phone. "...Hey. I need a cleaner. Yes, I know I'm still in the area. Yes. I'm sure, yes. Just- just do it. Um… ma- make it the fire type. Just fire- um, the other stuff's too heavy, and Princess liked this courtyard, so… thank you."

Flipping the phone shut, she put it away. Bringing her arms up, she brandished her knife and stared up at the miko with wide eyes.

"What's a cleaner?" Sendai asked of her.

"You don't need to worry about it." Reisen smiled at her. "Let's fight!"

In the next moment, Reisen was before her, thrusting her arm forward predictably-

 _Ba- bam!_ Brushing past it, Sendai pumped both fists into her face.

"Gngh!" Reisen was sent twirling. "Nnh…"

Next, she appeared near the miko's party, but didn't necessarily pay them any mind-

 _Honk!_ Marcus blew a bike horn into her ear. "Hi, how ya doin'."

"Eeh…!" She flinched slightly from it, but didn't take her eyes off the miko.

 _Fvhi~r…_

Overhead again, the low hum of a craft was heard. This one was marginally smaller, slowly homing in on the ground below…

...After a moment of glancing up at it, Sendai realized it wasn't a craft, but a large shell.

...Suddenly, Reisen began sprinting across the clearing. Hopping off the tank, Sendai jogged after her…

Eventually, she realized the rabbit had run up to Tewi, before looking around frantically. ' _What's her plan with her…?_ '

Kneeling down, Reisen began to pick her up-

"Aah- woah…" Tewi lifted her head. "S'the fight over al- oh." She looked into Reisen's face. "Shit. Did you win? I'm gonna replace your cereal with nails if you won."

...Eyebrow twitching, Reisen jerks her head to the side. "Tewi, leave. I- I called in a cleaner."

Tewi's eyes went wide. "You did _whahah!?_ Since when!?"

"Since seconds- we don't have time, go!" Reisen ordered her.

"Are you _stupid!?_ " Tewi began battering the lunar rabbit's head with her hands. "Who needs a _nuke_ for _three people!?_ "

Reisen jerked her head back, before blinking. "...We- well, there was that time with-"

"Mokou doesn't count." Tewi counters.

Reisen's brow twitches. "And-"

"Marisa doesn't either." Tewi retorts.

Expression low, Reisen tries again. "But-"

"Misfires don't either!" Tewi grinned at her. "Pretty sure Mokou launched that one, too…!"

...Looking up at the incoming fire nuke, Reisen shakes her head. "Just go- it's coming!"

...Sendai walked towards her party. "So…"

Marcus crouched under a tiny barrier that covered all around him, pulling out random objects and papers and sticking them to the inside, including non-helpful things like that arrow he stole, multiple marbles, and a copy of the Bible. "I'm hiding."

...Awkwardly, Rinnosuke crouched to get inside of the barrier with them.

Sendai blinked. ' _Not a lot of room left. Actually..._ '

She took out her elixir, looking at it, then looking at the nuke…

"Ooh- I, won't be as strong, but I'll expand the barrier here…" Marcus held his arms up-

"No, no." Sendai held her hand up. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't." Reisen's voice was heard behind her.

Turning-

Sendai jerked her arm back, Reisen's dagger making for her elixir. ' _This bitch…!_ '

Reisen met her with a wide-eyed, glowing but dour expression. "If I'm going to fail at my job…"

 _Woosh!_ Sendai slid back, away from the rabbit-

 _Fwish!_ She swung at her with the elixir to fake her out, before punching her in the gut with her other arm when she lunged for it. "Nnh!"

Twirling the electric dagger in her hands, Reisen made a small smile. "Every second I'm here, we've saved another life."

' _I didn't even kill anyone on the way in._ ' Sendai critiqued. ' _I think. These rabbits are hearty anyway..._ '

 _Fwish!_ The dagger flew-

 _Shink!_ Sendai shielded the elixir with her hand, the blade piercing her palm-

 _Za- zap!_ Electricity began to surge into her. "Fff…!"

Confident, Reisen lunged forward-

 _Za- za- zap!_ Sendai thrust the electric dagger's hilt into the rabbit's stomach, shocking her too. "Ee- eenh-"

With this moment, Sendai brought her arm up, grabbing her throat. "Nngh…!"

Electricity running through her body, the miko brought the elixir arm up, and cast.

" _Once More!_ " She cast it into the air-

 _Fwi- fwoo~sh…_

White, nearly invisible liquid splashed into her form, before a halo formed above her head, glowing with faint luminescence.

' _Now whatever happens happens…_ ' With her free arm, Sendai removes the electric dagger from her palm, casting it aside. "Nngh…"

Bringing her dark-accented free arm forward, she-

Thud. Reisen's pushed to the ground as she claws and scrapes at the miko's wrist and forearm, digging into it and rending the flesh relatively easily.

 _Fwoo~sh!_ The thick shell slowly lowered into the clearing…

Looking around, Sendai saw the party secure within the tight, tiny barrier, and she saw Tewi was now hiding under some form of big shell…

Pushing Reisen deeper into the mud- and giving her some stomach punches to make her stop tormenting her arm as much- the miko pressed herself down onto her to keep her shielded.

 _Kroom_. The warhead touched down, embedding itself in a portion of ruin nearby.

…

' _This should be secu-_ '

 _ **KROO-**_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

' _burning_ '

All she saw was white.

At first there was heat, but now everything was comparatively colder.

' _stop_ '

Her only urge was to keep her limbs still. Any other response was fair game, not that she knew what was going on outside her own head.

' _hot_ '

Indescribable throbbing, flowing, something passing through her. It was a unique experience in a way, but probably not something someone wants to remember.

…

 _Di- di~ng!_

There's echoes of a comparatively different chime, different from the rush of the flames, of the heat or of the searing, blistering pop and crackle and snapping of the mud as it's not even thawed, but vaporized.

 _Di- di~ng! Di- di~ng!_

For a moment, there's nothing. The calm between sinking deeper, and rising back up.

...Then came the pain.

' _no no no_ '

At first it came almost innocently, masked as a new untold sensation, until the body's pain receptors were fully online and it remembered, for some moments as it regenerated, what it was like to be incinerated alive nearly instantaneously and left to slowly broil.

' _hot stop Aaa~h!_ '

Moving her limbs, Sendai wished she hadn't moved her limbs. "Kkh- nnh- ngh- ghk-"

"Stop!" Reisen was above her, black beyond her. "Do- don't move, okay? You're gonna be alright…!"

' _Sure don't- fuck ouch ouch ouch…! Wha- why!?_ '

Now it was more of a tender pain that came in blurry spikes rather than eerie, almost mistakable pounds. Sendai wished she were dead, though.

"Here…" Drawing a cyan serum from an unknown hand, Reisen tilted it into the miko's mouth. "Swallow, okay?"

Sendai tried- " _Kkh!_ Nnh- hnnh- hnh…" -and regretted it. ' _How- stop- fuck fuck fuck_ '

...And, relief.

"...I've, um, made your pain receptors stop regenerating." Reisen explains. "You might wanna take a potion later, when uhm… the rest of your skin grows back. It- it was growing them out of order, and- eeh… it- it's kinda…"

' _What the fuck did I_ do…' Sendai tried to move her arm to brush her face, but couldn't feel it. ' _What…_ ' Looking over, she saw it, though. ' _Okay, good. Could be worse, I guess..._ '

"You'll be able to feel things soon, too." Reisen explained. "The medicine also disables that, but that's just temporary…"

…

After a few minutes, Rinnosuke loomed over from above. "Is she…?"

Reisen looked up at him. "Oh, she'll be fine in thirty minutes. Just gotta make sure stuff grows the way it _should_ , 'cause, uhm… potions aren't quite supposed to be for replacing the entire integumentary system. You can do it, but..." She smiled at him. "Only under medical supervision!"

' _Integu- what. What did I do._ ' Sendai tried to smile, but couldn't feel her face. ' _Ah, shit._ '

...Looking around, Reisen saw some other lunar rabbits in casual clothing, moving bloody rags, carrying entire cases of what looked like potions, and others accessing holographic windows…

' _Who are you people?_ ' Sendai didn't recognize the other friendly rabbits. ' _Whatever…_ '

…

"Udonge~in…" A different voice was heard coming into the clearing.

"Ah…" Reisen sheepishly turned her head. "Good... evening, Master…!" She gave the woman a salute from where she was. "...How are you?"

"...I know protecting the princess is a sworn duty and honor…" The woman spoke dully. "However, application of _heavy cleaners_ on a threat level five non-lethal operation might be taking the job just an _ounce_ too seriously."

...Reisen turned her head. "We- well… they- they were using non-danmaku measures, and they displayed… great capability in corridor combat, so-"

"You should've called for a _danmaku_ cleaner." The woman chastised. "Reimu forced us to produce them for a reason, you do realize? Especially after that last episode with the yukkuri and Mokou, and..."

"We- we have fire danmaku cleaners, don't we?" Reisen furrowed her brows. "I- I thought it would've been implicit when I ordered-"

"Never underestimate the stupidity of your subordinates." The woman advised. "...Also, you weren't particularly _acting_ as if that was a non-lethal cleaner incoming."

"Wah- well…" Reisen looked away. "Ho- how am I _supposed_ to act? Heavy play ordinance and heavy ordinance are still, well, heavy…"

 _Di- di~ng!_ One of the cyan-haired rabbits randomly tossed a potion on Sendai. ' _Oh, okay._ '

...After a moment, she realized she could feel her limbs again. ' _Oh, hey!_ '

Sitting up, she looked over at the new woman…

She was a woman with a long, blue and red dress that curiously alternated down her middle. She had a blue and red doctor's hat, and long, braided silver hair.

"Ah…" She looked down at Sendai dryly. "And I suppose this is the immense threat you needed cleaned so badly? As you put it, a~... 'doppelganger'. Well known for their army stomping prowess."

"You can never know." Reisen argued. "In Gensokyo, so-"

"Ye~s, ye~s." The woman stepped up to the miko. "Let me be the judge of that…"

Drawing a scalpel, the woman kneeled-

 _Zip!_ In a moment, she slit Sendai's arm, taking a small blood sample onto her blade. ' _...Oh, ow. I didn't even feel that._ '

...Holding it close to her face, she nodded. "...Udongein. I'd appreciate an explanation as to why you blew up several inches of Eientei and wasted an evening or two's of defense resources to kill an actual Hakurei miko."

…

Reisen blinked. "Wh-..."

" _Hah!_ " Tewi ran up out of nowhere. "In your _face!_ Guess who was right? _Me!_ I was! Hahaha~!"

Turning to her, Reisen looks incredulous. "Wh- whah…!?"

"...Who're you?" Sendai stared up at the doctor.

...Looking over at her blankly, the doctor answered. "Eirin Yagokoro. You must be the mother of Reimu Hakurei."

' _Woah, okay. Better than having to introduce myself for the hundredth time..._ '

"Miss Yagokoro…" Marcus spoke up from somewhere behind Sendai. "We came here 'cause we had some questions to ask ya-"

"Later." Eirin dismissed him. "I was in the middle of some documentation when Udongein decided it would be a good idea to reduce a courtyard to molten glass."

...Nodding, she kneels down. "Speaking of…"

Chi- chink- crack. She lifts a muddy-looking, ceramic shard from the ground. "Two-thirds of this courtyard are now ceramic glass. The halls adjacent to this courtyard were incinerated, but the damage spread no further, as it turns out the sprinkler systems are functional despite neglect. A few rabbits stationed in those halls were treated for only minor burns thanks to energy shielding."

...She looked up at the sniper tower, or where it used to be. "Oh, and the control tower doesn't exist anymore. But, that will be on _you_ ," she turned to Reisen, "since I know how much you love to store your toys there, and you break it every other time you lure someone to this yard. Just, try to avoid _completely_ toppling it. I know you're good about making it fall into the courtyard, but if it doesn't, well, you'd have about ten times the cleanup, and that'd probably make for a horrible battleground."

"...So- sorry." Reisen bowed to her.

Eirin waved it off. "Oh, don't be sorry. The expenses will be on you, anyway."

"...Right." Reisen breathed out.

Springing onto her legs a little awkwardly, Sendai looked at the doctor. "Yagokoro-"

"Call me Eirin." Eirin waved off the formality.

"...Eirin." Sendai tapped her sandals on the glass beneath her, hearing it clink. "We'd appreciate if you were able to answer-"

"Tomorrow morning, how's that sound?" Eirin began walking away. "...Not that that's a long time, now. Find a way to entertain yourselves until then."

...Sendai blinked at her as she left.

…

Looking to her right, glancing at her party members, the miko saw Reisen begin to stand up as well.

"Well… do you feel alright now?" Reisen initiated conversation with the miko, lifting up a small case full of vials, as the other medical rabbits began to scramble for their things…

"Yeah." Sendai felt normal, despite the lingering memories of immense pain. "...Well, actually- there's one thing…"

Reisen blinked, focusing on her again. "Oh? What's-"

 _Wham!_ Sliding forward on the ceramic, Sendai slammed her arm into the rabbit's stomach.

"Gf- huaa~h…!" Wincing, Reisen stumbled back a step, bringing her arms up to clutch it. "Wh- why…?"

"My hand hurt." Sendai explained completely.

' _Don't whine. Compared to getting nuked and grilled alive, I'm sure that's nothing. You took the punch surprisingly well, too, considering I intended to knock you over..._ '

Trotting up from the ceramic ruins around the medical scene, Tewi nodded. "Yeah, you deserved that. Who authorized you to throw nukes around again…?"

"I- I get it…" As she recovered, Reisen paused and turned back to see how the other medical rabbits were packing up. "Sorry…"

"'Sorry' doesn't really mean anything." Unwilling to back down, Sendai pressed.

...Expression hardening, Reisen focused on her again. "We- what do you want me to do? And, thank you for protecting me back there, I guess."

"...Replacing those items we used on you would be nice." Sendai bargained, idly shifting her posture, before glancing down at her own breasts as they bounced. ' _And my clothes._ '

"Sure." Reisen handwaved the notion. "I can give you three elixirs and a combination sixpack of Hi-Ethers and Hi-Potions. It's the usual starter pack… _thing_ we offer but never tell people about."

' _Why. Whatever, that sounds like a steal. But..._ '

"What's the catch?" Stepping up to her, the miko propped an arm onto her own hip.

"Well, legally, it's compensation, so there's no catch." Reisen waved her off as well. "You're also Reimu's mother apparently, so… it's probably not like we could keep our stores from you if we tried. Just, don't come to actually steal anything, or we're going to have to shoot you again."

...At that, the miko grinned at her. "Yeah? Not like you can stop me."

"With danmaku, anyway." Becoming focused, Reisen contested this. "If we wanted you dead, you'd already be dead."

"Bullshit." Stepping up to the rabbit, Sendai got in her face. "Like she said, you seemed pretty serious in that last-"

 _Click_. Almost faster than the miko could see, Reisen had a bland, silver and black pistol out-

 _Ba- bam!_

 _Woosh!_ The miko threw her arms forward, but Reisen'd already slid back, the barrel of her gun smoking.

...Looking down, Sendai saw small incisions on her legs. ' _As if that's anything._ '

A half-smirk hung on Reisen's face from the miko's reaction. "A little to the side, and I would've hit your kneecaps. You would've been unable to walk until you took a potion and waited."

"But you didn't." Sendai contested, donning the half-smirk as well. "...I don't know much about guns, but if I moved fast enough, I doubt you could hit my kneecaps."

"Wanna _bet_ on that?" Expression becoming neutral, Reisen twirled her pistol around her finger, staring directly into the miko's eyes.

"Hey, um…!" Stepping up between them, Rinnosuke held his arms out. "That's… enough for today."

"Today just started." Reisen argued, glancing up at the black sky. "Unless your shrine maiden doesn't feel up to stupid dares like that. She must be a gentle person."

' _Is she trying to piss me off…?_ ' Slowly, Sendai gained a hard grin from the rabbit's prodding.

Sighing, Rinnosuke shook his head. "Honestly, Reisen, I expected more civilized-"

"I don't think someone who pointed a gun to me has a right to argue." Reisen gave him a smile, cognitively keeping her gun pointed at the ground as she moved past him to point it at Sendai again. "You wanna bet anything, or just your kneecaps?"

"I'm broke, so…" Looking down, Sendai realized she was now pretty much nude barring the scorched remnants of her pockets. Only then did she notice Rinnosuke was making a conscious effort to not look at her. "Let's bet your clothes."

"They won't fit…" Reisen remarked dryly. "You know what- I'll find you something later. Ready…?"

Sendai took a deep breath. "Lemme get up a run first…!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and assault it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

(3x) Potion - Low tier restoration items. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

(2x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(2x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

eientei mook armada fight, reisen fight - w -

this TOOK AWHILE but somehow i dusted it in like three days (not counting today where i'm just kinda dead)

again, elucidated on marcus and rinnosuke's skillsets for transparency and so it's actually documented somewhere (for my sake and yours!)

this was a fun chapter - w - not sure if it dragged on too long or not but y'know yo

 _lots of action_ , and not all of it is one hundred percent important because y'know how can it be sometimes but that's the nitty gritty of fighting freakin' moon warriors with energy shields and rifles yo

then reisen rolled around and was like "I CAN ONE UP THAT" and just annihilated a courtyard with a _mini-nuke_ (s'only the vaporizing kind yo don't worry)

i kinda planned for the reisen fight to go on a bit longer but then i was like "YOU KNOW, THIS WENT ON FOR AWHILE…" so i decided to just have her go all limit break and call in a nuke

i also half-planned for her to drop the tank on sendai and attack it until it exploded prior to dropping the nuke but i just kinda either forgot or decided not to

 _i wrote the whole reisen fight in one setting so_

...i should probably drop a hint in the previous AN about using ctrl + f to scour linebreaks for the unknowing, for the sake of this chapter XD

not the utmost intense mook combat sequence but i'm sure between some of the interactive variance, the characters present and the glance at lunar tech that it was pretty interesting

reisen had some fun spellcards though; i thought i was just gonna have to make up a cheesy poison gas attack, but she _actually_ had a spell card for that…!

if reisen was this bad yo i can't wait to see how eirin'll treat everyone…!

as always, see you all next time!


	18. 4-3 - Eternity's Enclosure

Walking out of a room, the miko who came before glanced down at her lunar business suit. "...This actually fits tightly, even if it's sort of unwieldy." She was out of her shrine maiden attire almost entirely, except she had her Hakurei arm sleeves on _over_ the suit's sleeves.

The four were outside a room in one of Eientei's many myriad hallways. This hall in particular was drearily lit, the bleak white fluorescents struggling above.

Reisen looked the miko up and down, before giving her a thumbs up and a wink. "Looks good on you."

' _Okay._ ' Idly brushing her right knee, the miko glanced around the dour brick hallway of Eientei's backmost halls. ' _Still can't believe I lost that bet. Getting your kneecaps shot off really does suck._ '

...Looking down at her own scuffed up undershirt, Reisen began to move down the hall. "I made sure your make doesn't carry any energy shields, or cloaking, or other gadgets that might get in the way if used improperly."

' _Probably also because I'm not supposed to have shields._ ' Sendai analyzed her intent.

...Nearby, Marcus and Rinnosuke were toying with a laser rifle they'd been allowed to hold-

 _Chu!_ It discharged a bolt at the wall nearby-

 _Bwam_. Reisen moved into it and let her shield eat it. "The paint on these walls doesn't really take kindly to danmaku, you know…"

"Sorry…" Rinnosuke held the rifle down towards the floor. "Still trying to figure out the intricacies of this device…"

The party began to move to follow the rabbit girl, with no real goal in mind for the conversation's duration.

...Nodding as she kept moving, Reisen glanced back at them. "I might let you keep a gun and lock it on danmaku for when you guys leave, or something. It's the least I could do for what I did earlier."

"Thank you." Rinnosuke gave her a smile and a nod. "...Oh, and, where do you store potions? I'm sure we could use some…"

' _Oh, he's right._ ' Sendai blinked. ' _I nearly forgot after she blew my kneecaps off._ '

"Ah, right." Pausing, Reisen turned around, moving past the party and going the other way. "Follow me, it's this way."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - Eternity's Enclosure

' _You're… kidding me._ '

This room was lined wall to wall with shelves, all decked out with elixirs, potions of various tiers, panaceas, status and elemental resistance potions, stamina potions…

' _This place… has it all. Holy crap._ '

"I like how ya just have a few billion yen worth 'a crap in a back room." Marcus nodded at the inventory. "Unless elixirs _ain't_ worth three hundred thousand yen."

...Reisen huffs, turning to him. "Hey, yell at Master, not me. I just follow orders. I know it's a huge rip off, but until the village gets smarter about this sort of thing, and… I guess when Master _feels like it_ , we'll lower the prices."

"I would if I could, lemme tell ya!" Shaking his hands in the air for effect, Marcus grinned at the rabbit. "Do ya have a PR department down here!?"

"Yes and no." Reisen looked over the potion inventory… "We _have_ one, but complaints that go against our decisions are pretty much ignored."

' _Sounds great._ ' Dryly, the miko panned her gaze around at the potions more…

...After a moment, Reisen takes a small tool box-esque container from the corner of the room, and begins to collect a specific quantity of potions to line it.

' _No free pick, even? This place is greedy._ '

...Once she was done, Reisen held up the boxy container to the party. "Three elixirs, three Hi-Potions, three Hi-Ethers, no charge. This is the free starter pack we typically… 'offer' first time customers."

"I guess this makes up for nuking me…" Sendai leered at the elixirs as she accepted the container. "I can't hold all of these, so…"

Turning to Kourin, she held out the container. "I'll keep a few of these potions and one elixir. You take all this other crap."

Snorting, he began taking the things he was allocated. "Alright."

' _This should have some nice pockets on it, at least…_ ' Sendai began sliding her potions into her pockets one at a time- ' _Ah. This one's got something in it…_ ' There was something in her breast pocket-

Reisen reached in and pulled out a black pistol. "Eheh, sorry. Forgot she always carried one of those."

' _...Considering how powerful they are, I wouldn't mind carrying around one._ ' The miko stared at the confiscated pistol…

"If you find any more, just uh, throw 'em away or something." Reisen requested of her. "You're not exactly licensed to use lethal firearms."

' _Lethal? Well, it's not danmaku I guess, but..._ '

"You know…" Looking over at the rabbit, Rinnosuke asked a question. "I remember you being more reserved."

Smiling, Reisen gave a quick reply. "Well, after what just happened, and this being my workplace and all, I don't _really_ have as much to be worried about. I also get kinda pissed when I'm underestimated, which probably isn't healthy, but..."

She kept moving to lead the party. "It helps me keep my co-workers in shape!"

"Is… that so." Rinnosuke accepted this answer…

"Do you blow their kneecaps off, too?" Sendai quipped at the rabbit stoically as she followed her…

"Yes." Reisen admits outright. "...Well, not all the time, but sometimes."

…

In the following silence, Reisen clarifies herself further. "As- as discipline, and for training!"

...After a moment of following the rabbit idly, the party were lead to a modern looking lounge room in the back of the clinic.

' _...Dark in here._ ' It wasn't clean, but it was modern.

A single, dim lightbulb hung from the cracked ceiling, the flaking bricks around the room a faint, dull grey.

Some underclad rabbit girls were splayed out on the sofa ahead, staring at a very quiet, barely watchable tube television set.

One rabbit girl with long green hair idly gave the device a mindless stare, not bothering to look over at the newcomers. "He~y."

"Hey, Iseri." Reisen gives her an idle greeting.

"Oh, you're back…" Iseri panned her head, looking in her direction with tired eyes- "Oh shit, them too!?"

"Yeah, don't ask." Dryly, Reisen stepped across the room, heading for the mini-fridge. "They won't hurt you unless you do something stupid."

...Thrusting up off of the couch, Iseri looked the party over. "So~…"

The other, blue-haired rabbit climbed up to occupy the whole couch herself…

"This is a little lower quality than I anticipated a lounge ta' be…" Marcus looked around at the dim, decrepit room.

"This is one of our exterior battlefront wings." Taking a canned beer from the mini fridge, Reisen closed it… "So everything's really low security and maintenance."

Stepping up to the party, Iseri looked them over more. "You sure gave those defense teams hell. You're lucky ya didn't stroll around _these_ parts, though…"

Sendai gained a small smirk at this. "...Weren't you just told not to do anything stupid?"

"I'm just saying…" Bringing her arms behind her head, Iseri strolled back towards the couch. "There's a _reason_ we're exterior battle wing whatever guards."

...Looking down at the couch, she threw her arms down. "Damn it, Kugi~! Get your _fat ass_ off my side!"

"Noo~..." The short-haired blunette raised one of the couch cushions to shield herself, sinking into the upholstery as she did so. "I slee~p…"

...Reisen smiled at them as she moved back towards the party. "This is why they're stationed out here…"

"...How long do you think it'll be until we can see Eirin?" Rinnosuke inquired, stealing glances at the t-shirt and shorts clad rabbits as they tussled over the couch…

Reisen glances up and right for a moment. "It's two forty seven right now. The sun'll come up in four or five hours. She should be ready by then."

' _...We've got potions, and we're healed up…_ ' Sendai considered their combat-readiness.

...Reisen cracked open her beer, and began drinking as she turned to observe the tussling rabbits.

After blinking a few times, the miko realized how worn her stamina was, her eyes vaguely heavy. ' _...I guess even being half-nocturnal doesn't help if your body had to heal up a nuke. Still, I think I can go a few more hours, just in case that doctor uses us going to sleep as an excuse to occupy herself again…_ '

"Hnn~h…!" Iseri had her arms wrapped under Kugi's, pulling her back and off the couch, the cushions cast to the side. "C'mere…!"

 _Bam! Crack!_ "I- I wanna sleep…!" Kugi brought her left, barefooted heel back, embedding it in the front frame of the couch, bending the metal.

The couch slowly slid forward as the green-haired bunny pulled her cohort along…

" _Kugimiya_ , I'm gonna throw out that damn toy of yours if you don't…!" Iseri stomped on the ground, trying to pull her cohort further-

 _Bam!_ The sleepy rabbit stomped down on her foot. " _Eyaa~h!_ "

 _Wham!_ Sendai blinked. Iseri flew limply to the side, Kugimiya's leg where she was, the rabbit now turned around and standing upright.

Thud. Iseri rolled off the side counter, landing on the floor again. "Aah- Kugi- fuck…!"

"Don't… say things like that!" Arms shaking, the blunette ran up to her cohort-

 _Thunk!_ -and punted her.

"Shit- woahoahoah!" Iseri held her arms out-

As Kugimiya tried to punt again, Iseri grabbed onto the leg-

Thu- thud. The rabbits ended up on a pile atop one another. "Ooh…" Kugimiya went limp, sinking into the other rabbit. "Good night…"

"You… idiot!" Iseri battered her arms against the rabbit's back.

…

Crushing her empty beer can, Reisen tossed it at a nearby, cracked plastic garbage bin-

Tink- tink. It bounced off the rim, flipping multiple times before landing inside.

"I could take you guys to a shooting range, or something." Reisen proposed. "...Or you could help me with some paperwork."

"You don't want these people helping you with paperwork." Rinnosuke immediately denied the latter.

"...True." Reisen grinned. "I don't know, I'm just throwing out ideas."

 _Cra~ck._ A chunk of bricks fell from the ceiling, landing next to Reisen.

Tewi descended from above, landing atop the chunk perfectly. "Hehe~y! I got an idea!"

"No, you don't." Reisen turned to her-

 _Fwish!_ The lunar rabbit's eyes flashed.

...Tewi adjusted her cartoonishly large sunglasses. "Hi, Reese."

"No." Grinning, Reisen swatted her arm out towards the rabbit. "Look- can you not?"

"You nuked a courtyard. I'm not listening to you for the next twenty four hours." Smirking, Tewi countered. "'Sides, who the hell wants to go shoot _guns?_ "

"You?" Reisen brought up dryly.

"I don't count." Looking around, Tewi glanced at the now complacent rabbits, who were lying on one another in the corner of the room. "Pfft…"

"I'm not… the biggest fan of firearms, even if their design is intriguing." Rinnosuke declined the offer. "If we could have a dismantling session, however…"

"I don't really care about guns." Sendai was bored of the idea.

Reisen stared at Rinnosuke dryly. "You wouldn't understand a single thing. Not even of lunar firearms, but outside-modern ones as well."

"Really…? Now I'm intrigued…" Rubbing his chin, Rinnosuke-

"I draw the line at flintlocks!" Marcus objected to the idea. "Guns're fun and all, but… y'know, why make a _gun_ shoot… when _you_ can shoot?"

...Looking down at her fingers, Reisen tilted her head. "Well, we don't necessarily want to always rely on our abilities…"

Then, she shook her head. "Well- hrrm…"

"I got an idea…!" Tewi pumped herself up again.

" _No_." Reisen pivoted around to her. "Tewi, I'm gonna-"

"I've seen _enough_ fighting for one evening…" Asserting himself, Rinnosuke lumbered over to mediate the situation, trying to make it look like he'd intervene if the two rabbits tussled. "Ahah…"

...The girls gave him jaded expressions.

...Turning to Reisen, Tewi criticized the shopkeeper. "I like how he walked up to us like he could actually do anything."

"Be nice…" Reisen suppressed a grin.

"Well…" Gaining a mixed expression, Rinnosuke defended himself. "I'm not really _small_. I kind of bank on _looking_ scary when it comes down to it…"

"You don't." Tewi and Reisen replied at the same time.

"Well, not to you…!" He smiled sheepishly.

' _I don't think youkai really care how outwardly threatening someone looks. It's pretty hard to tell in Gensokyo._ '

"You know what?" Reisen propped her arms on her hips. "Alright, I'll give you a chance. Say me and Tewi were actually fighting. Stop us."

...Blinking, he looked back and forth between them. "...You're not actually fighting right now, so-"

Reisen whips out a pistol-

Tewi jumps onto the rabbit's shoulders. "I'm gonna _rip yer hair out!_ "

"Hup!" Kicking off the ground, Reisen flipped upside down-

 _Bam!_ -landing on the shoulder that Tewi was on, crushing the stout rabbit. " _Oo~h!_ "

" _Hey!_ " Drawing his own flintlock, Rinnosuke moved to intervene. "Stop! Now!"

Ignoring him, Reisen rolled onto her legs, into a kneeling position-

 _Splat!_ Sitting up, Tewi threw a pie into her face from out of nowhere. "Ea- _eat it!_ "

 _Chu- chu!_ Reisen's black pistol fired red danmaku bolts wildly outward-

Moving forward, Rinnosuke made to grapple Tewi-

 _Pap_. She punched him in the nose the moment he got close.

"Ye- _ouch!_ " Stumbling back, he nursed his nose. " _Tehwi…!_ "

"Hands off, _gramps._ " Tewi dismissively waved him off. "The hell was that? You lookin' to fall on me or something?"

 _Chu- chu- chu- chu!_ Tewi leaped back, as Reisen unloaded her pistol towards the stout rabbit's voice.

Cli- click. A magazine clattered, as Reisen paused to stand, reload, and wipe the pie from her shielded face-

Rushing forward, Rinnosuke reached for the gun-

 _Woosh_. Reisen slid her foot under one of his legs-

 _Bam!_ -and punched downward.

" _Gfua~h!_ " His saliva flew into the air as he was sent sliding down onto his back, sprawling out due to the angle he was at when Reisen's arm met his gut.

 _Thud!_ He rolled across the ground, ending up a few feet away.

Tewi trotted back towards the scene with a glass of water from the nearby mini fridge, sipping from it…

...Sluggishly, Rinnosuke fought to get on his legs. "I- I, hnnh…"

Looking over at Tewi, he aimed his flintlock at her again. "I'll _shoot_ , if that's what it-"

" _Pftoo!_ " Tewi spat the whole glass of water back out, the liquid glowing a bright blue as it condensed into an orb of water-

 _Splash!_ The orb exploded against Rinnosuke, sending him back onto his rear. " _Gngh!_ "

"Pftt- _hahaha~!_ " Tewi broke out in laughter. "Tha- that _worked!?_ "

Sendai had a tilted grin. ' _I'm not sure if this is a fair fight._ ' She glanced over at Marcus, who had a hand over his face to mask his amusement...

...Reisen had one arm on her right hip, now standing idly.

"Hehehe~..." Tewi looked up at her, then down at him. "...We done already?"

Reisen scratched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah. I think we did enough…"

...Slowly, Rinnosuke fought to get onto his legs again. "Ugh…" Wiping water from his face, he looked between the two. "...Po- point taken."

...Stepping up to him, Tewi glanced back at Reisen. "You know, I have an idea."

"Again, no." Reisen declined.

"Shut up, it's a good one this time." Sticking her hands in her pockets, Tewi sized up the shopkeeper...

...Looking over at her, once he realized she was there, Rinnosuke gave a blank stare back.

"I feel like givin' ya crap." Tewi put it bluntly. "...Both 'cause I feel bad for ya, and that shrine maiden means _trouble_ fer ya."

He blinked. "...Oh?"

Reisen snorted. "Ah…"

' _She's been known to help humans._ ' Sendai figured. ' _Kourin's not exactly human… but he's not exactly youkai either._ '

Drawing a amulet from her seemingly endless pockets, Tewi held it up. "Have one 'a these."

"That… looks important." Rinnosuke furrowed his brows. "I couldn't-"

"It's really not." Tewi rebuked immediately. "I have so many of these things I could build a house and give it plumbing. Normally I only give 'em ta newborn rabbits who don't know how to use their legs and bodies yet, but… you're pretty much that, so here."

"Oh. Thanks…" He accepts the necklace-based amulet, and immediately his eyes widen just from holding it. "Oh, woah…"

"...Just wait until you put that gun away." Tewi smirked at him.

"You never gave me one of those." Sendai noted.

...Looking over at her, Tewi had a dry expression. "'Cause you can actually _move_ and _do stuff_. Its effect gets worse the better you actually are at things. For someone like you 'n' me, it's pretty much a worthless trinket. Give it to your pet cat, and watch 'em fall over repeatedly."

"...Huh." Nodding at this, Sendai went back to passively observing.

Sliding his gun away, Rinnosuke kept hold on the amulet-

"Woah!" He flinched back, as if a fierce gust of wind had hit him. "This is…"

Holding just the amulet, he began moving…

Compared to his previously sluggish jaunt, he was now able to jog at running speed, doing a circle around the couch. "Woah…"

He broke into a sprint-

-only to stop himself with his arms against a wall. "This is amazing…!"

Tewi snorted. "You can move yer legs faster than a human, at least. Give it a little while, and you'll know how to use your _actual_ strength. The amulet can't do anything you can't do normally."

"Really…?" He glanced down at his body in disbelief, before moving to properly equip the necklace…

"It also only works when yer _unarmed_." Tewi added, moving to get onto the couch… "So if ya draw a sword, that gun, that _stupid_ wand, _anything_ , you'll have to rely on your own strength again. Thing doesn't help cowards!"

"I see~...!" Rinnosuke has a look of worldly revelation on his face. "Thank you so much, Tewi…!"

"Yeah, yeah." Replacing one of the couch cushions, Tewi got onto the sofa… "You also have no ways of engaging, do ya?"

"Not really, no…" He admitted outright. "Well, technically-"

"Yeah, you _do_." Working off of his answer, Tewi looked around for the television remote… "I'm not gonna make _that_ part easier for ya, though."

"...Okay?" He blinked, looking around, before sighting the very staticy television. "Ah…?"

Crawling across the couch, Tewi struggled to find the remote. "...As in, I'm not gonna give ya a way to beat dumb people. I'll give ya a way to get into a good fight, though! Without even gettin' in their face and punchin' em!"

Focusing back on her again, Rinnosuke went along with this. "What do you mean?"

...Furrowing her brows, Tewi twirled a bamboo pipe from her pocket, slid it to her lips, and aimed it at the TV.

 _Fwoomp!_ A red, danmaku dart came out-

 _Click_. It hit the power button, shutting the quiet television off.

"You like makin' yourself the center of attention, yeah?" Grinning at him, she stood up on the lone couch cushion.

"...When it helps, yes." He nodded his head, taking a more relaxed posture. "I don't really… want to be doing _everything_ but I'd like to help out, if I can."

"You know how to shoot danmaku?" Tewi crouched down on the couch-

 _Woosh!_ -before backflipping, and landing on the back of it. "Like, _any_ danmaku."

...Taking out his wand, Rinnosuke waved it-

 _fwoom_. A normal, brown orb came out, slowly drifting to the right…

"Shoot it straight, dude." Tewi was unimpressed. "Like, try to turn that box back on over there." She pointed at the television. "Or at least make it travel in a mostly straight line."

...Looking at the television, and backing up, he waved his wand again. "...I don't have much luck firing straight from my-"

"Use your _gun_ then, ya freakin'...!" Tewi grinned widely despite snapping at him. "Whatever ya can use ta shoot straight, use it!"

...Marcus returned from a round trip around the room with two cans of beer. "Heyo." He passed one can to Sendai.

' _What's this…?_ ' Sendai stared down at the can curiously…

"Beer in a can." Grinning, he held his own up. "The shit they come up with…"

' _Canned beer._ ' Raising her eyebrows, Sendai rotated it, before fixating on the odd shape on the top… ' _Looks like how you open it._ '

...With his pistol aimed at the inactive television, Rinnosuke held it as steady as he could at the power button.

"Now, visualize a dart. Make it whatever color ya want, but I like red fer mine." Tewi instructed him. "This is the easy part."

 _Fwoomp!_ Rinnosuke launches a red, translucent dart from his pistol-

 _Click_. The television turns on. At first, the picture's vaguely clear as the light fades in, before it quickly becomes staticy and illegible again.

"He~y, you even got the firing noise down!" Tewi grinned at him. "But, right now it's just a fancy bullet. Throwin' a rock'd be a better way to piss someone off."

"I assume there's a way to remedy this…" He glances over at Tewi expectantly.

"Yeah!" ...She leaned her head to look at Reisen, who was back at the mini fridge, sipping from a can of beer…

Reaching into her pocket, Tewi took out a thick magnet beetle, before reeling her arm back and chucking it-

 _Fwioo~mp!_ Once it bounced off of Reisen's shield, it stole it.

"Pft- agh- whah…!?" Spitting out her beer, Reisen looked around. "Tewi- really…!?"

"Alright, now…" Looking over at him, Tewi rose a brow. "You know anything about being angry?"

...Rinnosuke tilted his head. "You… could say that."

' _You certainly could say that._ ' Sendai had her brows raised. ' _...He's a lot more mellow now than he used to be._ '

"Good! Now… Hup!" Tewi leapt from the couch's back, doing a side flip through the air before she landed seamlessly beside it. "Try puttin' some 'a that into a _danmaku_ shot. It's not _quite_ that simple, but it's a part 'a it…"

...Focusing, Rinnosuke aimed at the wall…

Cri- crack. Popping open the beer with the metal tab on top, Sendai watched the foam just inside sizzle, before calming down. ' _Ooo~._ '

"Hey, no." Tewi interrupted his process. "Aim at 'er." She points at Reisen.

"What?" Furrowing his brows, he began to shake his head. "But, I don't want to hurt-"

"It's _danmaku_ , ya big baby, she'll be fine." Tewi argued.

...Reisen gave an idle thumbs up. "Could've just told me to turn off my shields…"

"But that's no fun." Tewi justified surprising the rabbit.

...Aiming the pistol at Reisen's stomach, Rinnosuke focused...

"Put mana into your gun." After he'd focused for a while, Tewi gave a suggestion. "You focus mana through your arms and weapons, right?"

"...I just kind of use them for reference." Rinnosuke admitted. "Should I be-"

"Pft- _yes_ , yes you should." Tewi shook her head. "Glob as much shit down the line as you can for now, and fit as much of it ya can into that tiny little dart! Also think angry thoughts while you do it, preferably also focusin' on your target…"

...After a moment, the gun began to sizzle with jolts of red electricity-esque energy.

Beaming, Tewi nodded at it. "That's goo~d, that's goo~d. Still, it won't do nothin' if you don't know how to transfer some 'a that anger on over."

"I… see." Rinnosuke's hand shook as he held the pistol, focusing on it far more than he was Reisen now. "What do I do?"

"...It's kinda like swearing real hard, except in magic form." Tewi reasons. "Also, the very tip 'a that needle, the dart's needle. That's _your_ anger. Kinda fitting, 'cause anger stings. Imagine yer anger doubling back once ya shoot, as if ya've just shot all yer rage away, 'n' left it to inject into your target. Bonus points if ya actually hate your target."

His whole arm was shaking now, the shopkeeper glaring at his pistol. "Ok- okay…"

Rinnosuke closed his eyes-

White particles traveled from his form, running along him and traveling up to his weapon.

' _This is gonna be interesting…_ '

"Hoohoohoo~...!" Tewi rubbed her hands together. "A~nd… let it all out, baby~!"

Rinnosuke snapped his eyes open-

 _Fwoomp!_ The crackling, red dart traveled towards Reisen as she sipped her beer again-

Meeting her form, it seemingly dissipated like any normal danmaku pellet would.

…

Rinnosuke sighed. "...That actually made me feel better. I guess I could see how this helps in-"

 _CRACK!_

Reisen crushed her can of beer with a jittering arm, the alcohol splashing out as if a water balloon had popped in her hand. "Hrr~gh…"

Stumbling back, she grabbed her head, before erratically strafing to the side. "Ngh- da- _damn_ …"

"Rei- Reisen?" Rinnosuke raised his arms defensively-

Tewi yelled. "Put yer gun away and _run, boy!_ "

' _Not sure what I expected, but…_ ' Sipping from her canned beer, Sendai watched the scene. ' _I'll step in if it gets too bad. Kourin can take a beating, though._ '

Eyes wide, he slid his pistol into his pocket, before looking between her and the lunar rabbit-

" _Damn it a~ll!_ " Wailing out in rage, Reisen cast her arms out.

"I'm _sorry!_ " Arms out defensively, Rinnosuke gulped. "I- I didn't mean to-"

In the next moment, Reisen was before him, her arms wrapping around his left arm.

Wordlessly, she pulled-

 _Woosh!_ Rinnosuke was flung by his arm, sent flying across the room-

 _Bam!_ Unarmed and reacting fast, he managed to only hit it with his back, shielding his head before landing and scrambling against the floor-

"You can't _stop me!_ " Snarling, Reisen stomped with inhuman speed, whirling towards the half-youkai-

Moving forward blindly, he threw himself against the wall to the side-

 _Bam!_ Reisen kicked her leg into the wall behind him, leaving a dent. "Hah…!?"

" _Reisen!_ " Stealing a glance back at her, Rinnosuke pushed off the wall and kept running, this time towards the couch-

 _Wham!_ Reisen snapped there to intercept him from ahead this time, her leg meeting his gut "Guuh…!?"

Grabbing onto his collar, Reisen glared at him with teary eyes, mouth open and gleeful. "I've gotcha~…!"

He grabbed onto her arm with both hands, gripping tightly.

She grit her teeth at this, pushing him back towards the counter by stomping with him in hold. "Think you can just _go around_ …"

"Rei- Reisen!" Rinnosuke kept shouting at her. "I- I'm sorry-"

" _Fuck you!_ " Barking at him, Reisen's eyes were wide and unfocused. "If you think you can just… _hurt people_ and get off on it..." Reeling back her other arm, she exhaled. "You won't get away!"

 _Wham!_ As he let go of her arm to defend, Reisen slammed her other arm into his stomach. "Gua~h…!?"

 _Bam!_ He flew back, his spine hitting the hard edge of the counter behind him. " _Gnh!_ "

...Thud. His legs fell down as he laid down on the counter, said legs now dangling off the edge. "Nnrh…"

Sendai took some steps forward. ' _If she gets near him again, I'll do something._ '

...Panting, Reisen shuddered, before refocusing her vision. "...Wh- what did I just…"

...Shaking her head and wiping her tears, she grinned. "First time I knew you could do something like that, Tewi. Learn something new every day."

' _Ah._ ' Relaxing again, the miko returned to her previous spot, sipping from her can again. ' _Seems fine…_ '

"Hehehe~." Tewi was perched on the couch's back again. "I like making people angry the real way, though. It'd be a bit underhanded for me to just piss you off with a danmaku pellet, when I could do it with something funny instead. Like a _lotta_ danmaku pellets."

…Shakily, Rinnosuke began to sit up on the counter. "O- ow~... ow~..."

"Aah…" Reaching into her skirt pockets, Reisen drew a potion, casting it into the air-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Liquid splashed onto his form from above…

Cra- crack. Quiet cracks were heard across the room…

' _Ow._ ' Sendai knew that sound.

"Hoo~!" Rinnosuke now knew it, too. Jolting off of the counter, he felt at his back. "Whahaho~oh… okay…!"

"Sorry about that finisher." Reisen apologized for half-breaking his spine. "It was meant to screw you up, so it worked well."

"I'm… I'm glad…" Rubbing his back still, he continued to step towards his party again…

"It's magic, too. The- the spell, not her finisher, even if it looked cool." Tewi spoke of the spell. "So it'll work on just about anyone. Don't be a dumbass and cast it on a god, though. If it'd actually _work_ on a god. I think they take anger differently… but don't quote me on that. Don't bite off more than you can chew, basically!"

"Gee, thanks…" Stretching, he made sure his back was okay.

"...Also, people's anger is pretty random." Tewi continued to ramble. "Since they're not getting angry for a good reason, they could react a lotta ways. I was expectin' Reisen to go all silent crying commando over here, but she just yelled at you instead. But no matter how they react, they're gonna wanna kick your ass, and if you let them, they'll calm down."

"I feel like this ability's bad for my health…" Rinnosuke regarded it apprehensively.

"It's good for your mental health though!" Tewi softly knocks on her own noggin. "...Unless you piss off someone with mental access, try not to do that."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Exhaling, Rinnosuke felt his body return to peace.

…

Sendai glanced across the room, eying the plastic bin with her empty can. ' _This stuff's not too bad. Kinda cheap and tastes a little metallic, but that's to be expected._ '

She tosses the empty can across the room-

 _Clink!_ It violently bounces against the wall above the bin, her toss having way too much power to it.

Cli- clink. It rebounds to halfway between her and the bin…

Tewi and Marcus snorted.

"You tryin'a fuckin' send it to hell?" Chuckling, Tewi smoothly leapt from the couch…

Marcus levitates his own can over towards the garbage. "...You _might_ have used too much force."

...Stepping up to it-

 _Crunch!_ Sendai stomped down on it, flattening the can. Leaning down, she picked up the metal pancake, before-

 _Fwap!_ -flinging it into the trash not dissimilar from an ofuda. ' _I wonder if I could enchant flat cans. That'd be silly._ '

"So…!" With that, Tewi walks up to the party. "I still got another idea!"

"No." Rinnosuke and Reisen replied almost at the same time.

"But, Reise~n…" Pouting playfully, Tewi rotated around on her heels… "We gotta go visit the _princess_ tonight, remember?"

"Aah- shh, shh!" Reisen puts her fingers to her lips in a vain effort to silence the rabbit before she spoke of the princess's existence.

Additionally, she cleared the couch, and leapt forward-

Tewi hopped up, landing on Reisen's back as the taller bunny slid towards her. "And _you_ gotta help us!" She pointed at the miko, and by extension her party.

"Princess…?" Sendai rose a brow. "You mean… this Eirin chick, right?"

Tewi chuckled. "Pfft- hehe, yeah. No. Princess _Kaguya_ , of course!"

...Reisen splays her arms forward before herself, and props her head on one, giving the party a vain expression.

' _Kaguya?_ ' Sendai still didn't quite follow…

"Oh, right…" Rinnosuke nodded.

Marcus explained further. "You ever hear the tale 'a the bamboo cutter?"

...Sendai turned to him. " _That_ Kaguya?"

"You got that right, basically!" Tewi gave him a big thumbs up. "Why, she's the most politestest, nicestest girl you've ever did see!"

"Tewi, this is a bad idea." Reisen stared off into oblivion…

"Yeah, no shit." Tewi grinned down at her. "But, I'm _sure_ if you go to her, she'll be able to getcha Eirin real early. She's the princess after all, and even Eirin's basically a rank below 'er."

' _...Now to discern what part of what she said's true and what isn't._ ' Sendai was also pretty certain Tewi was up to no good. '... _It seems like the part about her being a rank over Eirin's true. I guess she's mean or something, but who cares._ '

Hopping off of Reisen, Tewi starts to march forward. "Now, follow me! This should be a lot smoother without the _asshole brigade_ shooting us up the whole way."

' _We never even said yes._ ' Sendai sardonically moves to follow her. ' _Still… we might as well. Beats waiting hours._ '

Reisen began to get up to follow them as they all moved out the door…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Sendai noticed the progressive improvement of the halls, all the way up until the princess's personal hallway…

The hall was huge, wide, and tall. Sliding doors on either side randomly opened and shut, revealing what seemed like outer space behind each one…

' _What is all of this._ ' Sendai wasn't sure what to make of the galaxies behind each door...

"It's not normally this… flashy." Reisen amended, as the party took in the spectacle. "She wanted this to happen whenever an invasion took place, so her hallway could be… fancy, I guess. It should go away in an hour or two, unless someone sounds an alarm again."

"Also a lot smaller, too." Tewi contributed, leading them. "It's like fifteen times normal size right now. It's meant for flying around in."

"...Wha' happens if you actually walk into one?" Marcus turned to a door that just opened next to them, a blank void of stars and black inside.

"They're just normal rooms." Reisen explained. "Once you get inside, it'll just be a room with the lights off, and the door might not even be open. This hall effect is just some of Master's magic..."

' _...This is all magic, then?_ ' Sendai nodded at the hallway. ' _Huh. I'd like to see Marcus make the Hakurei Shrine look this imposing when it's under attack._ '

"Also kinda hides her room, bu~t…!" Stopping in place, Tewi points to a huge, white and gold door to the left. "This one! See how it won't open!?"

Marching up to it, Tewi dug into her pockets. "We're gonna blow it open!"

"You- you don't need to do that…!" Moving forward, Reisen floated into the air, moving for the door's indented handle. "It's not locked or anything like this, I'm pretty sure…!"

"Aaw~..." Tewi slouched. "I wanted a dynamic entry, though…"

"No~."

Reisen slid the door open. Inside, a glob of pure white sat in pure black, burning with glorious, bright energy.

"The princess should be inside." Reisen stated. "...Try not to make her angry, please?"

Tewi shook her head, giving the party a neutral smile. "You don't wanna see her angry."

' _What's with these warnings?_ ' Sendai gave Tewi a stare, before moving for the light mass in the center of the black. ' _This looks threatening…_ '

"I'm not sure…" Rinnosuke was legitimately intimidated. "I don't think she wants to be disturbed right now."

"Too bad." Sendai didn't care.

"I feel like a... 'princess of the advanced rabbit army' isn't a title to take lightly…" He continued to hype up the encounter…

"Neither am I." Sendai continued to not care.

"I have no idea what she's like!" Marcus speaks honestly. "Politicians aren't usually that strong, though… usually."

...As Sendai marched into the black, the light seemingly began to come from a more direct source. It was dead ahead, pouring out of a rectangle.

A black mass was before it, blotting out the incoming light now.

' _Um…?_ '

...Stepping to the side, Sendai realized what she was looking at.

A long-haired girl with black hair was seated at a black chair in the darkness, gazing at a brightly luminescent screen…

"Why'd they have to give pyros _jetpacks...?_ " She spoke under her breath. "What the fuck…"

' _...What?_ '

…

Stepping towards the girl, Sendai glanced back at her equally befuddled party.

"Aha- no, no, no…" The girl got closer to the screen, still speaking to seemingly no one in particular. "Yeah, fuck you. Ah- ah…!?"

...Sitting back, she sighed. "Fuck. Just _rush_ my goddamn sentry. I thought engie was supposed to fucking counter pyros…"

' _Is she insane?_ ' Sendai was really not sure what to make of the situation.

Looking around, her eyes adjusted to the darkness…

The room was messy, bags and cans distributed upon every table or applicable holding space, complimented by curious objects, pictures, rectangles, and wired things.

...She almost looks away from her screen, before opting to call out instead. "Is someone the~re!?" Then, she slides off her headphones. "Reisen? Eirin? Food slave person?"

…

"Guess not." Shrugging, she slides her headphones back on. "Need a buzzer…"

…

Quietly, Tewi tiptoes inside behind the party…

Reisen calmly stepped in as well, speaking quietly. "...How'd it get so messy already?"

' _Might as well get this over with._ ' Sendai marched up to the seated girl.

"I swear…" Detecting the movement, Kaguya jerked her head away from the computer, but didn't turn or look away from it. "Kinda busy~! If you got food-!"

Sendai placed her hand on her shoulder, causing the princess to flinch.

"What the fuck…!?" Bringing her arms up, she cast her headphones down to her neck, looking over at the miko. "Woah- shit!"

...Sendai watched her blankly. "Hey?"

Looking between the colors on her screen and the miko, Kaguya blinked with wide eyes, before calming down. "Jesus, fuck…" Then, she took a good look at the miko. "Fucking- who- who're you…?"

...Sendai tilted her head. ' _I'm not sure what I should tell her._ ' She opened her mouth-

"Fucking…" Pushing her chair back and removing her headphones, the lunar princess looked her over. "Reimu's mom or something? Who the hell let you in here?"

...Sendai nodded. "Well, yes, I'm Reimu's mother."

…

Shaking her head, Kaguya stood, the chair sliding away from beneath her. "Alright- sure…"

Looking around, she noticed everyone else. "...Is- is this some kinda fucked up intervention? I thought I made these illegal!" ...Looking at Sendai, she grinned. "Also, Halloween was a few days ago, asshole."

Sendai jerked her head back. ' _...I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this exceeded my non-expectations._ '

"Well…" Reisen inhaled, getting ready to explain. "She broke in a few hours ago, and we fought, and… she's _actually_ Reimu's mother."

"Yeah, the dead one." Kaguya stepped closer to the miko, searching her over. "She's pretty fucking hot, though. Why's she in a bunny suit? _With_ the arm sleeves?"

"Did you notice when I dropped that nuke?" Reisen questioned her…

...Blinking, Kaguya looked everyone over before slowly shifting into incredulity. "You're fuckin' launching _nukes_? Did I okay this? I was playing TF-two for the past five hours. Who'd you fucking nuke?"

Reisen pointed at Sendai. "Uhm, her. That's why I had to give her a suit..."

...Kaguya looked the miko over once more. "But… you don't _nuke_ single people. As you've _learned_ …"

"It- it was supposed to be danmaku, really…" Reisen had an annoyed expression. "I have to replace that officer. That was the _worst_ time to send in an actual nuke."

"Well, good. We gonna die of radiation next time we get a good draft?" Anxious, the princess started pacing about the room. "What shitty timing…"

"It was just a _fire_ nuke." Reisen held up her arms in negotiation… "The fire was put out immediately, too. The only thing that was hit was that courtyard and some adjacent halls, princess."

...Taking pause at this, Kaguya turned towards her. "Was it that actually cool one with the ponds and the bridges and shit?"

...Reisen inhaled, letting the answer slip through her teeth. "...Yes."

"Motherfucker." Shaking her head, Kaguya whirled up to the computer, and alt-tabbed out of her game. "Let me check the camera. This sucks…"

"I'm sorry…" Reisen hung her head.

Clicking on her mouse, Kaguya nodded. "Yeah, you will be..."

...After a moment, she'd pulled up a video feed of the courtyard. "...Damn, there even wall around this camera anymore? And-..."

Once she stared at the scene for a few moments, she nodded again. "Huh. That actually looks kinda cool. It's also a fucking mess so we're gonna have to get rid of that shit in the middle, but I like whatever happened to the grass. Guess I don't have to do stupid shit to you."

Reisen let out a breath. "Thank you, princess…"

...Turning back to the room, she looked at the party. "...Is that _Rinnosuke?_ And- ...Marisa's _dad?_ Why the _fuck_ are you all here at three AM!?"

"It's a long story…" Rinnosuke huffed, slouching.

"Oh, I bet." Looking around at them all, Kaguya chuckled. "What the hell. Aw, are Reimu's mom and Marisa's dad friends? Are they actually secretly sisters?"

"Hell no." Sendai refuted in monotone. "Well, yes to friends, no they're not sisters."

"Friendzoned a lo~ng time ago!" Marcus beamed. "Pro'lly a good thing, too!"

"Huh." Nodding, Kaguya turned between the three… "So did you two just bring them to me so I could annoy the shit out of them? 'Cause I'm gonna annoy the shit out of them. Or, her at least." She focused on the miko.

"Ba~sically." Tewi began moving for one of the cluttered couches. "And…"

 _Click_. The lights flicked on, Tewi pulling a string she'd apparently set up earlier at the door. "There."

Bright, yet still bleak lighting lit the room up, revealing all the cans, empty and partially full chip bags, as well as the messes of devices, in all of their glory.

Moving to the ornate but neglected table on the other end of the room, Kaguya began to indiscriminately scoop snackstuffs and clutter off the top. "If I don't have a chair for you, you can sit at the couch or something. Just put the trash wherever, haven't found time to toss it yet."

' _It sort of smells in here…_ ' Sendai twitched her nose. ' _Not pungently or anything. Might be from all this crap lying around._ '

Now that she was able to see the princess more proper, Sendai noted that she was just in shorts and a bra.

...Sitting at one of the small foldable chairs before the ornate table, the miko watched Kaguya sit across from her. Rinnosuke moved to claim the remaining chair…

Marcus floated a curiously abandoned chair over from across the room, placing it in the vacant space and sitting at it.

"Hey, Reisen." Kaguya called out for her lunar rabbit. "We need some snacks over here."

"Right…" Looking around, Reisen moved for the full-sized fridge at the back of the room, before stopping and opening one of the cabinets-

Full, sealed red and orange bags poured out, making her shield her face with an arm. "Aah…"

' _It's somewhat surreal that this military officer that I was fighting a few moments ago is catering to this girl's whims now…_ '

...Closing the cabinet, Reisen brought an armful of poofy snack bags over. "Here…"

' _Those don't look like snacks._ ' Sendai gave the snacks a neutral, skeptical stare.

As the rabbit sat the bags on the table, Kaguya claimed one-

 _Ri~p_. The crunchy bag opened easily as she pulled on both ends at the top. Stealing a chip, she slid the bag across the table. "There ya go."

...Unsurely, Sendai reached out and claimed the bag, looking inside…

' _...Chips._ ' Curiously, she inserted her hand, taking a big one out. ' _Hmm._ '

...As Marcus pulled the back over to himself, she put the chip into her mouth-

 _Crunch!_ ' _...Not bad, actually. Even if it looks like something out of a picture book. It's probably really bad for you, or something. Not that youkai food is always the healthiest thing, depending on the species._ '

...At that, she focused on the princess again. ' _I'm not sure what she is. Legends would have it she's a space alien, but that doesn't tell me anything useful._ '

...Kaguya give the miko a dry, tilted stare. "You can't have just _one_. We need a bowl over here…"

 _Clink_. Reisen sat one down. "Already on it."

"Oh." Kaguya blinked at it. "Good shit..."

...Taking the bag from Marcus, who now had a handful of chips, Kaguya poured some of the bag into the plain white bowl. "So, why're you here again?"

...While Rinnosuke and Marcus considered how to inform her, Sendai put it bluntly. "I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm not, so we're looking into how I died and why I'm alive again."

"Aah." Kaguya nodded. "So… you probably came here for Eirin. She's usually busy as fuck."

"We were hoping you could speed up the wait time." Sendai requested.

"Eeh." The princess tilted her head back and forth, leaning onto an arm. "Nah."

…

"Why?" Sendai gave her a tested smile.

"I feel like killing time instead." Kaguya waved her hand. "It's not every day I get to sit with a dead Hakurei. Ooo~, you could give me embarrassing blackmail on Reimu…!"

' _Yeah, sure._ ' The miko shifted her gaze about to her party members…

Rinnosuke gazed at the princess helplessly, making an effort to keep his eyes on hers.

Marcus was gouging on chips. ' _Hope he knows what they are, because I don't._ '

"So…!" Rubbing her hands together, Kaguya smiled. "Has my dear, dear friend Reimu-chan ever had any romantic interests?"

"She wasn't old enough for that when I died." Sendai replied simply.

...Kaguya grinned. "Oh, shit. Did she ever wet her bed, then?"

The miko slouched slightly. "I don't think you deserve to know."

"I'll take that as a yes." Taking a few chips, Kaguya shoved them into her mouth…

"Excuse me…" Rinnosuke focused on her properly. "Aah… I know your questions are in good jest and all, but-"

"Whah th' hell're you e'en doi'ng 'ere?" Kaguya spoke with her mouth full, before stopping to swallow the chips. "Both of you windbags."

Marcus gestured to the miko with his thumb. "Knew a girl who knew a girl!"

"...We're friends." Rinnosuke also kept things simple.

"...Friends, huh." Nodding at that, Kaguya felt her arms around the table… "Hey, Reisen, we could use some-"

The bunny placed a tray with glasses and a can down. "Uh huh."

...Kaguya looked up at her. "This is why I want a better food slave system. You're too good at your job, so I can't make fun of you for screwing up."

"That's too bad." Reisen gives her a dry stare…

"You even remember my drink and everything…" Kaguya picked up her can.

' _...Looks different from the beer cans._ ' Sendai noticed different colors on it. ' _Why can beverages? I feel like there's a better way..._ '

 _Cri- crack_. As the princess snapped open her can, the other table members moved to accept their drinks…

Before sipping her beverage, Kaguya paused. "Hey. Go look for that, aa~h…" ...After a moment of consideration, she reconsidered. "Actually, fuck that. While I'm thinking about it, though, could you run some of that strawberry stuff up here?"

"Oh, right…" Moving for the door, Reisen accepted. "I hadn't received your call until the lockdown was in effect, and I couldn't do anything from my tower…"

"Oh, I see. Yeah, you sounded busy." Kaguya understandingly nodded… "Get back here in ten minutes."

"Whah?" Pausing, Reisen froze at the door out, before continuing. "Alright, I guess."

On the way out, she slid the door shut.

…

Kaguya looked up at the ceiling, prompting others to look too. Sendai noticed Tewi up there, hanging from one of the beams at the top of the room.

"Do whatever you can to make sure she doesn't get back within ten minutes." Kaguya instructed the earth rabbit.

Tewi saluted upside down. "Now _that_ order I can get behind!"

 _Woosh!_ Flipping from the beam, the rabbit sailed towards one of the back corners of the room-

 _Fwi- fwip_. The small segment of floor there flipped around, just barely allowing her to fall inside without error.

…

With them gone, Kaguya stretched slightly. "Hnn~... so. How old was Reimu when you died again?"

"Young." Sendai gave a descriptive answer.

"Okay." Kaguya smirked. "Who'd you fuck?"

"What's it even matter to you…?" Sendai sunk deeper into her chair.

The princess gestured to Rinnosuke. "Was it him?"

" _Pffft!_ " Rinnosuke expelled his drink onto the table. "Ah- ah…!"

"Pretty sure it wasn't." Sendai leaned onto her own arm… "He was a kid at the time, too."

Kaguya blinked. "...Oh. Huh. He's so stiff looking, it's hard to imagine him aging. Funny how that works..." Looking over at the shopkeeper, she gave him an examining stare.

...Idly poking at the water that was slowly sinking into the wood table, Rinnosuke glanced up at her. "...I'd like it if you put some clothes on."

She snorted at this. "Oo~h? Why's that?"

He met her eyes. "I… just think it would be more appropriate-"

Kaguya posed with her arms, one on her side and one behind her head. " _Appropriate?_ "

...Looking away outright, he slouched back into his chair. "You're mean."

"Or are you trying to call me _ugly?_ " Propping her arms on the table, Kaguya leaned towards him. "That's something steep to call a princess, you realize…"

"What if it's true?" Marcus gives her a big grin. "Can ya fault a man's honesty?"

"Yeah, with a bullet to the head." Kaguya gave him a monotone reply. "Here I thought Rinnosuke just didn't _have_ hormones."

...The shopkeeper scratched his face. "I'm… a little out of my element, if you couldn't tell."

"I should make Reisen find you a girlfriend." Smirking, Kaguya sat back in her chair… "A willing one, that is. Would you like that?"

"I don't think so, no…!" Becoming incredulous, he looked over at her. "I-... love's a rather strong-"

"I'll put it down for next week, then." Kaguya nodded happily. "You should feel honored."

Rinnosuke sank into the table… "That's… great."

' _As fun as being heckled for the next three hours sounds…_ ' Idly, Sendai fiddled with the pockets of her suit. ' _This thing has way more pockets than it needs._ '

"So…" Kaguya smiled at the miko. "Gensokyo didn't always have danmaku. How would you solve incidents?"

' _Incidents?_ ' The miko rose a brow at the terminology. "...We fought youkai until they were dead."

"...I see." Kaguya took in this answer. "Actually, what incidents _do_ you remember solving?"

...The miko tilted her head to the side. "Well, in the months leading up to my death, it seemed like the youkai were finally relenting for the first time in years. After I took this village-sponsored job to fight six giant youkai in one day, there was nothing but small time human hunters around the village for some time after that. Stuff even guards could handle."

' _How did I even fight six in one day?_ ' The miko tried to recall that day. ' _I guess I had a lot of elixirs… that, and giant wild youkai are really just a case of hitting them in the side long enough until they fall over._ '

"Hu~h…" Kaguya looked down at the chip bowl. "Not really what I asked for, but okay…"

' _What did you ask for, then?_ ' The miko gave her another trying stare…

Sendai found something along her side. ' _What's this…?_ '

...As Kaguya focused on Rinnosuke again, the miko reached into her suit, and felt along the interior pockets. ' _There's something… in here._ '

"What do _you_ remember her doing?" Kaguya focused on the half-youkai…

...Blinking, Rinnosuke's gaze drifted ahead as he thought back. "Oh, geez. It was years ago…" Rubbing his chin, he returned to her… "I do remember that six youkai job. I couldn't do much but watch one fight, but it seemed pretty crazy…"

Sendai looked down at the black pistol in her lap. ' _So she didn't remove all the guns. They're just wimpy looking little peashooters, but..._ ' She thought back to her kneecaps. ' _Yeah._ '

"I'm trying to find out _incidents_." Kaguya stressed. "Have you lived in a fucking hole?"

Rinnosuke snorted. "Oh. Well, until Reimu, collected 'incidents' like we have now weren't terribly common…"

' _If we're trying to talk invasion events or something, those happened, just once in awhile. Didn't usually do more than end up killing a couple villagers._ ' Sendai fiddled with the black pistol on her lap… ' _There's a dial on the side in English, here. Danmaku, lethal, and safe..._ '

"Sounds boring." Kaguya dismissed the era. "Fighting without danmaku _does_ seem pretty…"

"Ugly?" Rinnosuke answered for her.

"Kinda." Kaguya nodded compromisingly. "It has meaning and is needed and all, but danmaku's a lot more interesting."

 _Crunch!_ Marcus was still gouging on those chips. "Mmh…"

Sendai used the sound of eating to mask turning the dial on the pistol. ' _What is 'safe', anyway? Why would you need that when danmaku's a setting?_ '

"What about those fights you have with Fujiwara…?" Rinnosuke questioned her.

"That's different." She grinned widely. "I love fucking _dismantling_ that damn bitch."

Sendai snorted at the sudden turn in vocabulary. ' _What…?_ '

Looking over at the miko, Kaguya gave a single nod. "Hey, yeah. You ever rip someone's guts out?"

' _Where'd this come from?_ ' Sendai blinked at her. "...Sometimes." ' _For certain youkai, it's a necessity. Done better with bombs than with hands, though._ '

"It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Kaguya smiled wider. "...Well, I guess it depends. When it's all done, the mess is fucking disgusting, but..."

' _There's something wrong with you._ ' Sendai gave her a wordless half-grin…

"How hard can you punch?" Kaguya questioned the miko further. "You look pretty ripped for a shrine maiden, even in that suit…"

"Hard." Sendai summarized.

"...Good." Kaguya bluntly nodded. "How about you show me?"

...Sendai looked around. "You want me to hit something?"

"...Someone, maybe." Kaguya stood up from her chair. "Later, though. Lemme find something…"

Looking around the room as Kaguya stepped across it in her almost-nude glory, the miko realized again how dirty the place was. ' _Is she really a princess…?_ '

...After stepping into and out of a side room, Kaguya came back with a small, black box. "Here's this piece of shit. It's an XBOX One."

"...Is it supposed to be hard to destroy?" Sendai gave the box a sideways stare…

"Nah, it's just a plastic piece of crap and I hate it." Kaguya sat it down on a less remarkable grey foldable table in the middle of the room. "Fuck it up with one punch, or a couple if you're really that weak."

' _Well now I have to do it in one…_ ' Slipping away the pistol, the miko cracked her knuckles as she stood up from the table…

Stepping into the room's midst, the miko focused on the black box amidst some of the garbage on the table.

"Feel free to move it or whatever." Waving her hand, Kaguya stood back. "Scoop crap off the table if you want."

' _Ah._ '

Moving forward, Sendai scooped both empty and partially filled bags off the side of the table, before bringing the black box up towards the edge of the table…

' _Alright…_ '

 _Fwoom_. Her legs and arms flared with dark energy as she stepped back, getting as far back in the room as possible so that she could propel herself forward.

Kaguya gazed upon the miko's enhancements…

Crouching down, she felt at the wall behind herself, and judged the height of the table ahead. ' _I'll do this without hitting the table. What's beyond it…?_ '

Seeing the couch and the large screen before it, she glanced up at the ceiling. ' _I'll try and hit it into the ceiling and to the side, then._ '

...She began to stand up, but as she stood up fully-

 _Boom!_ She kicked a leg into the floor, throwing herself up and allowing her to twirl to her side in the air, crouching-

 _Bam!_ Her legs hit the wall behind herself, punishing it with a shockwave of black, springing horizontally off of it-

Out of the corner of her eye as she accelerated, she saw the black box, shifting to give it a horizontal uppercut, her entire body tilted to deliver it and her arm flaring with dark energy-

 _Boo~m!_ Multiple rings of dark energy splashed out from the epicenter of her deliberate, precisely placed fist.

 _CRACK!_

The device went twirling into the air as the miko whirled past it-

 _Bam!_ -and crashed into the couch, tipping it over and rolling off of it. ' _Oof…_ '

 _Cra- crack!_ The fragmented device ricocheted off the ceiling and the right side of the room, which Kaguya had to slide out of the way of. "Holy _shit…_ "

 _Clack!_ After tumbling multiple times in the air, the shattered plastic box splayed out across the ground, the remaining, rigidly connected circuit boards and parts refusing to let go; despite a lot of exterior chips and parts giving up a long time ago.

...Kaguya clapped her hands. "Shit, wow. You didn't have to fucking unleash a super on it, but that's cool. Those things are resistant to smashing anyway, so I kinda didn't… _expect you_ to get anywhere. Wow."

Sendai stood up from the tipped couch, brushing herself off. "Is that so…"

Stepping up to the miko, Kaguya held her arms out. "Now I _have_ to see. Punch me."

' _What?_ ' Sendai blinked at her.

...Kaguya patted her toneless, flat stomach. "Punch me. Head, jaw, stomach, whatever. Well, preferably head or stomach. If you hit me in the pussy, I'm getting you fucked up."

' _Are you okay?_ ' Sendai gave her a jaded expression… ' _There's something I'm missing here…_ '

...Kaguya rolled her eyes. "I'm the _princess_ here- I'm pretty damn powerful, whatever. If you hold back after what I just saw, I'm gonna be real disappointed."

' _Well, if that's the case…_ ' The miko began to strafe to the side slightly, to hit the princess back into the vaguely empty area she'd used to strike the box. "Alright. Are you sure?"

"Peachy." Kaguya held her arms out, grinning widely. "C'mon."

…

Stepping back, and remaining mindful of the screen she was nearing, Sendai got back to the wall behind herself…

"I don't think this is a good idea." Rinnosuke declared from his seat.

Promptly, Kaguya retorted. "No shit. _You_ weren't a good idea."

Marcus stood. "Aa~h… maybe go just a _little_ easy on 'er? So we can potion 'er up-"

"Fucking _shut up!_ " Kaguya barked back at him. "You don't know how powerful I am! I just wanna show off my strength, god."

' _I've seen tougher things in smaller packages._ ' Sendai figured. ' _Let me just…_ '

Near the back wall, the miko considered how to hit her. ' _If I really wanted to test her strength… it'd be a blow to the jaw. Perhaps a sliding direct blow in would be sufficient. Knowing her, she's probably got something sneaky up her sleeve about this, but I can't tell what… not that it should matter._ '

 _Fwo- fwoom_. Her arm pulsed with black, shifting energy as she positioned herself against the wall. ' _I'll be more direct this time so she can't anticipate it as easy, either._ '

…

Sendai gazed at the princess's expectant expression-

 _Boom!_ Crouching and kicking a leg back into the wall, Sendai slid forward-

 _Bam!_ She kicked the following leg into the ground, cracking the wood floor beneath as she glided ahead towards the princess with phenomenal speed-

Arm arced back, poised to launch, as she neared she brought her other leg up and into the ground beneath her for leverage-

 _WHAM_ \- _Kri- clack- Crack!_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Kaguya Houraisan_ ====

 _Thu- bam!_ Thud.

The princess's limp body slid to a stop at the other end of the room, where the miko began her assault on the box earlier.

Her neck was tilted back to an inhuman degree, eyes wide open and throat unable to produce noise.

 _Bam!_ Sendai barely stopped her forward momentum with another leg in the ground, half-embedding it. ' _Woah…_ '

...Looking up, she saw the princess.

"Ka- _Kaguya!?_ " Bolting up from his chair, Rinnosuke darted over to the princess. " _Kaguya!?_ "

"Ahahoo~ shit…!" Making his way around the table, Marcus had a hand to his mouth. " _Uh~m_ …"

Sendai blinked. ' _What…? But..._ '

Rinnosuke held out a potion, running a hand along the princess's wrist to check her pulse pre-emptively. "Geez, geez, geez…"

Marcus shook his head. "Aa~h… maybe you could've went a _little_ lighter on 'er? Just a little…?"

"We- well…" Sendai furrowed her brows. "I thought…"

...Rinnosuke dropped the unopened potion, and also let go of her wrist.

Kaguya's eyes were now empty, still open wide, staring into the void.

…

Rinnosuke stood up from her body.

"I, aah… heard she's supposed ta be _immortal_ or something." Sheepishly strafing around the body, Marcus tried to make heads or tails of it from a distance. "She, um… doesn't look like it, though."

"She- she's dead…" Rinnosuke exhaled.

Sendai fixed her gaze at the corpse. ' _What…_ '

Turning back to the miko, Rinnosuke frowned. "You… killed the princess."

"For real…!?" Marcus's jaw was dropped. "She's dead!?"

"Yes, she's _dead!_ " Jerking his head to him, Rinnosuke yelled. "Her heart's stopped! We- we can't save her…!"

"God dammit…" Sighing, the shrine maiden stared down at the floor. ' _I'm such a retard. Damn it…_ '

...Marcus looked around with a bewildered expression. "We gotta get the hell outta here! Imagine fightin' them rabbits on _lethal!_ Hohoho~ly _shit!_ "

"Do- don't they have cameras…?" Rinnosuke held his chest, breathing heavily. "We- we're… they'll…"

' _Damn it!_ ' Gritting her teeth, the miko glanced at the door, before laying her eyes on a camera in the upper left of the room. ' _Fuck!_ '

 _Fwap!_ She punished it with an ofuda a little too late.

"Should- should we run!?" Rinnosuke speed walked towards the door. "They'll come for us, no matter where- where we go-"

"We gotta think 'a way _out_ first!" Marcus marched up to him, gathering near the door as well. "This place is a maze! If we get lost we're _fucked!_ "

' _I fucked everything up…_ ' Slowly, the miko moved to follow her party members. ' _This sucks…_ '

...As they gathered at the door, gazing at the plain hall outside, they considered their options in silence.

…

' _I could just… break some walls or the roof, and then we can float out like that._ ' Sendai considered. ' _Seems better than just running through the halls like a bunch of killers._ '

"We could pro'lly bust the walls 'n' float out…" Marcus had a similar idea. "Aa~h… we're on the top floor, right?"

"Pe- perfect, yeah…" Rinnosuke nodded feverishly. "We- we'll just… break out, and run…"

' _Okay-_ '

...Liquid pattered across the miko's back, causing her to take pause for a moment. ' _Um…_ ' Feeling back at it, she turned-

Kaguya was standing there, silently and precisely spitting a smooth stream of blood from her lips onto the miko, expression smug and neck bruised.

"Wha- what the hell...!?" Sendai was caught completely off-guard.

Marcus whirled around. "What's- _hoo~h!_ "

Rinnosuke pivoted around. "What no- _hooaa~h!?_ "

" _Fahahahaha~!_ " Arms on her hips, Kaguya reeled her head back, laughing. "Fuhuhahaha~! Ho- ho~ly _shit_ …"

...The startled party just blinked at her, processing the situation.

"Fhu- hehehehe…" Stepping back, Kaguya slowly winded down her amusement… "Hot _da~mn_. I- I thought shooting myself in front of my _suitors_ was a riot…"

' _What-... the hell…?_ ' Slowly, the miko worked to control her posture…

Rinnosuke slowly lowered his arms, giving the princess an unsure stare.

...Marcus brought his arms up, and facepalmed.

Tossing the potion Rinnosuke left her up and down in her hand, Kaguya passed it back to him-

He caught it clumsily, fumbling for it.

"Hehehe~..." Smiling at the three, Kaguya redid her posture jauntily. "You guys look like ya've seen a ghost!"

"Son of a bitch." Sendai stepped back into the room proper. ' _She truly is the rabbit princess. Fuck me._ '

"That's… not funny." Rinnosuke shook his head, glaring at the princess. "You scared us half to death, damn it."

Kaguya chuckled more. "Pfft- half to death? That'd be a first- scaring someone to death. I should aim for that next time…"

Stepping up to her, Rinnosuke refused to let this rest. "We were _worried_ , you know."

Kaguya rolled her eyes. "Yea~h, about _your_ asses. Besides, if any of you knew shit, you'd know _immortality_ for me means not just no aging…"

She gestures to her once again flawless jaw and neck. "I can't die. No matter how many itty bitty pieces I become, I'll always come right back together, good as the day I became immortal, and then some."

"You toyed with our emotions." Rinnosuke reiterated, before gesturing to Sendai. "How do you think she would've felt if she'd accidentally killed someone?"

...Kaguya shrugged. "Eeh. Wouldn't've been her first, I'm sure. You've known me for like ten seconds."

Sendai cracked her knuckles. "So you can't die?"

"I just said that." Kaguya gave her a dry stare.

"How about I fold you into a pretzel, then?" Sendai began to march towards her… "You can take it fine, right? You're real strong, right?"

...Kaguya put her arms behind her back, drifting back into the air. "Oo~h? Are you threatening royalty? All I have to do is yell for guards, you know..." Her eyes darted to the side. "Which kinda makes it a bitch when I get mad at stealth games, but whatever."

"Do you think they'd get here before I rammed your head up your own ass?" Sendai continued towards the floating girl.

"...But, I don't need guards." Kaguya smiled down at the miko. "Let's kill some time."

 _Click_. She snapped her fingers-

 _Fwioo~sh!_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Sendai looked around.

They were in the sky over the clinic, standing atop an invisible plane. Below was mostly bamboo, but in the midst of it, the grandiose clinic could be made out. From this angle it looked like it covered a lot of land, despite otherwise being absent when the forest was viewed from above.

Rinnosuke looked around, alarmed. "Wh- where…!?"

Marcus nodded approvingly, tapping his shoes on the plane. "This is a damn solid barrier…"

The moon above looked massive. ' _Here we go…_ ' Sendai was reminded of her encounter with the vampire.

Kaguya floated down from above, now fully clad in a long, pink dress with white bows on the front. "My fights against your daughter never end very well…"

From within her dress, the princess pulled out a dazzling, jeweled branch. "Let's see if I can even the score a little with your clan as a whole, then. You other two may help her or watch her, whatever you prefer."

...The miko noticed her allies march up beside her, ready to engage.

' _Alright._ ' The miko began moving for the girl. ' _Aristocrats aren't very tough, usually. Considering what she's capable of, she's probably an exception..._ '

"Divine Treasure!" Kaguya spread her arms out. "Brilliant Dragon Barrette!"

 _Woosh_. She spun around once-

 _Chu- chu- chu~!_ Laser segments flowed from the princess's hair in a rainbow of dazzling colors, before splashing out and wrapping around her front, bombarding the entire area of the battlefield around her with a spread shot of laser segments.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Every laser generated a myriad of orbs in its wake, a plethora of wonderful colors mixing together in the night sky.

Marcus was already behind a magic barrier. Rinnosuke, unarmed, was making use of his new talisman by getting as close to the end of the laser's effective range as he could.

Sendai was running ahead to give the immortal what for, weaving past the splashes of lasers. ' _Not a very aimed attack…_ '

 _Chu- chu- chu!_ Kaguya dipped down to the miko's height as Sendai approached, almost teasingly, lasers splashing out from her magical locks the meanwhile.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Sendai rose her arms to graze by some of the person-length lasers-

 _Zap!_ A yellow one jolted her. "Ah-"

 _Fwash!_ The cyan one she collided with froze her side. ' _Of course she's an elementalist…_ '

 _Woosh!_ She tossed a mana molotov forward-

 _Crack!_ It shattered against Kaguya's dress, a blaze licking up her clothing. "Ah…" She didn't seem to mind the holy fire, however.

"Hup!" Upper cutting into the air as the princess got closer and closer, the miko's ascent allowed her to avoid being exposed to the elemental lasers and orbs nearest her any longer.

 _Woosh!_ Up here, she kicked down towards the princess-

 _Thunk!_ Her dark leg sprung off of the princess's arm-

 _Crack!_ ' _What was that…?_ '

" _Huaa~h!_ " Kaguya wailed into the air-

Cra- crack. Sendai heard more cracking noises below, as she pivoted around in the air-

Kaguya was whirling towards her, her left arm now slightly awkward looking. A roar of rainbow lasers flared from her hair in her wake, splashing everywhere-

" _Stop!_ " Kaguya thrust her arms out-

 _Ka- cling!_

Sendai stopped in the midst of the air, gazing down at the princess.

' _...What?_ ' She couldn't move, and gravity wasn't taking her.

Catching up with the miko, Kaguya's smile widened mirthfully. "If we're not going totally danmaku, then…"

She held her jeweled branch towards the miko's face. "Hehehe~. Sweet dreams, Ha-"

 _Fwoomp!_

"Ooh!" Kaguya perked up, as a single pellet of red danmaku hit her in the butt.

"Here!" Marcus splayed a hand out, dipping out from the barrier-

 _Pop- pop- pop!_ A surge of bubbles ran up Kaguya's form, popping and splashing water all over her.

Paying Marcus no mind, Kaguya silently cast a small smile at Rinnosuke, before drifting over towards him…

... _Clink!_

Time was re-enabled for Sendai, and she continued falling like before. ' _What the fuck…_ '

Thu- thud! Rolling to a stop on the ground, she looked around…

Rinnosuke was running circularly along the edge of the encounter, going as fast as he could, unarmed. "Ha~h… ha~h…!"

Gradually, Kaguya accelerated after him, her hair whipping and splashing lasers around. "My~. For _you_ to make me feel this way, even if it's only a cheap imitation…"

 _Fwa- fwa- fwam!_ The soaked princess guided the hailstorm of pretty orbs, the danmaku pincering Rinnosuke from two sides.

 _Fwam- Zap- Fwash!_ As he darted through them, some of his segments were ignited, zapped, or frozen respectively. "Aah- ngh…!"

Sendai booked it towards the scene to try and intercept the princess. ' _If she's not focusing on me…_ '

 _Woosh!_ Suddenly, Kaguya whirled up to Rinnosuke with an almost teleport-like shift in position, only traceable by the blur she left.

"Only one person gets to make me feel this way." She drew a plain dagger from inside her dress. "I'll fucking kill you too."

"Let's no~t…!" Rinnosuke pounded against the invisible, magical floor for his life, trying to distance himself from the princess…

"Hey!" Sendai shouted to get his attention. ' _If he keeps running straight, I won't be able to intercept easily…_ '

Stealing a glance back at Sendai, Rinnosuke realized this, pivoting ninety degrees to run in her direction…

 _Boom!_ Pounding against the ground, the miko roared ahead towards the princess as she trailed behind the half-youkai-

 _Chu- chu- chu!_ Rainbow lasers bloomed from her hair once more, whirling to protect her form-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai kicked down and into the hailstorm of lasers.

 _FWISH_ -

 _Bam!_ Sailing through the lasers, the miko passed straight through the danmaku hell on the other side. ' _Did I hit her…!? I only felt something brush my ankle… something that wasn't lasers._ '

Sliding to a stop on the other side, her leg and body coated in flames, fire, water and electricity, Sendai turned back-

Kaguya was on the 'ground', her head bent awkwardly again, the miko's kick having snapped her neck.

' _...I don't think that's it._ ' The miko looked back at her limbs. ' _Holy crap…_ '

 _Fwi- fwi~sh!_ Clear, partially yellow liquid fell down onto the miko's form from above. ' _Oh, hey…_ '

Rinnosuke had tossed a panacea at her to alleviate the elemental hellstorm. His gun drawn again, he watched the corpse warily…

The miko's limbs returned to normal, having only suffered minor burns and irritations from the magic. ' _Her danmaku seems to just induce elements, rather than hurt me outright._ '

…

Kaguya's body drifted into the air, white, blurry magic running along her form-

 _Fwoa~m!_ A shockwave of white spread out from her as she spread her arms out, life flooding her again. "Nice _hit…_ "

' _Hitting her obviously won't do more than temporarily break her…_ ' Sendai scanned the princess's form. ' _Should we just try to deplete her mana? She probably has a lot… but she wouldn't eat if she couldn't tire, right? Some youkai do, but even so..._ '

...Slowly, Kaguya held up her jeweled branch-

"Hoh!" Marcus held his arms out-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwa~sh!_ Thunder arced down from above, clusters of bolts connecting to strike the still damp princess three times.

Each bolt ran down the jeweled branch as the princess held it up, causing the yellow jewel to gently glow brighter for a moment. "I could see that coming since two minutes ago."

 _Fwa- fwap!_ Two ofuda met her back-

 _Woosh!_ Whirling to the side, Kaguya gained great velocity, her dress spreading out like a large umbrella in the night air-

 _Zap!_ The ofuda initialized, although the magic didn't seem to bother her at all.

' _Incredible magic resistance, no physical resistance… and is immortal._ ' Sendai continued sprinting to keep up with the princess's grandiose movements. ' _Who did I piss off to deserve this?_ '

As the holy talismans fluttered off, Kaguya held up her offhand, her dagger having mysteriously vanished at some point. "Divine Treasure! Buddhist Diamond!"

In that moment, a single, pure white diamond of perfect measurements appeared in that hand.

 _Clink!_ As she cast it forward, it disappeared, becoming a fan-shaped field of blue magical circles that enveloped the party's entire segment of the battlefield…

Rinnosuke was running ahead to try and remain relatively near the princess, while Sendai prepared to leap at her again…

"Here!" Marcus cast an arm out-

 _Fwoo~sh!_ A miniature, fierce blizzard appeared over Kaguya's form-

The cyan crystal on her branch lit up, and she smiled at the cold air.

' _I don't think conventional elements work on her._ '

 _FWAM_

The magical circles all erected flat, direct blue lasers on the ground, creating a linear but confusing looking net of light on the invisible pane.

 _Fwuu~sh!_ "Agh!" Rinnosuke tripped over one, a geyser of water erupting from the laser he'd stepped on.

A sea of red, star-shaped danmaku pellets began to glitter above the battlefield. ' _Ah…?_ '

Ignoring them, the miko ran ahead towards the mage princess-

Darting out of the blizzard, her branch glowed pure white as she gave it a gentle swing. "He~re."

A single, slow stream of five arrow-shaped danmaku pellets extended towards the miko.

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Accidentally tripping on a geyser laser, Sendai allowed herself to fall back into it so she could ride it up into the air. ' _Alright…_ '

Then, her vision was muddled by the slow descent of the star bullet cloud. These stars, like her rebound stones, all had rigid lines of light in their wake-

 _Cli- cli- cli- cli- clink!_ As they panged against the magic floor beneath, they even made the same noise.

 _FWAM_

The geyser net below changed its configuration, the angle of the lines subtly shifting-

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Rinnosuke flew into the air, flailing his arms. " _Hwoaa~h!_ "

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Marcus glided through the air, arms outstretched and holding onto icy wedges. "Ho~ly _shit_ it's _co~ld!_ "

...Sendai grazed a linear line of blue, greyish arrows as she fell. ' _There!_ '

 _Woosh!_ Kicking in their direction, she fell down into the sea of lines and rebounding red danmaku stars-

 _Thunk!_ "Gfuu~...!" Kaguya sailed back, spinning in the air as the miko's leg unexpectedly hit her chest. "Kaugh- ugh…"

' _It's like I'm hitting paper._ ' Sendai was offput by how poorly the girl's body received physical attacks.

 _Fwuu~sh!_ As her legs clipped the floor on landing, the miko found herself thrown into the air by another geyser. ' _This actually helps a lot…_ '

Whirling up towards the miko from the blinding lines of light, Kaguya now had a dagger instead of her jeweled branch-

 _Fwoom!_ As she swung, the linear line of danmaku whirled out-

"Hoh!" Sendai punched to the side, allowing herself to strafe-

Kaguya jabbed her dagger forward, the greyish blue arrows of danmaku splashing out to meet the miko-

 _Ka- ka- cling!_

On impact with the unimpressive bullets, Sendai found herself frozen in the air again. ' _Really…_ '

"Hehehe~..." Giddily, Kaguya slid up to her-

 _Swi- swish_. She delivered two slashes to the miko's abdomen, but nothing happened.

 _Click_. Drifting back, she snapped her fingers-

Sendai began falling-

 _Shi- shink!_ The slashes caught up with her on a delay, the pain attacking her unexpectedly. "Arh- nngh…"

' _Those are some fucking cuts…_ ' Descending, the miko channeled darkness to her wounds.

On landing, she was forced to roll-

"Nnh…!" ' _Ou~ch…!_ ' She felt the wide, deep slashes pulse and grind at the sudden exertion.

 _Fwuu- fwuu~sh!_ Geysers went off in the distance around her, but hardly garnered her attention.

...Then, she bolted forward, to avoid another line of time-stopping danmaku bullets Kaguya sent in from behind her.

Descending down to ground level, Kaguya had a smug expression. "Hooa~h…" She yawned, too. "Is that it?"

 _Fwoom!_ The miko dodged the result of another slash as she slid to the side, an arm on her abdomen. ' _I wonder… if I look more hurt than I actually am…_ '

 _Fwoom!_ Sliding to the side of the next slash, Sendai feigned nearly tripping. "Ou- ouch…! Damn!"

"Hehehe!" Laughing at her, Kaguya twirled her dagger around. "You really _were_ born decades ago, weren't you…?"

"Shu- shut up…" Sendai began to limp to try and draw the princess's attention further-

Kaguya whirled towards her, dagger poised. "In _that_ case…!"

 _Pap_. Sendai brought her arm off her wound, grabbing Kaguya's before she brought her dagger down into her shoulder.

Eyes wide, the princess yelled. " _Sto-_ "

 _Shink!_ Sendai twisted the princess's arm down to make it go through with the stabbing motion, except she'd maneuvered her own shoulder out of the way.

Kaguya's mouth hung open, the dagger now in her own stomach. "Ah…"

 _Pap!_ Lunging an arm up, she grabbed the princess by the neck, and began choking her-

 _Shink!_

Rinnosuke's sword came into her from behind, the shopkeeper haggard and soaked to the bone. "Ho~h… _ho~h…_ "

Grinning, the princess began to go limp. "Hh- ngh- nkh…"

After her free arm scratched at Sendai's harmlessly and uselessly, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

…

' _What if I just hold onto her like this?_ ' Sendai blinked at the dead woman she had a vice hold on. ' _Can I keep her from-_ '

White magic began to run up the princess's form again…

 _Fwa~m_. Despite Kaguya being dead, her spell card continued in the background at a sad fragment of its usual verbosity.

...Then, once the magic clung to the princess's form en masse again-

 _Fwoa~m!_ A shockwave of white splashed out from her form-

 _Ka- Ka- cli~ng!_

Sendai and Rinnosuke were frozen in place. Kaguya phased out of their hold on her, appearing slightly to the side. "Not how that works…"

Smiling at the statues, she held up her dagger, which was now out of her stomach again. "Who wants a penalty first?"

 _Shink!_ "Gu~h…!" She was thrust forward, a thin icicle shooting midway into her back. "Ah, shit…"

With the spell card no longer in effect after all that'd happened, Marcus stood at the other end of the battlefield. "...I think the rule was, 'never turn your back on your opponent'."

"How about I turn your back on _you?_ " Kaguya spat back, turning to him. "Impaling's the _fucking worst_ , you know. This'll suck ass if I pull it out."

Marcus's brows rose. "It will?" He tugged his hand-

 _Shink!_ The icicle slowly came back out of her-

" _Fhua~!_ " She yelled, thrusting her arms out and stumbling back as the icicle left her. "So~n of a _bitch…!_ "

' _How long does this last…?_ ' Sendai was still frozen in time.

Moving, the princess began to take towards the mage, blood dripping freely from her stomach and onto the invisible floor below. "You _fucker_ … _!_ "

...Sendai suddenly found herself able to move again. ' _Woah. Felt like I was still holding her in place for a moment..._ '

Rinnosuke nearly fell over. "Aa- aah…"

...Stopping herself in the air, Kaguya sighed as the hole in her began to close. "Actually, yeah, you're fucked anyway…"

Her dagger vanishing, she held out her arms. "Divine Treasure…!"

' _How many of these are called Divine Treasure?_ '

" _Salamander Shield!_ " She thrust her arms back inward-

 _FWOOM_

All around Kaguya, a huge sphere of fire formed, herself at the center of it.

' _Fire magic._ ' Sendai began to back away, frowning. ' _At least we're getting it out of the way now rather than later…_ '

 _FWOOM- FWOOM- FWOOM_

Continuously, a huge flame waft near the shield's center would expel, bringing a new sphere of fire into existence, while pushing the old ones out-

 _FWOOM_

With every pulse, it'd also make the air contract, causing the overlapping layers of flame to surge forth, double back, pass through one another, and pulse in a mesmerizing semi-star in the night sky.

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Marcus erected his magical barrier, crouching behind it. "Oo~h…"

' _I don't think I can approach this without using an item crash…!'_ Sendai's brows rose at the flaming spectacle.

 _FWOOM…_

Once the fire reached the very edge of Kaguya's capable radius, some of it was expelled outward, unleashed wildly in an attempt to burn the party.

As it splashed out into a rain of fire orbs, it didn't prove to be very offensively effective, however. Due to Sendai and Rinnosuke's distance, they had no trouble weaving the clumped flame bursts. ' _Huh._ '

Midway into the sun, Marcus condensed his magic barrier and brought it around himself, while creating random bubbles inside it to keep himself cool. "Aah- ooh- ooo hoo hoo~...!"

 _FWOOM..._

As this fire continually pulsed out, revealing the fire shield's maximum range, it glowed brighter, the better parts of the flame waves condensing in the middle where the other layers were…

' _It's building up._ ' Sendai noted. ' _...Still, this is easier to deal with than I was expecting. All I have to do is throw stuff in-_ '

FWAOM- FWAOM- FWAOM-

The interior waves of the orb roared out as a concentrated, semi-laser-based flamethrower that instantly engulfed the miko despite her range.

"Hw _aa~h!?_ " Shielding herself with her arms, the miko turned and began sprinting away from Rinnosuke. ' _Holy- I'm burning…!_ '

Sprinting from the flamethrower caused the miko to dash through the myriad fire masses that were drifting from the massive sphere-

 _Fwoom- fwam- fwish- fwam!_ Sendai promptly became an inferno. " _Haa~h!_ " ' _Maybe Marcus will hear…!_ '

 _Pop- pop- pop!_

A small jet of bubbles erupted beneath the miko, splashing her. ' _More! I need-_ '

 _BWOMP_ \- Pop Pop Pop!

Sendai was bowled over by the massive flux of water-filled bubbles, her form submerged for a brief segment by the area-based water spell. "Aah…"

' _That works…_ '

FWOAM- FWAOM- FWAOM

Sendai was instantly doused with flames again. ' _Fuck it…!_ '

Drawing a mana molotov, Sendai cast it into the air. "Hya- _Hydro Storm!_ "

Once it ascended past the side of the huge fire sphere, it vanished.

" _Ouh!_ " Rinnosuke doubled back even further from the flames, a single collision with a separating waft igniting him. "Fi- fire!"

FWOAM- FWAOM- FWOAM

As the miko curled into a ball to resist the incoming flames-

-thick, holy drops of water began to roar down from the clouds above.

' _Ow- ugh…_ ' Sendai's body was already partially serrated as the flames on her began to die. ' _Great._ '

Kaguya's huge, luminescent pseudo-sun dimmed, the fire process still active but diminished to the point that Kaguya herself was once again visible in the center.

She was floating in the midst with her arms behind her head, reclining. Looking around, she seemed perplexed towards her shield's condition…

Sendai was put out by the holy water. ' _Yes, yes, yes._ ' "Ha~h…"

Rinnosuke was no longer on fire, but he was now on holy fire. "Aah- geez- ngh…!"

Drawing a yin-yang orb, Sendai glared into the dim flames. ' _Haven't shown her this yet…!_ ' Maximizing the orb, she held it up, charged her off arm with darkness-

 _Bam!_ -and sent it hurtling forward, the girl's well-lit form in the center serving as a target.

Kaguya drifted into an upright position now, perplexed by the water-

 _Bam!_ The orb blindsided her.

She went hurtling to the side into her own flames, although she didn't seem to interact with them.

' _Come on…_ ' Maximizing another orb, the miko poised to send it in again…

"What the hell…" Kaguya rubbed her side, still cringing from the last impact-

 _Bam!_ Sendai sent it whirling forward.

Kaguya looked in its direction-

 _Fwhir!_ Rinnosuke shot a flare into the maelstrom, the already bright event flashing with blinding light.

The yin yang orb poked out of the light and flames to greet the princess-

 _Bam!_

...All the fire vanished, the sky returning to black in an instant.

The rain had stopped now, too.

…

Kaguya sat up on the invisible pane, holding herself as she floated up again. "Fu~ck. Nice trick…"

Letting out a hollow sigh, Rinnosuke marched forward rigidly, his limbs stiff. "I- I… don't think I can keep this up…"

" _Evolution!_ " Sendai tossed her regular health potion into the air-

 _Di- di- di~ng!_

Green liquid splashed onto the entire party, although only Sendai and Rinnosuke needed it.

"...Thanks." The half-youkai brought his limbs up again, huffing. "Hah…"

Sendai felt her charred serrations begin to heal. ' _Ugh. Burns suck even when being healed…_ '

...Stretching anxiously as she healed again, Kaguya leered down at the party. "Don't any of you assholes have any actually _interesting_ attacks?"

' _Pfft…_ ' Sendai gave her a vain stare. ' _So this is all a game to her, then…_ '

"As nice as showing off my cool shit is…" Kaguya looked unimpressed as she articulated her arms. "I refuse to believe _Reimu's mom_ of all people doesn't have any flashy bullshit techniques."

...Sendai simply stared at her, awaiting the next attack.

Kaguya turned to Marcus. "And- you. That _fucking_ shield…" Grinning, she began floating over to him.

He held his arms up. "I can shoot _icicles_ , yaknow!"

"Uh huh." She stopped…

...Then, she held her arms out again. "Divine Treasure!"

' _It's not going to be a fire spell._ ' Sendai really couldn't care what the next attack was. ' _If she dips down more, maybe I'll show her that laser of mine, then…_ '

"Life Spring Eternity!" Kaguya flashed with white energy.

…

 _Fwoash!_

The red, rebound stone-esque stars splashed from her, but only in a backward direction, painting a bright, starry billboard behind her.

' _This looks big…_ ' Sendai was dazzled by the dots created by the peculiar way the stones were sent hurtling behind the princess.

 _BWOAMP_.

All of a sudden, a huge, cyan and pink star comprised entirely of lasers spawned in the air before Rinnosuke and Sendai.

 _Za- za- za- zap!_ It instantly sent Sendai hurtling into the distance. ' _Holy shi~t!_ '

 _Za- za- zap!_ " _Hou~h!_ " Rinnosuke didn't sound like he fared any better.

 _Fwam!_ As the star instantly went out, an explosion of rebound stones slowly revolved out, tearing a mark into the night sky.

Gazing at this mark, Sendai flew backwards. ' _Another attack with silly knockback and no actual damage…_ '

 _Thud!_ She landed hard on her back, though. "Fu- unh…"

 _Thud!_ Rinnosuke landed on his back nearby as well, except he refused to get up. "Ou-... ouch…"

' _Really…_ ' Sparing him a dry glance as she sat up, Sendai sprung back onto her legs and booked it over towards the battleground again-

 _BWOAMP_.

" _Wahaa~!_ " Marcus was ejected from his shield by the broad side of a massive, multi-pointed pink and cyan-tinted neon star.

 _Fwam!_ Another explosion of red star danmaku roared out from within this one, once it dissipated.

Smiling serenely, the princess slowly drifted towards the miko, taking her time in catching up…

' _She really wants me to fight fire with fire, I guess._ '

Drawing a Chronicle of Gensokyo, Sendai stepped back, before casting it into the air. " _Holy Spark!_ "

As the tome gravitated up above her, it split into nine different tomes, all dividing and working together to create an octagram in the air just above her…

Once the lines materialized, and the magical circle was ready-

 _VRRRRRRR_

The resulting rainbow-colored holy laser engulfed Kaguya completely. The evening sky lit up with wonderful, fleeting colors, the laser stretching into the clouds behind…

RRRRRrrrr…

As the mighty beam ended, Kaguya was revealed on the other side, hunched over and hovering in the air.

Immediately, she righted herself, blinking her eyes open. "...Re- ach…" Pausing, she clutched her chest- "Pftoo!"- and spat out a glob of blood. "Really… a _big laser_. That was the best you could do?"

' _It was a giant rainbow-colored laser._ ' The miko gave her a dry stare. ' _What more do you want from me? I'm not an eons old demigod or anything._ '

"...Well, if you want a gritty fight…" Kaguya drew the jeweled branch from within her dress once again. "Divine Treasure!"

Rinnosuke shambled up next to the miko. "Ah, hey…"

' _Don't die, you._ ' Sendai gave him a glance.

"Jeweled Branch of Hourai!" Kaguya held up said jeweled branch. "Dreamlike Paradise!"

 _Fwi~sh!_ The jewels of her treasure glowed with blinding light, neon colors filling the battlefield.

...Marcus descended from above, holding onto a misshapen chunk of ice as he ended up near the party again. "Aa~h, hello there…"

"Magic barrier, now." Sendai didn't want to take any risks.

 _Fwoash!_ "O~kay!" He erected it before he even got on the ground.

 _Bwomp_. A myriad of magical circles whirled from Kaguya's form as she accelerated towards the party with frightening speed-

Then, she stopped at the midst-

 _FWAM!_

The magical circles all aligned before her, forming a wall, exploding with diamond-shaped, rainbow danmaku in all directions.

Huddling behind the barrier, the party watched the great colors patter against it-

Kaguya was now flanking the barrier, the cluster of circles before her doing the same.

The unaimed colors that splashed away from the party seemingly bounced off nothing, resulting in the party being instantly flanked by bullets now beyond their barrier. ' _Oh, shit-_ '

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwash!_ An explosion-esque sphere of round orbs roared from Kaguya herself as she pressed towards the party-

 _Choom- Choo~m!_ The magical circles fired empty, vaguely colored shapes towards the far sides of the battle field...

Wordlessly, Rinnosuke left the battlement, choosing to risk the great invisible plains instead.

Sendai held her ground. ' _Let's try to strafe some of this-_ '

 _Fwoom- zap- fwash- splash!_ As the miko danced in the midst of the battleground, using the magical shield as minimal cover, the spam of bullets resulted in her being struck by rainbow colored bullets of many different elements.

 _Ti~ng!_ The empty shapes rebounded off of nothing, becoming whole and bright, maneuvering past the barrier.

Ducking through said barrier, she escaped the highly focused diamonds-

 _Fwa- fwam!_ Water, ice, a vague green that must have been earth, and fire orbs streamed into her right side. "Agh-..."

Ducking back inside the barrier, she observed how Marcus was trying to stand paper thin against it-

Kaguya floated behind their cover, spinning-

 _FWAM!_

The magical barrier flickered out after being disrupted by the pointblank explosion of elements.

" _Nuaa~h!_ " Marcus went sliding away, flailing his limbs-

Sendai punched forward-

Kaguya was next to her. " _Firaga Blazing!_ "

 _BOOM!_

" _Aaa~h!_ " Sendai roared as she was sent rolling back by the firey explosion and into ice, water and electricity. ' _Shit, shit…!_ '

 _Di- di~ng!_ Green liquid splashed onto her from what must have been Rinnosuke. "Agh- nnh!" Sendai came to a graceless, abrupt stop many feet away-

" _Thunder Surge!_ " Kaguya kept up with her, sliding past her, a ring of static expanding from her form-

 _Zap- zap- zap!_ Sendai was juggled into the air by weak bolts that were summoned due to her proximity with the ring of lightning. "Aa- aah-"

" _Aeroga!_ " Kaguya spun in place-

 _Fwoo~sh!_

Sendai curled into a ball as wind carried her, her body slamming against a variety of danmaku on her ascent, giving her a tour of all the elements. ' _Cra- crap…_ '

 _Di- di~ng!_ Rinnosuke tossed a potion from somewhere again.

Vague, pulsing pain and licks of magic made the miko's limbs ache and jitter, a constant blurry sting eating at her, but the potion's magic kept her calm. "Nn- nnh…!"

"Damn healers…" Kaguya narrowed her eyes, glancing around before focusing on the miko again. "Heal _this_."

Holding up the Jeweled Branch of Hourai, Kaguya cast a spell. " _End of Night! Rising World!_ "

 _Fwo- fwoosh!_

Shi- shink! Two icicles flew into the princess's stomach from afar, but she continued to ascend despite flinching.

...As the princess held her arms out, Sendai fell past her, tempted to engage-

Fwam- fwam- fwam- fwa- fwa- _fw- fw- fw- ffffff_

A cluster of blue, danmaku butterflies began to unleash from the princess's form.

' _No~t again, no, no…_ '

 _Thu- thud!_ Rolling on the ground, the miko started to run in the opposite direction. ' _Let's just see where this goes…!_ '

The scattered butterflies weren't concentrated or hard to avoid, though.

...That's when a myriad of person-sized, cyan orbs of ice magic began to spin out of the princess-

 _Fwa~sh!_ The shrine maiden's arm was frozen when she was blindsided by one. "Aah…"

Once she got to a certain distance, Sendai found her running didn't create more distance from the princess. Marcus and Rinnosuke were curiously near again as well…

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash!_ "Guh- nngh…!" Rinnosuke fell over behind the miko, half frozen solid. "He- help…!"

A whirlwind of green daggers roared from Kaguya as she unloaded in the center of the sky…

The danmaku daggers slammed into the party, almost unavoidable from their speed compared to the other projectiles. "Nn…" Sendai blinked. ' _Earth magic. Not bad in small doses, honestly…_ '

Yellow stars seemingly materialized around them-

 _Zap- zap- zap- zap!_ "Fff- aa- aanh…" Sendai whimpered from the shocks, electricity bouncing between the bullets. "Where…"

Marcus was shooting vague ice shapes into the epicenter of the danmaku explosion. "Co- come on- agh- co- come on…!"

" _Help me~!_ " Rinnosuke was not having a fun time in his electric ice prison.

 _FWOO~M!_

A blast of unaimed flames thrusts from Kaguya, washing over the party.

' _You've got to be fucking…!_ ' Dropping onto her knees, Sendai reinforced her limbs with darkness, staking out the flames that assaulted her.

 _Pop- pop- pop!_ Small bubbles began to assault the party to keep them wet, but it only went so far.

" _Haa- aa~nh!_ " Rinnosuke yelled his lungs out.

Marcus was flailing his hands, ice cubes and water sloshing about. " _Might_ wanna _use a potion…!_ "

"A- aah!" Sendai grunted in confirmation-

Violet amulets began to roar from Kaguya in no particular rhyme or reason, danmaku lashing out.

These bullets didn't create any noticeable effect upon hitting the party. ' _Ugh…_ '

 _Thud_. After being bombarded long enough, Marcus finally tripped and fell over. "Aa- aah…"

"So- someone…!" Rinnosuke jerked himself about on the floor. "Healing!"

Sendai pulled out a Hi-Potion-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwash!_ Magic poured from Kaguya with no rhyme or reason. Swathes of icy flames, electric amulets, icy daggers and fiery chill mortar orbs flowed from her, the random magic filing the sky with color.

Above all this color, the sun rose in the background, a dark, amber hue rapidly encroaching upon the night sky.

As the sun seemed to have an accelerated rise, Sendai chugged the Hi-Potion, staring the danmaku onslaught in the face. ' _I'm out of potions! I can't group heal with these ones, so..._ '

Elements pounding against her body, amplified magically, her skin wearing from the flames and cold, tire and energy, she watched the sun rise into the sky. A soft, green and blue essence gave the distant landscape a hazy, desolate, peaceful appearance.

Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa-

The sun's light was far greater than the dim magic Kaguya was now putting out…

 _Boom!_ Kicking her legs against the ground, potion bottle still in her mouth, the miko roared forward. " _Hh~...!_ "

With the sun in her eyes, and the dim light of Kaguya's danmaku and magic right before her, the miko sprang up. ' _This is it…!_ '

Her arm met Kaguya-

 _FWOA~SH_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

Thud. The miko fell onto her stomach, the empty bottle falling from her mouth-

 _Cra~ck!_ It shattered on the floor before her.

...Behind her, Rinnosuke was still half-frozen, lying on the wood floor.

...Marcus looked around, lying on the floor. "Aa-... aah. Whah?"

...They were back in the princess's room, on the wood floor. The tables and furniture seemed to be moved aside, and random non-technological objects were tipped over or slightly ajar.

The body of Kaguya was on the ground ahead of the miko, splayed awkwardly and inhumanly across the upside-down couch that was there.

…

Cr- crack, crack. Slowly, the princess rose into the air, her posture returning to feasibility.

Landing, Kaguya stumbled about before them. "Aa~h… that's the last time I chug Gatorade before danmaku. I- I think I'm set for now…"

Looking over the party, she smiled. "We should do this again sometime. And next time you should bring _actual spells_. Aside from that Master Spark ripoff..."

' _...Okay._ ' Sendai blinked at her, moving to stand… ' _That happened._ '

"I'm gonna go to bed…" Kaguya turned around, looking around for a clock… "... _Seven?_ Oo~h…"

"Hey…" Sendai called out for her. "We're-... still looking for Yagokoro, you know."

...The princess blinked. "Oh. Oh, yea~h. She should be cool now, yeah. I don't even know if she sleeps… probably not."

"Could you… bring her here?" Sendai requested. "...We kind of need a moment."

...At that, Kaguya smiled. "Oh. Oh, why, yes, certainly. You still have that pistol you were screwing around with under the table?"

' _How'd you know?_ ' Furrowing her brows, the miko confirmed. "...Yeah."

"Gimme." Marching over to her, Kaguya held out her hands.

...Reluctantly, the miko gave her the pistol-

"There's a Mega Elixir in the fridge." Kaguya took the gun and walked over to the displaced, upside down couch. "There's more, but I locked them up 'cause fuck. I remember I still have one out though 'cause it didn't fit…"

She aims the pistol around the room-

 _Bam- bam!_ She shot the camera in the upper left.

 _Ba- bam!_ Next, she shot a second camera past the party, on the ceiling.

"Oh, yeah…" Kaguya looked over at Sendai, grinning. "You hit _fucking strong_ for a human. That's pretty neat, I guess. Like, compared to having nothing else when it comes to magic. I still gotta show you that person I want you to break, too..."

' _...Thanks, I guess._ '

Nodding at the miko with tired eyes, the princess glanced at the wall… "...Even quieter than Reimu. Eirin'll be here, soon. Just lemme…" Stepping over to a specific section of wall near her fridge, Kaguya knocked on it.

...Ducking down, she knocked on a different portion-

Bo- bo~ng. Despite looking like plaster, it made a metal sound.

Leaning up to it, Kaguya spoke into it. "What? What, what are you doing? No! Help! Eirin, help! _Eirin! Help me!_ "

Taking the gun, Kaguya inserted the barrel into her mouth, flipped the switch-

 _Bam!_

Red spattered the wall behind her, as she fell back onto the side of the fridge next to it, limp.

Cla- clack. The pistol dropped from her hands, stained with her blood.

…The miko blinked, as blood began to flow from the princess's nostrils and mouth as well.

' _Okay…?_ ' She was beginning to feel the fatigue from staying up all night fighting things herself. ' _Gensokyo's gotten weird…_ '

"I could… use some help…" Rinnosuke mumbled from the floor.

Marcus snored.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

(1x) Potion - Low tier restoration item. Provides high health regen for thirty seconds.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

(2x) Elixir - Advanced health and mana restoration items. Inside Gensokyo, these potions restore all life and magic instantly. Still doesn't cure being tired, though...

(1x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

kaguya fight

occurred prior to eirin because eirin's objectively more powerful and this is a good way to poke her with a stick - w -

that and eirin likely won't be truly serious for the next fight so honh

post-revision note: yes this kaguya is not at all the kaguya from canon really - w - in fact this is almost a total inversion of canon kaguya, based off of the more fandom version of her where she's a call of duty binging shitlord 4chan meme master

post-revision note pt2: considering how many actual proper people are in touhou i think i can be allotted making kaguya insane . w .

it's become hard for kaguya to view fighting as anything other than a game due to her long life and pain becoming an increasingly weaker deterrent from physical activity - w -

she can still get a rush if she gets fucked up though but hunger, thirst, and sleepiness are far more potent ways to deal with her than any sort of offensive damage

although at the end of the day she will last longer than any cell (be it a jail cell or a biological cell!) and outlive any mortal being, so she always wins a war of attrition in the end even - w -

healing items! they shall be put to good use, yo l :3

in that fight kaguya was a lot more focused on just being fancy and showing off her _DIVINE TREASURES_ ; the only way to really beat her is either kill her really hard so she stays dead for a long time, or just… fight until she gets hungry / thirsty / tired and decides to stop fighting

her mana is bound by how sleepy she is rather than how much she actually has, which is about how mana normally works anyway but basically it costs her far less to use any given spell compared to a human's traditional pools of health, mana, and then daily stamina, whereas kaguya just has… DAILY STAMINA and "health" that constantly regenerates

on that note, she's really susceptible to the tired status if not earth magic! as long as she's not got that branch out earth magic's alright on her for status purposes

"end of imperishable night -rising world-" changed to its weaker cousin "end of night -rising world-" because this is not the imperishable night incident

the JEWELED BRANCH OF HOURAI grants her like ninety percent resistance to every element that corresponds to a color on it when she's got it equipped, which stacks multiplicatively with her inherent like seventy five percent magic resistance… so basically DON'T CAST ON HER

that dagger she carries is just an ordinary sharp dagger used for stabbing people - w - made of iron and stuff with a wooden handle

break glass in case of mokou

more post-revision stuff: as a whole this chapter was well and good; kaguya displayed her TIME and ELEMENTALISM, the party got to be _the party_ some more, and there was some neat interaction between everyone

in retrospect on the reisen fight i wish i did make her go deeper when it came to her attacks and some of her strategies but she _was_ outnumbered and did know sendai had the capacity to resist her eye games to a limited degree

nothing beats how much i stiffed sakuya during the first chapters though - w - maybe she'll get her revenge at some point just because

as always, see you all next time!


	19. 4-4 - Immortal Bloodlines

_Crunch, crunch_ … Marcus and Rinnosuke quietly consumed their dusted chips at the cheap table from earlier.

' _There was a little more than just a Mega Elixir in there…_ ' Sendai pocketed the great potion. ' _Mega Potion and Mega Ether. Had to pretty much immediately use them on everybody, though._ '

...To the miko's side, Kaguya's corpse was there. A pool of crimson was beneath her, having leaked from her mouth and sinuses and onto her dress, then the floor.

' _About time we'll get to talk with Eirin. We'll probably need a nap straight after at this rate..._ '

"I~hi~ am outta items…" Marcus lazily leaned forward onto the table, propping himself up with his arms…

"I have plenty of mana items." Rinnosuke revealed his talley. "...A panacea, and a Hi Potion."

' _We're running out of abusable regular potions…_ ' Sendai felt at the Hi Potions in her pocket. ' _These are good and all, but I can only heal one person at a time…_ '

"...I've got some health items." Sendai voiced her inventory to her party, stepping up to the table. "And that Mega Elixir."

' _That elixir should be more than enough, but the real question is if I want to use it, or sell it for less expensive potions…_ '

...In the room's dim objective but dim lighting, the miko looked around idly. ' _Why's this place so dirty? For a 'princess', she's pretty… informal. I'd rather this than some snooty whore, though. Not that she isn't kind of snooty herself. I don't really know if she's a whore or not, either._ '

Fwhi- fwhip. The trap door in the corner of the room flipped around again.

"Twenty three minutes!" Tewi ran full sprint into the room. "About, anyway! An'..."

Looking over to the side, she saw the princess's corpse curled up against the wall and her fridge. "Oh. Rest in piece."

Giving her a dry stare, the miko stepped about into the room's midst. She gestured to the corpse. "You knew about this?"

Tewi smiled. "The princess being dead? Nope."

"The immortality." Sendai clarified.

"Oh. Yeah." Tewi nodded casually. Then, she smirked... "How'd she show _you?_ "

"We had to figure it out on our own." With this summary, the miko moved over to the displaced couch…

"We _weren't_ thrilled." Rinnosuke woke up from his half-tranced state to speak. "She could afford to be a little… more graceful."

"Pfehehe!" Giggling at his disdain, Tewi marched over to the table. "Oh, she's graceful alright! Depends how ya look at it…"

Jumping onto the table nimbly, the rabbit stared down at the chip bowl. "Doritos, ah? Hmm…"

...The room's door slid open-

 _Thunk_. Sendai righted the couch. A dirty pile of wires, boxes and assorted crap was left on the floor, beneath stranded cushions.

Reisen stepped inside, holding a large, red and gold tin. "...How'd it get _worse_ in here? It smells, too…"

She sniffed the air, before seeing Kaguya's corpse. "Aah? Ah. _Great_."

...Marching over to the nearby counter, Reisen sat the tub down. "I hope she didn't scare you guys _too_ badly."

"She scared us too badly." Rinnosuke was no longer in a mood to tiptoe around these topics. "Tell her to stop scaring people so badly."

...Reisen gave him a funny stare. "You say it like it's that easy…"

...Pushing himself from the table, he nodded. "I know…"

Replacing one of the cushions, Sendai took a seat. "Nnh…"

' _Woah. Not bad, actually…_ '

...Leaping over the couch's back, Tewi landed upon the cushionless upholstery next to her. "Gettin' a little comfy in youkai territory, ain't 'cha?"

' _Not like you'll just jump on my face and try to possess me through my eye sockets._ ' Sendai stared into the space next to her. ' _Gensokyo really is different… depending where you look, anyway. I still have to run around the forests before I can say for certain…_ '

"Probably." The miko took this moment to breathe…

…' _I'm a lot more tired than I thought. I gotta keep going, though…_ '

"You look outta it…" Tewi leaned towards the miko's side, a finger to her lips… "You sure you up to talk to doc?"

"What's it to you?" Sendai gave her a dry stare.

"Ah…" Pausing, Reisen reached into the pockets of her suit, which she had on again. "Here. Actually- what flavor would you like? Um, I have… blueberry and bubblegum."

' _Flavor…?_ ' She just gave the rabbit a hard stare…

...At the miko's reluctance, Reisen bluntly tossed her a bottle. "Try bubblegum then."

Sendai caught it nimbly, looking it over. ' _What…? Energy Boost XX… bubblegum flavor. Day long energy._ '

"It's a drug for energy…" Reisen explained. "Since you're tired, it might not help for long, but it'll keep you going for a little while. I have a few other spares, too..."

"Huh…" The miko gave the tiny, plastic bottle a sideways stare. "What's the side effects?"

Stepping over to the plastic table where the others were, Reisen placed two more bottles down. "Doubles the effects of tiredness- the earth status, not your _current_ tiredness. Also, once it runs out, you're pretty much done. Don't let anyone cast earth spells on you, or you're a goner. Consciousness-wise, I mean. It doesn't make you weak to earth or anything. It _does_ lower your space resistance when in effect for a little while."

' _Why._ ' Furrowing her brows at the bottle, Sendai turned it open. ' _Whatever. She's a doctor, so she's probably not that powerful outside of… drugs. Assuming we're going to fight her, which-_ '

"A- aah…" Face still stained with crimson, the princess panned her head around, leaning against the wall. "...Ei- Eirin here, yet?"

"No~." The room replied in vague, incoherent unison.

"Fuck." Kaguya brought the bloodstained pistol into her mouth again-

Reisen held an arm out. "Princess! Wait-"

 _Bam!_

 _Splat!_ The princess's brain matter once again splattered against the wall behind her.

"Hh- hh…" Her eyes drifted shut, flickering awkwardly. A new wave of sinus blood began to drip and flow from her orifices...

Rinnosuke exhaled, tense from the noise and resulting visual. " _Really…_ "

Tilting her head back, the miko chugged-

' _This tastes like shit._ ' She was instantly repulsed by the tiny concoction's flavor. ' _Bubblegum? Must taste like…_ ' She couldn't describe the flavor, but it wasn't anything normal. ' _Death and bile._ '

...Following her lead, Marcus and Rinnosuke undid the plastic seals to their bottles, and twirled them open, before drinking…

...Marcus lowered the bottle from his mouth, nodding. "...Ah, there's the blueberry."

"Mmh…!?" Rinnosuke quickly stopped sipping from his bottle. "Pu- pungent…"

"It's a lot of grades higher than the stuff we sell." Reisen admits. "Should be safe for humans, though. Just, the energy tradeoff _will_ knock you out later, so count on it."

"Yeah, s'got a kick to it." Standing up, Marcus lumbered away from the table. "Feel like a new man! For the next thirty minutes, at least…!"

...Finishing his bottle, Rinnosuke rose from the cheap table as well. "Aah… it _does_ work…"

' _Alright…_ ' Rising from the comfy couch, the miko looked around the bleak, dirty room… ' _Should be good to go._ '

...Stepping up to the fridge Kaguya's corpse was against, Reisen opened it and put the strawberry tin inside, before closing it. "There."

' _I should try and get a couch for the shrine._ ' The miko looked back at the seat… ' _Not that chairs or tables lived long there._ '

…

The door slid open again, causing the party to turn to it as they convened in the middle of the room.

Eirin stepped in, gaze transfixed on a clipboard before herself. "Hmm…"

...Glancing up, she saw the princess's corpse, and the room's occupants. "Ah."

"Hey." Sendai greeted her.

"Aah…" Reisen looked over at the princess, then at the doctor. "Master, ah-"

"I suppose you kept the princess entertained, then." The doctor nodded… "That works."

"You could say that." Moving up to her, the miko looked her over. ' _She's only half paying attention to us…_ '

...After glancing at the clipboard again, she spoke up. "It's not often the princess gets unique visitors, so it's healthy for her to get this interaction from time to time."

"Yeah." Sendai dismissively agreed with her. "We wanted to talk with you about-"

"Still…" Lowering the clipboard slightly, the doctor glanced up at the momentarily dead princess. "You did engage her and… contributed to her self-harm, you could say. Sort of enabled her tendency to torment her guests, as well. Mmm..." Glancing down at her clipboard, she wrote something down.

"...And?" The miko propped her arms onto her hips. "What's the problem, now…?"

"Well, you rough-housed the princess." Eirin clarified. "It's our duty to protect her and everything, and it'd be a little lazy to so simply let you walk away without a formal scuffle. It should make for a nice break, all things considered."

' _...A formal scuffle?_ ' Sendai rose a brow at the language.

"We don't want to fight you." Rinnosuke stepped up, trying to negotiate. "We-"

"But you could fight the princess quite aptly, yes?" Eirin gave him a dry glance. "I won't be fighting maliciously, certainly. Exchange showings of our danmaku and carry on from there, yes?"

"We… don't have danmaku." Rinnosuke contested further. "We-"

"I'll show you mine then." Eirin's dry glance became a flat stare. "You're not avoiding this, so please don't bother to negotiate."

...Defeated, Rinnosuke looked away. "Gee, alright…"

' _So, how will-_ '

 _Click!_ Casting her clipboard aside on the nearby counter, Eirin snapped her fingers-

 _Fwoa~sh!_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

FINAL STAGE - Immortal Bloodlines

 _Fwish_.

The area around the miko who came before was dark. ' _Ah…?_ '

Around them was a long, dark hall. The floor was boards of wood, and the walls were once again composed of a series of large, sliding doors. As they opened and shut randomly, they each contained either pitch black, or random compositions of stars and the great cosmos.

"...Ah." Rinnosuke wasn't sure how to describe this.

"The halls again…" Marcus nodded at them. "Yeah, they're awful pretty. Can't imagine what kinda hacky shittery goes into makin' this without it screwin' up fierce…"

...He grinned. "Also, we got teleported literally outside the room we were just in…!"

' _Apparently._ ' Sendai looked around for Kaguya's room, but couldn't find the unique door. ' _Hmm-_ '

Eirin was before them, arms behind her back.

After her appearance, the hallway suddenly had blue tiled flooring. Instead of sliding doors, the sterile white walls had vaguely ornate windows, revealing a purple view of the Earth outside to the right, and pure outer space on the left.

The sun was barely rising over the close orb's form, making everything white and violet in the light over the world.

"It's rather simple, really." Eirin regards the visual spectacle of the halls. "...The stabilization, anyway. This area's actually not connected to any other part of the clinic. Replication of this would take some work..."

"Huh." Marcus nodded compromisingly. "I wonder if I cou~ld…" He begins articulating his hands-

"Have fun with that." Eirin dismissed his efforts to tamper with the visual.

"It's pretty." Sendai admitted…

Cracking her knuckles, she began stepping closed to Eirin-

The hallway moved out of sync with her as she stepped forward. ' _What…?_ '

Marcus flinched from the awkward movement. "Wh- oh. Pfft, what…?"

"Ah…" Blinking, Rinnosuke looked around, confused. "Oh... uuh…"

' _Apparently they can all see it, too…_ ' She watched the hallway slowly scroll…

"...Do you three wish to start, or will it be on me?" Eirin questioned them neutrally.

' _...I think I'll just rough her up and see how she reacts._ ' Sendai continues towards her-

Within a few moments, the hallway begins accelerating improbably fast, the borders of windows roaring by. ' _Woah…_ '

And then-

The hallway slid away from them, the four standing still in space as the end of the hallway passed by and roared off into the distance.

Here, Sendai could see the shine of the sun on the Earth, the clouds of stardust and star stuff permeating the sky, and the vast, colorful void that lied beyond her familiar sky.

' _What…_ ' Sendai gazed at the huge orb to her side, now unignorable. "What is that…?"

"The world." Patiently, Eirin annotated it. "...I'm sure you've never seen it from this angle, before."

' _The… world?_ '

"More accurately, it's typically called Earth these days. There are some variants- Gaia, Sol-three, so forth, but this is the world you've lived on all your life." Turning to it, Eirin discussed it. "...The lighting right now doesn't let you see it, but the island of Japan is about dead center from this view."

' _Island of Japan…_ ' Sendai considered this… "If Japan's an island… what are those big land masses?"

"Continents." Eirin elaborated. "Much larger than Japan… and much _much_ larger than the Gensokyo you've been cooped up in for… four decades, I'd suppose. Technically more, but I won't count time spent as a corpse. Or as a spirit."

' _...Ah._ '

...Gazing at this huge orb, the miko pointed at the purple-tinted seas. "Oceans… are that big, huh?"

"Quite." Eirin responded quaintly.

"...Are there youkai out there?" Sendai questioned. "From what I know, there shouldn't be-"

"Yes and no." Eirin put it. "The outside world is unable to sustain youkai life; at least, amongst the weaker kinds. The lack of fear resulting from structure and technological progress has rendered the world outside of Gensokyo, and a few myriad entities and pockets, completely uninhabitable."

' _Huh._ ' The miko took this in…

"For all the prowess youkai carry, they also carry a heavier survival burden than lesser creatures by far." Still unmoving, Eirin described the youkai-fear resource dilemma. "The common human almost has a sweet spot between being a lesser being, and being something more complex. Of course, with the outside as it is, magic will continue to elude them for an indefinite duration. Unless they wipe themselves out, in which case they might reset themselves to the feudal eras and before again."

…

"How'd they go about that?" Marcus turned to her, scratching his head. "Also, if there ain't youkai-"

"Oh, without youkai, they find enemies in one another." Eirin allowed herself a small smile. "Where the human population in Gensokyo might total one or two thousand at best, the human population on the outside is in the billions. Seven billion and up, more precisely."

' _I can totally see everyone hating eachother then._ ' Sendai took in the number. ' _Seven billion people…?_ '

"As for auto-eradication…" Eirin looked down at her hand, glancing at it. "Well, if you recall that fire cleaner Udongein utilized earlier…"

' _They have things like that?_ '

Eirin glanced over, meeting her gaze as she looked at the doctor. "Multiply the scale a few thousand times, make it purely blast, force, and heat based rather than a flame surge, include nuclear fallout- a deadly form of decades-long poison which covers a wide area- and then give it to every single individual nation of the world en-masse and in continual mass production. For fear someone else has more than you, naturally. They're still working to make them better, too."

…

' _Oh._ ' This was a little more than Sendai was willing to learn at this point. "Weren't we supposed to be fighting…?"

"Yeah, um…" Rinnosuke snapped his head away from the view of the Earth. "Thanks for the… information, but…"

"Just a little perspective for you." Eirin seemed to have traces of amusement. "I'll let you go first."

…

' _Well…_ '

...Glancing back at her party members, the miko instructed the team mage. "Make a magic barrier, Marcus."

"Can do!" Beaming, he gave a thumbs up-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ -erecting a barrier at the same time.

...Looking over at Rinnosuke, she gave him simple instructions. "Don't die."

"I'll try." He gave her a dry stare.

...With the party's preparation out of the way, the miko marched towards the doctor herself. ' _I'll only charge with dark energy when I'm in danger or need it for hits I'm committing to…_ '

The doctor had a brow raised. "...Spell cards, yes?"

At her curious expression, Sendai kept moving towards her. ' _...Seems like she won't even see it coming._ '

...Once she was in range-

 _Woosh!_ ' _Ah…_ ' Sendai threw her fist forward, but the doctor wasn't in her sight-

 _Wham!_ "Ugh…!?"

Before the miko hand a chance to tighten her stomach and affix it with black magic, the doctor punched her, sending her stumbling back.

"Oo~h… that kind of duel, is it?" Arms again behind her back, the doctor tilted her head at the miko. "Well, if you think it's worth the trouble."

...Sendai watched her movements carefully. ' _She… doesn't even have a stance. She shouldn't be able to use her arms for anything. Her eyes weren't even open..._ '

... _Bam!_ Sendai kicked against the curiously invisible floor-

 _Woosh!_ She kicked wide, hitting nothing.

Eirin whirled to a stop, having pivoted around the kick with a brief rotation on her heels, letting the blow graze her back "Too far-"

 _Woosh!_ Sendai followed up with another wide kick, closer this time.

Eirin stepped back out of this one, before sliding back into place with uncannily precise accuracy. "Still too far-"

 _Woosh!_ Sendai tried to get very near her-

Eirin backed out before the miko even began, anticipating this.

...Stopping, the miko began to adopt neutral posture-

 _Woosh!_ -before snapping into a sudden thrust kick-

It rolled off the doctor's arms, only grazing her.

"Hup-" The miko Jumped with one leg-

"Hah!" -before twirling around, bringing her leg down-

Eirin was behind her, having traveled under her. "...I wouldn't recommend anymore spinning maneuvers."

 _Clack_. She landed on the unknown invisible ground before the doctor, her back to her.

Then, she feverishly rotated back around to prevent her opponent from capitalizing, but Eirin made no offensive effort.

' _I need to fake her out…_ '

... _Boom!_ Crouching down, Sendai stomped the ground and slid forward, getting closer to Eirin but not actually doing anything with the move.

There was no reaction from the doctor.

…

 _Woosh!_ Uppercutting into the air with a darkness-enhanced fist, the miko-

 _Woosh!_ -immediately inverted her momentum with a downward kick-

 _Bam!_ Her leg met the floor.

Eirin was right before her, peering down at the miko-

Sendai tried to grab her ankle, but Eirin brought it back-

 _Wham!_ Eirin punted her, tipping her over. ' _What-_ '

 _Pap_. With a weak follow-up prod with her shoe, she sent Sendai into a backwards summersault. ' _Ah-_ '

Thud. She ended up on her stomach.

"I recommend some kind of feigning maneuver." Eirin gave helpful advice.

' _Yeah, okay…_ ' Getting back onto her legs, the miko focused. ' _If she can read my mana, perhaps I can trick her by not only feigning my blows, but feigning the magical focus on each limb. Actually..._ '

Slipping out the Eye of Truth talisman, the miko equipped it…

...There was nothing visually different about the scene, aside from a magical aura traveling down from Eirin into the ground below.

Sendai almost unequipped it. ' _Not helpful. But, let's leave it on and see what happens._ '

...Moving up to the doctor, the miko-

 _Woosh!_ -slid up to her.

 _Fwam!_ She channeled dark magic into her head, left leg, and right arm-

 _Woosh!_ A left hook she threw missed, the doctor leaning out of the way-

 _Fwish!_ Her right arm was propelled into a jab by the removal of dark energy, the unaccented arm nearing the doctor-

Eirin dropped out of the way, onto an arm and a leg-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai attempted to punch forward, but Eirin waited, still near the floor on one arm and one leg.

 _Woosh!_ She tried to kick the doctor out of her precarious posture, but she'd sprung up off of the arm and leg, barrel rolling in the air-

 _Woosh!_ The miko tried to follow this up with the same kick, but instead of falling into it, Eirin stopped in the air-

 _Woosh!_ Attempting a grapple, the miko lunged forward-

 _Pap_. Eirin slammed her forearm into the miko's elbow, allowing her to tilt herself towards her. From there, she stretched an arm out and pulled after grabbing onto the miko's side, thrusting herself along her flank.

Like this, Eirin had slipped past the miko entirely, out of sight.

' _What the fuck…?_ ' Sendai blinked, turning around. ' _What happened?_ '

 _Clack_. Despite this, the doctor wasn't behind her in the direction she looked, and the sound of shoes meeting floor came from ahead, out of the miko's vision.

Looking back ahead, Eirin was in grapple range again, her clothing and hair just meeting their resting positions.

' _...During that process, she wasn't visibly doing anything with her mana._ ' The miko unequipped the Eye of Truth talisman. ' _I'm not sure how that even works._ '

' _But…_ '

"How about you actually go on the offensive?" Sendai requested. "I don't doubt a lot of youkai can simply dodge all day."

"...Very well." Eirin brought her arms together, and started stepping towards her.

…

Sendai slid back as she neared.

…

As she neared again, the miko slid back.

...Reaching behind herself-

Eirin drew a wooden bow from nowhere at all. ' _What. No._ '

Dissatisfied with this, Sendai ran up to her before she could load an arrow, running to grab the bow-

 _Thunk!_ Spinning around in a whirl that left her long silver braid wrapped around herself, Eirin whacked Sendai on the side of the head with her bow.

' _Oo~h…_ ' The miko's momentum was halted, the blow sending her stumbling to the side.

"If you're quick enough, spinning attacks _can_ be semi-necessary, sometimes." Eirin admits, as she throws her braid back behind herself. "Although I suppose things beyond human capability might be cheating."

...Once the miko refocused on her-

Eirin was many feet away from her. "Do you want to get to the danmaku showings, or would you like me to shoot you a few times? If you haven't some non-danmaku toys to play with yourself, that is."

' _...Considering her speed and agility, I don't think I could hit her with anything other than the flintlock or certain item crashes._ ' Sendai considered. ' _The flintlock's not even worth using on someone like her. So…_ '

...Eirin nodded. "Very well. Also…" She held her hand up-

A small, yellow circle generated in it-

 _Crack_. The yellow circle shattered-

 _Cra~ck!_ Marcus's magic barrier shattered like glass. "...Oh."

"No magic disruptor barriers." The doctor requested of the party. "This spell won't justify it anyway."

...Reaching into her pockets, the doctor took out a potion bottle with clear liquid in it.

"Spacesphere." She prepared to throw it, the potion glowing with energy. "Earth in a Pot." She cast it into the air in the same way one would quickcast a potion, the bottle disappearing midway through the air.

 _Bwomp_. Magical circles appeared from the air over Sendai, moving around erratically before forming a circle around her, glowing with the energy the splashes of healing solvent in a potion might.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ The circles erupted with white diamond danmaku, which splashed out and away from the miko, not at all aimed at her. ' _Ah…?_ '

Marcus and Rinnosuke quickly began running to evade the huge storm that was unleashed from around the miko-

She barely leaned out of the way of a single, round pellet.

White, round orbs trickled in from the ring of circles around the miko, keeping her mobile…

 _Bwomp_. Eirin tossed another potion-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Again, the circle violently unleashed danmaku linearly out from the miko, a few pellets moving to keep her occupied.

" _Hup!_ " She leapt out of the safe space in the middle, moving to engage the doctor who was standing far away. ' _Well, this spell's not terribly threatening…_ '

Landing between two linear waves of danmaku, the miko sprinted up to the doctor…

' _Hitting her will be a serious problem._ ' The miko braced herself for some mind games…

...She pulled out the flintlock. ' _Let's try to surprise her with this._ '

...Nearing the doctor, the miko-

 _Zap- zap- zap!_ Shot three meek static bolts from her revolver, which connected with the doctor.

Eirin had no reaction to the magic-

 _Pap_. Sendai followed up with a normal jab, which Eirin simply blocked with precision-

 _fwish_. -before sliding away from the miko. The danmaku all dissipated.

"Good." Eirin nodded at this. "None of you were taken out in the warm up…"

"I think we would've survived eating that danmaku outright." Sendai was unimpressed by the card."

Eirin smiled at her. "Every shot had a one-hundred percent chance of inflicting crippling tire. Considering your current condition, I don't think you'd be in any state to be inflicted by any tier of earth magic, even if a panacea would cure it."

' _...Oh, shit._ ' Sendai looked over at her party members.

Fortunately, they were all still standing. ' _Okay, good._ '

 _Fwoosh!_ Eirin slid to the space between the miko and her party members, and thirty feet back. "God Sign. Genealogy of the Sky-Born."

Dashing across the invisible plain, Sendai bolted for her party members. ' _Let's not be separated if shit hits the fan…_ '

...Slowly, Eirin drew her bow back, the single, bulb-tipped arrow shimmering with light.

"Alright…" Nearing the two guys, Sendai had her arms ready. "We charge her when she fires."

"Maybe…!" Marcus gave her an unsure grin. "We'll hafta see-"

Eirin released the arrow-

 _FW- VHI~R_

A complex, red laser web of shimmering, bright lasers bloomed forth from the arrow the doctor fired, generations of new lasers produced one after another, creating a vaguely tree-like sigil that splayed into the party like a cannon blast.

 _ZAP!_ Marcus was thrown over by the laser that spawned halfway inside him. " _Hua~h!_ "

 _FWAM- FWAM- FWAM- FWAM- FWAM_

Eirin rendered herself unflankable, an impenetrable, repeatedly fired wall of huge, house-sized red bullets covering everything to her sides and behind her.

Before herself, Eirin's repeated and machine gun-esque procedure of launching arrows unleashed a steady linear spread of blue diamond bullets in all of the space not covered by her impossible flank guards.

 _ZAP!_ " _Augh!_ " Sendai slammed her right leg into the ground repeatedly, slowing the immense momentum from the loose spoke of an unfulfilled laser branch.

' _Why does that sting so much…!?_ ' Sendai grit her teeth. ' _First hit of the first real spell card…_ '

As the lasers faded out-

 _FW- VHI~R_

-Eirin reinitialized them with an entirely new configuration, a new species of lasers to create their new family lines.

The linear blue diamonds forced the miko to brace her arms, blocking the bullets and letting the pain build up on her limbs. ' _Really-_ '

 _ZAP!_ " _Uaa~h!_ " Marcus fell forward onto his stomach-

 _ZAP!_ "Fuaa~h!" Rinnosuke collided with the same spoke, tripping over Marcus as he got flung to the side.

' _Holy shit…_ ' Reaching into her sleeve, the miko drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo.

" _Holy Spark!_ " Flinging the tome up, she pointed in the direction of the lasers-

 _FW- VHI~R_

Again, Eirin launched a bulbous arrow amidst her machinegun of unremarkable diamond danmaku, unleashing another laser family tree onto the party.

The miko doubled back as the octagram of tomes initialized over the thick red beams, connecting with one another and-

 _VRRRRRRRR_

The holy rainbow laser roared into the epicenter of Eirin's danmaku. The light it unleashed paled in comparison to the glittery spectacle of the background, although Eirin's danmaku fared similarly.

RRRRRrrrr…

As the beam died down, the danmaku was also gone.

Eirin stood neutrally, the crackling danmaku energy slowly wearing off on her body. She betrayed no signs of wear. "Had to bomb, I see…"

...Shambling to his feet, Rinnosuke called out. "Ma- Marcus, are you-"

"Ye- yeah, I'm _fine,_ I'm _fine…_ " Waving his arm, the mage began to get up. "Oo~h, damn. If there ain't a few years offa _my_ genealogy, if ya know what I'm sayin'...!"

"It only goes to show." Eirin contemplates the results of that exchange. "You three require perhaps too many external resources… though your collective competence as a whole may be something to question before the more abstract aspects of group combat."

"Are you here to lecture us or fight us?" Sendai felt like she was being patronized a little…

"...Well, to me this is killing some time for the sake of it." Eirin admitted, brushing her shoulder, since the laser Sendai hit her with had ruffled her dress. "I suppose I'll lend that magic attacks don't work well on me."

' _...Magic attacks don't work, physical attacks don't work. Nothing works._ ' Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _...What, are we supposed to use statuses then? How powerful is she...?_ '

...Kneeling down, Eirin tapped her bow on the floor, taking a careful position for finer aiming. ' _Will this one be accuracy based…?_ '

"Resurrection." Eirin tapped the floor twice with the bow's bottom, before drawing an arrow. "Game of Rising."

The arrow she drew seemed like two arrows conjoined, one black and red, the other white and blue…

Slowly, she drew her bow back…

 _Fwoash!_ Marcus created his magical barrier. "Aha~h, whatever, let's see where this gets us…!"

Sendai and Rinnosuke quickly moved to hobble behind it…

…

' _Sure is taking awhile to draw her-_ '

Bwomp- _FWFWFWFWFWFWFWFWFWFW_

Upon releasing the arrow, an unstoppable supernova of house-sized red bullets, person-sized red bullets, and tiny diamond-shaped black bullets bloomed from Eirin. They all flowed together in huge splashes, spiralling out from the lunar doctor.

' _Holy crap…_ ' Sendai was glad the barrier-

The black bullets that touched the barrier immediately disintegrated it. ' _Fuck!_ '

Instantly, the miko worked to move around the hugest orbs-

" _Ooaa~h!_ " Rinnosuke was sent flying away, black energy assaulting his form.

" _Waahaa~h!_ " Marcus was also flung into the distance, black magic sending him soaring away. ' _Great._ '

Silently, as the miko charged through black bullets, defending herself with her own black magic-

White and blue, holy bullets spawned in the midst of the waves, static and unmoving, forming a grid around the miko-

 _Fwi~sh- fwi- fwi~sh!_ Each one the miko charged into bloomed out into a cleansing orb of white, pure magic. "Haa- _aa~h!_ "

' _Why holy!?_ ' Sendai's dark-enhanced limbs screamed at her, the black burning under the magic. ' _Who the hell am I fighting!?_ '

Before the miko could get away from the grid of holy mines, another grid formed right where she was about to charge to. ' _No~!_ '

Pivoting around, she doubled back through the field she already stumbled around in. ' _What the hell am I supposed to do here!?_ '

...Drawing a yin-yang orb from her pockets, she maximized it to try and defend herself from the coming waves. ' _Holy shit…_ '

Dashing between the huge danmaku orbs, the shrine maiden regarded the yin-yang orb in her arms…

' _I can't stop to cast anything… although…_ '

Pushing the orb into the maelstrom, she drew a mana molotov, and chucked it into the air. " _Hydro Storm!_ "

As it rose, she became aware of the holy mines stationed all around her again. ' _No, fuck…_ '

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi~sh- fwi~sh!_ She ran through them, yelling. " _Haa~h!_ "

...Then, it began to rain, holy drops pouring down from… outer space, it seemed.

Only the thickest, house-sized red bullets remained, the rest of Eirin's cataclysm dulled by the momentary rainstorm.

Sendai's body was wracked with holy energy, her limbs weak and aching. ' _Ugh…_ ' With this momentary respite, she drew another Chronicle of Gensokyo, tossing it behind herself. " _Holy Spark!_ "

' _Now…!_ ' Weaving between the two huge orbs ahead of her, the miko reached into her sleeves, strafing to the side to avoid her own laser. " _Thousand Talismans!_ "

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Her arms rotated in a blur as she unloaded an unyielding stream of ofuda into the epicenter of huge orbs. ' _Why do I feel so weak…!? Ah- right, holy magic..._ '

VRRRRRRRRR

The octagram of Chronicles was complete, unleashing a rainbow-sized laser that had to chew through the massive bullets ahead of itself.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ " _Haa~h!_ " Sendai shut her eyes as she unleashed as many ofuda as she could into the storm.

RRRRRRRrrrrr…

Fwi- fwi- fwish… fwish. Slowly, she stopped tossing ofuda.

The rainstorm came to an end.

All the danmaku was gone.

Ahead, Eirin had her neutral, hands-behind-her-back posture again. She was a little wet, and crackling with danmaku energy. Ofuda were spattered all over her front, as well.

 _ZAP!_ The immense congregation of ofuda on her front unleashed hell on her body.

...Or, Sendai would've thought, at least. Eirin held up an arm-

"Curagun Sworn." She cast a spell-

Slowly, a wreath of green, gold and brass formed over her like a halo-

 _Fwoa- fwoa~sh! Fwoa- fwao- fwoa~sh!_ Her body glowed repeatedly, her posture jittering slightly from each flash of light-

 _Fwi- fwi~sh_. White swooshes ran up her form, the water and danmaku energy vanishing-

The ofuda covering her fell off, now devoid of any holy energy at all.

...As the halo faded, she was left with sparkles of green across her form. "Not my favorite prefab spell, to be certain, but it's useful for single-target status relief and disorientation. The healing's so abrupt it more often than not goes horribly wrong for more serious wounds. A very niche spell, to be certain. Not that I like healing spells to begin with..."

' _What the hell was that…?_ ' Sendai's brows were raised. ' _What the hell was that!? Are we sure this is just some doctor!?_ '

...Eirin looked past the miko. "I'll give you time to revive whomever you may feel useful. Don't take too long."

' _Wha- really…_ ' The miko blinked, before slowly glaring at the doctor. ' _Really?_ '

…

"A few minutes, or so." Eirin reinforced her position.

…

Sendai looked behind her.

...She saw no one.

Taking this moment, she put on her Eye of Truth talisman...

Marcus and Rinnosuke were both down for the count seemingly, laying far apart and way way back in the space behind the miko. They were far enough for the light and mix of colors in the sky to obscure their bodies normally, although the miko was able to make out their magical signatures.

' _I'm fucked, and pretty much out of mana._ ' The miko dug through her pockets. ' _...Rinnosuke has some statuses and items, and he can run and whatever. I guess I'll pick him up. Maybe he can pick up Marcus, too. If she nukes us immediately though, if he didn't heal me instead of up him we'll be wiped. Ugh, strategy..._ '

...Taking her Hi Potion, she tossed it into the air for a quick cast-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Liquid splashed down onto Rinnosuke's form…

"Ugh…" Slowly, he began to get up. "Wh-"

" _Potion! Ether!_ " Sendai barked out from her portion of the battle field. " _Help!_ "

"Oo- aah- I…!" Quickly, he dug into his backpack. "Ho- hold on…!"

"Alright…" Eirin tilted herself about slightly. "Sorry, was getting a little stiff, there."

Kneeling down, she touched a hand to the ground, propping herself up with her great bow…

"Mind of God." Eirin closed her eyes-

 _Vhoo~m_. A huge, red pentagram circle spread out beneath her, glowing fiercely.

' _You're-... fuck._ ' Sendai was at a loss for words.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- shi~ng!_ Rinnosuke quickcasted his elixir on the miko. ' _There we go…_ ' Despite this, her limbs still felt weak. ' _Holy magic's still in my system… and will probably be for a while. Here I thought I'd never run into something powerful that would also be this holy-centric._ '

"Omoikane's Brain." Eirin began to float from the ground-

 _Vhi~r_. From the magical circle, a rigid machine rose. The machine was blocky, composed of an almost completely random assortment of white, pure lunar parts, dingy steampunk parts, blocky generic parts, and rusty, rugged pieces.

On the back, huge vials of pure color rose and sank, steam billowing from some of them as their liquid levels fluctuated out of sync with their height.

Fvhip. A boxy layer of shielding initialized around it-

 _Bwoom_. Lunar energy shielding came online-

 _Fwa~sh_. Flowing layer-esque green shielding flickered to life around it.

 _Cli- click_. It cloaked, vanishing from sight, aside from two glowing lights that were emitted from where it used to be.

' _What the fuck._ '

...Rinnosuke caught up with her. "He- here!"

 _Fwi- fwi~sh!_ The miko felt her magic restore, the shopkeeper having quick-served her an ether. ' _I think I'm just going to nuke the hell out of this card when I get a chance. Let's see how bad it is, first…_ '

 _Bhwomp!_ From where the machine was, a slow, shimmering white light was ejected, the holy sparkle drifting before the miko…

"Aa- aah…" Rinnosuke anxiously stepped about in place. "Ei- Eirin… _Eirin!_ "

' _I don't think she cares._ ' Sendai shot him a very hard grin.

...Silently, a web of small, tripwire-esque holy lasers were generated from the tiny orb-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Everywhere outside of this small pyramid-shaped safe space was instantly bombarded by a splash of lighting fast, diamond-shaped black bullets.

' _All these cards restrict your movement down to nothing…_ ' Sendai exhaled. ' _It's impossible to engage her without going ballistic…_ '

Above the invisible machine, Eirin loaded an entire handful of arrows into her bow…

Slowly, the pyramidic safe space of lasers began to rotate and move, forcing the party to both move as the source spun, as well as avoid the thin lasers as they slowly panned around in an attempt to trip the trapped party…

' _What happens if you touch one…?_ ' Sendai and Rinnosuke both hopped over one in unison. ' _I really don't want to find-_ '

Whirling over the battlefield, Eirin begins spinning around, her movements silent but highly visible. ' _Oh, hey. Maybe I can actually chuck ofuda at her or something-_ '

She launches entire armfuls of arrows with inhuman speed and efficiency, loading twenty arrows at a time and unleashing them-

The result was a spiralling supernova of holy, blue and white walls of clumped, diamond-shaped danmaku bullets, descending from above in an arrow rain over the battleground, accenting the unavoidable black barrages outside of the safe space-

While observing this, Rinnosuke's shoe passed through part of one of the thin, tiny white lasers of the trapping pyramid.

" _HRAUIH!_ " The machine snaps into visiblity-

 _CLANK!_ Opening as if it had a maw, it clamped down on the air before it-

Fwoo- Fwoo- Fwoo~ash. A series of huge, white octagrams began forming beneath the safe space-

 _FWAA~- FWAA- FWAA~SH!_

Sendai was enveloped by a huge wave of colossal holy pillars unleashed by the machine.

" _Aaaa~h!_ " She felt herself ascend, flung, her world fading to white.

' _wh- aa-_ '

...

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Di- di~ng!_

' _Wh- wha- ow- fuck- aah…!?_ '

Springing off the ground, the miko found herself getting torn into by a holy wall of diamond bullets. ' _What's going on…!?_ '

Darting out and avoiding bright lights- she found herself getting torn into by unavoidable, pulsing shoots of black diamonds. "Aa- aa~gh…!"

Rinnosuke was still running around inside the safe space, waving his arms. " _Here!_ Over _here! Help!_ "

' _The fuck you mean 'help'!?_ ' Sendai began running for the space, limbs burning, the holy energy in her body effectively nullifying her dark resistance. ' _Oo~w!_ '

Looking up at the twirling, erratically moving archer doctor, the miko dug into her sleeves. ' _You're not a fucking doctor! You're a god or something! Holy shi~t…!_ '

Reaching the safe space, the miko made deathly sure to _not_ trip the holy nuke pillars again.

"Aa- aanh…" Even in here, the miko was not safe from the walls of diamond danmaku arrows- fifteen to twenty bullets strong at a time.

 _Fwash!_ She ended up eating one directly, the lingering dark from the dark bullets amplifying her already terrible holy resistance further. "Een- _anh…!_ " Sendai whined from the pain.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- shi~ng!_ Rinnosuke spent another elixir on her.

' _Oh- oh, ugh…_ ' She resisted the urge to vomit from the disorientation that hit her from suddenly being back at full health, albeit plagued by incompatible dark magic and invasive holy energy. ' _Great…_ '

"Are- are you okay…!?" Rinnosuke quickly questioned if the miko was alright.

...Sendai gave him a _stare_.

Drawing a mana molotov, she chucked it up. " _Hydro Storm!_ "

' _Alright, that's enough of this horrible goddamn spell card. I've had enough of_ spell cards _for the rest of my life, thank you very much!_ '

Fwap- whish- fwap, fwap! She lobbed talismans up at the spinning Eirin, doing her best to graze walls of arrows as she did so.

Then, the holy rain began as the molotov's magic executed.

The lights of the holy arrows grew bigger and brighter, although the tiny, crippling and unavoidable shoots outside the safe zone vanished.

Sendai immediately got out of the safe zone, since it was now objectively the worst place to be.

' _Wait…_ ' Examining the areas in the air where Eirin stopped- in the pattern of a pentagram- the miko had an idea. ' _One of the areas she's going to be…!_ '

Running to one of the archer's stops ahead of her, the miko dug into her pockets, drawing a handful of rebound stones. " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

 _Cli- cli- clink!_ The stones clattered against outer space- the miko supposed- as they arced up and drew their pentagrammic shaft.. ' _This better work…!_ '

...Eirin drifted into the effective area, eyes closed and still launching arrows en masse-

The shaft initialized, and filled with holy light-

 _Fwa~sh!_

The spell card ended.

 _Cli- click._ "He- he- hi- heioo~h…" The amalgamation machine- the Brain of Omoikane- sank back into the magical circle it came from, the spell over.

"Ah…" Eirin seemed as if she'd been awoken from a trance. "I was really getting into that, too."

' _Fuck you._ '

...The rain storm of holy water came to an end.

"Aa- aa- ooh…!" Rinnosuke struggled to put out the holy flames dancing across his body. "Help! He- help me…! Aa-"

Fwoo- fwoo- fwoosh. White swooshes ran up his body…

The holy flames were extinguished. "Ha~h…" He slouched, almost as if to fall over.

' _She must've healed him. Cured him, rather..._ ' The miko glared up at the lunar doctor.

...Eirin looked back at where her machine was. "That device of mine was quite the surprise, wasn't it? It's my tester zero when it comes to Gensokyo's variable technological advances, incorporating lunar, kappa, tengu, human, and fairy technology. As such, it's very easy prey to target, as it's not really optimized for combat."

' _Fucking- okay. Okay, I believe you._ ' Sendai was very done with this fight.

"Anyway…" Eirin nodded at the damage she'd caused. "You all seem tired."

' _Are you sure about that._ ' Sendai huffed, pissed. ' _When this energy drink runs out, I'm gonna be in a coma._ '

"You're also out of healing items as well, I'm lead to believe…" Eirin held a hand to her chin… "Barring your Mega Elixir, but I wouldn't want to press you to use that. Simply if because that's the one kind of restoration item that takes a margin of effort to produce, of the common tiers."

...Holding his pistol up at her, Rinnosuke yelled. "I- I'll _shoot!_ "

...Eirin just stared at him blankly. "Even if you _did_ , it wouldn't mean anything. Unless you're unaware that I too have taken the Hourai Elixir. Death is meaningless to me."

' _She really is immortal, too…_ ' Sendai sighed. ' _I'm not sure if this was possible in the first place…_ '

…

 _Fwoomp!_ Rinnosuke fired a red dart of danmaku straight up at her. "Leave us _alone!_ "

...Eirin let it fizzle against her stomach.

...She took pause for a moment. "Oh. Huh. Right." After blinking for a moment, she looks back down at him. "Anger, yes. I used to be familiar with anger, you know. Not so much now…"

' _Literally nothing._ ' Grinning, Sendai shook her head. ' _This is a joke…_ '

"You wouldn't want me to attack with actual intent." Eirin decided. "Too cruel, too mindless. I'm having a lot more fun doing this. Although, once upon a time, I had my… 'edgier' phase, you might call it. There is no one from that era that still exists."

' _Everything that ghost said was right._ ' Sendai shook her head at the co-founder of the Lunarian society. ' _Ancient deity that created a civilization. This is shit._ '

"What do you say we skip to the climax, then?" Eirin begins to lower to the ground… "The 'do or die' moment that often happens in a lot of gripping battles. We really like those, here in Gensokyo. Although if danmaku's being used properly, it's always present in shades… although _especially_ at the end of an encounter, usually."

' _...You know what._ '

"Sure." Sendai nods at the mercy offering. "Pretty sure we're fucked otherwise."

"Quite." With that, she began to ready her bow… "Well, then. I'll give you a moment to get ready, as I get ready myself. This next card… well, I'll spoil it. You need holy resistance."

' _I hate you._ ' Sendai clenched her fists…

Rinnosuke began to hyperventilate. "Oh- oh, _no…_ "

' _...I guess if there was a time to sound like a quivering fairy, this would be it. This sucks._ '

…

"Can't really… prepare, can we?" Sendai awkwardly glanced over at her remaining party member. "No items…"

"It- it's fine…" Putting away his flintlock, Rinnosuke steeled himself as best he could. "Whatever… happens happens, I guess…"

' _...Well, aren't you a soldier._ ' Sendai nodded inexpressively, before glancing over at the ancient doctor…

...Eirin glanced away. "Oh, right. Some kind of witty, tense exclamation. Not that this card has much sentimental value; I simply like it. Or, I suppose…" Struck by indecision, she glances away…

Then, she focuses on the party members again. "Ah, I got it. 'This is the moon's power'... or something."

"I'm going to hurt you." Sendai cracked her knuckles.

"Okay." Eirin accepted this. Then, her eyebrows raised, for just a moment.

"If the parents don't die off eventually, food would run out, and they get annihilated." She smiled at the miko.

' _Really…_ '

...Raising her bow, the doctor took a single, wooden arrow, and slid it along the string. Gradually, she arced it back…

" _Heaven Spider's Butterfly-Capturing_ _Web!_ "

Eirin let the arrow fly.

Sendai slid to the side, a line of line drawn in the air towards her-

FWA- FWA- _FWOASH_

Stuck between a triangle, betwixt three lasers of variable size, the miko's vision was blinded. Holy light enveloped the battleground.

' _Okay._ '

...After a moment, the light all vanished, the clearing returning to the dark, dim yet brilliant glow of space.

Rinnosuke was alive and kicking, too. "...Wa- did we make it…!?"

FWA- FWA- FWOA- _**FWOAASH**_

This time, the laser grid of splintered lasers- or, the cracked stained glass of holy light- fractured from near the party of two.

Sendai was wedged between an awkward pentagon of really close lasers, the hair on the back of her neck standing, body cold and lightly shivering from the sheer adrenaline, anticipation and alarm.

From between this brief, penultimate fracturing, blue orbs of holy splashed out from various cracks, flowing through the laser grid.

 _Fwi- fwish! Fwam- fwish!_ Sendai tried her best to hold in the pentagon still as the orbs yelled at her by exploding violently into her, reintroducing revealing light into her. "Fff~ nnn~!"

Then, the lasers were all gone. Only drifting holy mines remained.

Rinnosuke was running in place, barely dodging one of the mines. "Ho- hoah…! Woah…!"

' _Calm down, there…_ ' Sendai's body jittered from the amount of foreign holy magic in her system. ' _U~gh…_ '

FWA- FWA- _FWOASH_

Nearly instantaneously, the web re-initialized. Hiding in a generously larger space of splintered lines and fractured lasers, the miko warily watched the mine clusters, which now had at least twice the consistency they had before.

 _Fwi- fwi~sh!_ She clipped only two mines, this time. ' _Ow- ow…_ '

Again, the lasers dissipated, leaving a large sum of drifting, random mines flowing in the party's direction.

Eirin reeled her bow back once more…

"Ha- aah…!" Rinnosuke was pumped.

FWA- FWA- _FWOA-_ _**FWOAASH**_

Diamond shapes, awkward geometry of positive and negative space speckled the air, the miko caught in the midst of the abstract art the doctor was painting.

Before she got a moment to be frustrated at how awkwardly wedged in she was, the lasers faded. The mines were now flowing in predictable patterns, seemingly, making it easier for the miko to poise herself safely. ' _Ok- okay…_ '

Eirin drew her bow back again, wood arrow loaded…

Rinnosuke yelled. " _Eiri~n!_ " He still looked pumped, though. ' _He's really getting into this whole 'getting your ass kicked' thing._ '

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash!_ A trickle of lasers began to bloom-

 _ **FWOOAAAA~**_

Mines splashed out from new, awkward positions-

The fracture was now a near shattering of the 'window' the battlefield seemed to be, the mines representing particles of the fracture.

Sendai had to remain deathly still-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwam- fwi- fwi- fwish- fwam!_ This was not an easy task, all things considered. ' _Oooaa~h…!_ '

 _-AAAaaaa~..._ The lasers fell-

Sendai fell, too.

Thud. She flopped to the ground, desperate to distance herself from the mines. "O- ow, n- nnh…"

Biting her lip, she inhaled sharply, struggling back onto her feet through the holy magic. ' _Co- come on- come on…_ '

"Nn~h…" She stood-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash_. A predictable, diamond-shaped pattern of lasers spawned, the mines now perfectly following the walls.

Sendai hid in the center of one. ' _Oh, yes, yes…_ '

 _ **FWOOAAA~**_

She ducked into the midst of the fractures, trapped in a tiny four-sided cubicle-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwam!_ She slid back as the result of some of the holy mines, combined by her abysmal physical strength after all the holy damage-

She slid back into a laser.

 _ZA- ZAP- ZAP- ZAP!_

" _Aanh!_ " Tears streaming down her cheeks, the miko's world faded to white.

'no'

'im sorry'

…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

And-

 _CRAA~CK!_

Rinnosuke's ears pounded- his heart racing, body numb, and mind on overdrive.

As the white faded, he found himself on wooden floor. "Aa- aah…!?"

...Standing from his knees- a little wobbly- he looked around, grunting and greedily gulping air. "Haa~h, haa~h, haa~h…"

...Eirin bowed to the party, standing before them. "And, there we are. Though…" Rising, she focused on Rinnosuke. "It only seems one of you stayed awake through my performance. You all _were_ tired, after all."

"Hrrgh!" Pushed to his limit, Rinnosuke lashed out at the doctor, limbs ready to maul-

 _Pap!_ He was stopped by a quaint jab to the nose. "Nngh…!"

 _Splash_. A small sum of water was deposited onto his head.

"Aah- whah- woah…" He looked around-

 _Fwi~sh_. Golden light emanated from his form for a moment, the water fading due to it. "Um…"

...Then, he began slouching. "Oof…"

"I didn't know you had it in you to go berserk like that…" Eirin observed Rinnosuke's behavior, a hand to her chin. "Well, you aren't anymore. Water, purification and pain tend to do that."

"Wh- whah…?" Instead of being angry, he was just delirious and tired. "Aa- aaoh…"

Thud. He fell back onto his rear-

Thud. Then, he settled for lying back on the floor.

"...Well, you three _technically_ survived." Eirin moved to go find her clipboard she left on the counter. "I suppose you deserve that chat when you wake up, then. But, hmm..."

... _Rip!_ She tore a small scrap of paper from one of her sheets, and scribbled on it with a pen.

Moving back to the miko, she crouched down, and placed the note on her forehead, adhesing it with dark magic. "You might want some advice on how to better compose yourselves- in combat and in danmaku. Doctor's orders."

…

With the party down for the count, she looked over at the couch…

"I can't decide…" Kaguya had her brows furrowed. "I can't decide if keyboard and mouse or controller is better."

Reisen snorted. "...I, ah, only care about keyboard and mouse. In my opinion…"

"Who the _hell_ uses controllers…?" Tewi states this as she plays on the console with the other two. "Well, some games practically _need_ it, but like… we mean shooters, right?"

"Yeah." Kaguya nodded. "Whatever."

...Idly noting that but not contributing, Eirin walked-

"Hey, Eirin!" Kaguya called out for her. "Don't think I didn't see you kicking ass in your sex dungeon dimension for three hours! What's your opinion on controllers and keyboards?"

…

She tilted her head. "I… don't particularly-"

"Straight answer, royal decree or whatever, it's a law now." Kaguya demands clarity in her answer.

"I get by fine with either." Eirin waves her hands. "Genuinely, interactive peripheral and their effectivity depends largely on how the brain can link actions to results intuitively. This is a combination of what is commonly referred to as 'hand-eye' coordination-"

Kaguya waved her hand. "I didn't want a fuckin' book!"

"It's a law now, I have to follow it." Eirin quipped back. "Anyway- hand-eye coordination would be more aptly stated to be the link between motor skills, observable effects and their properties in the game world. Now, this may differ between peripheral- keyboard, mouse, or otherwise. In short, what you grow up with is typically more apt to further growth and adaptation; you're used to it, and you have a foundation in it. Whereas, if you did not, it's hard to envision it or understand it. This is not to say some formats are not more or less intuitive than others, depending."

"...I'm gonna need that on paper." Kaguya gave her a hard grin. "That shit sounds like jumble when you just go off like that."

"Ahah." Eirin gave her a dry stare…

"So what do you prefer?" Kaguya reposes her question.

"I have relative mastery over both." She declared. "...Depending on the game, to some degrees, although I've honed my logic and reasoning skills to make mastery of motor concepts trivial. Game logic isn't a factor that needs to be considered. Learning, absorbing knowledge and understanding became a lot easier once I properly optimized my biology. That, and… I've been alive awhile. Time to practice helps."

"Hey, doc." Tewi spoke up. "If X is Y, how much is Q?"

"You." Eirin glanced down at her clipboard, and turned to leave. "Let me know when they wake up. The shrine maiden and her cohorts, I mean."

"Ka~y!" The two rabbits and the princess called out to her.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

(1x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

eirin fight

huh wow i never wrote an AN for this chapter pre-revision

pretty fun battle - w - sendai is not invincible, yo; especially not to holy magic

although healing items bridge that gap a lot by arbitrarily topping the party up whenever they're in actual trouble

it's almost like they're just as BS in this fic as they are in video games XD although it makes better plot armor than just making people unbelievably resilient, even if sendai herself's quite tanky by hakurei virtue; it's a bit more upfront about "okay we're just going to heal the hero so there can be more display of action" rather than "oh yes genuinely the hero is just that powerful / the enemy is just that weak", although since this is a pre-established universe potions really do work pretty well for getting around power barriers

even so eirin was _quite a step up_ from the party in terms of power . w .

rinnosuke just has no way to deal with her aside from his higher evasion that lets him not die as fast

marcus's magic might be alright for chipping at her normally but that's only if he's not getting his teeth kicked in by danmaku

eirin's physical aptitude and positioning skill makes sendai's physical prowess meaningless aside from dodging, leaving her only viable options to be ITEM CRASHING repeatedly, and even then eirin's such a step up that they don't do all that much damage; and eirin has holy resistance as it is too…

that and sendai deals really well with getting beat up since she's the team tank pretty much and she's naturally had a tank focus for a long time

nugget stuff

as always, see you all next time!


	20. INT - Immortal Afternoons

…

"...Nn~h…"

Eyes flickering open, the miko who came before stared up at the bare, white ceiling…

' _Where…_ '

…

' _Where!?_ ' Sitting up with a jolt, she panned her head around slightly unevenly…

...To her right, Kaguya sat with some kind of a clam-shaped device in her hands. Her pink dress was stained brownish-black along the top with the blood from her previous suicides.

Looking up at the miko, she smirked. "Sleep well?"

' _Where's…_ ' Looking around, the miko saw her party members in adjacent beds.

' _...It's a little generous to call these things 'beds'._ ' Shifting in the stiff mattress, she nearly tossed the dainty blue cover from herself while doing so. ' _Ugh…_ '

"I know. Those stupid medical beds are killer on your back." Dropping from the counter, the princess stepped across the tiled floor with bare feet. "Floor's _cold_ , too. Fucking- why's this medical bay to the left of my room so shit?"

...Unwilling to lie down anymore-

 _Cre- creak!_ Sendai bounced off the bed, and onto her bare feet. ' _Wait…_ '

...Noticing the miko's confusion, the princess waved her hand. "Oh, right. Your clothes're ove~r…"

...After sliding open a few drawers, Kaguya put her folded rectangular device onto a counter and gave a gesture back to the miko. "Found 'e~m."

" _Why_ are we in these?" Sendai asked the better question, raising the gown to look inside. ' _I'm practically naked._ '

"Eirin decided to give you a check-up while you were out." Kaguya smirked at her. "...Free of charge, because Hakurei. Oh- it's only you, by the way. She didn't give as many shits about your friends, there."

' _That's nice._ ' Frowning, the miko made for her clothes. "...You didn't do anything to me while I was out, did you?"

Her smirk reinforced, Kaguya shrugged. "Aah. Eirin doesn't really fuck with Hakurei. She's just curious, since your clan was like… super people, for some reason."

The events of the other night began to come back to the miko. ' _Ugh. How could I lose…?_ '

...Then, they _fully_ came back to her. ' _Right, that's how. No wonder._ '

...The miko was still focused on the princess. "Why're you so smug…?"

"Don't you feel embarrassed?" Stepping towards her, Kaguya brought her arms behind her back. "Losing to an enemy, and having to collect yourself in their territory, at their mercy…"

She came up to the miko's face, leaning closer to her. "If I wanted to, I could've had Eirin put something in you. Remote control, hormone debalancer, obedience triggers… in fact, I may have just had her do _exactly_ that."

Sendai's hand wrapped around the princess's throat-

"Ea- easy- easy…!" Kaguya dug at the arm uselessly, as the miko raised her into the air. "I- joking- hkh- joking…!"

The miko kept her grip on her. ' _What part about that was a joke?_ '

"Kauh- kauh- let- nnh…!" Kaguya began to writhe harder in the miko's grip. "C'- c'm- khu…"

There was a hand on Sendai's shoulder.

Turning, she saw Eirin there, giving her a dry stare.

"Please put the princess down." Her request was simple. "...And, no, I did not _tamper_ with you, as she may've suggested. There's a time and a place for such practice, and this wasn't one of them. Particularly not on a Hakurei."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

INTERMISSION 4 - Immortal Afternoons

Once everyone was awake and aware, as well as dressed proper, Eirin had lead them back into the princess's room…

Her room was some margins cleaner, now; in that her immediate furniture wasn't preoccupied by chip bags, devices or other assorted garbage.

"Aa~h…" Kaguya flopped onto the left side of her couch, splaying out. "Sit on my lap, curvy miko~..."

...Dryly, once Sendai approached the couch-

 _Thud._ She rolled Kaguya off the side of it with a tug of the princess's torso. "Aa- aah, shit…"

Sendai immediately took her seat. ' _Aah. This is better than those beds…_ '

"Alright…" Walking before the couch as Rinnosuke and Marcus took their seats, Eirin had her hands on her hips. "What did you three desire of me?"

"Why did you give me a… 'check up'?" The miko was immediately suspicious.

"Consider it my reward." Eirin put it simply. "...I've always been curious to the biology of the Hakurei. I did nothing _drastic_ , mind you. You're obviously alive again for a reason, and to tamper with you would likely lead to undesired attention, among other ramifications."

' _She makes it sound like she tampers with people on the off. I don't think I like that, but… she's pretty damn powerful._ '

"You shouldn't toy with people." Rinnosuke was a little more direct. "In general. It's-"

"Spare me your morality." Eirin waved him off. "You wished to talk with me for a reason, so we'll talk about that. If you want a debate in morality, well, you may simply leave."

...Exhaling, Rinnosuke held his tongue. "...Al- alright."

Taking this moment, Sendai spoke. "We're trying to figure out who killed me."

...At that, Eirin nodded. "I suppose that would be a priority. Have you any memories or leads?"

"My body was found by the Misty Lake." Sendai began recounting everything she knew. "I died quietly, and my corpse was mangled and broken later. I was not myself the day I died, up until I actually died. I don't recall that day at all."

Eirin was jotting this down on a clipboard. "...I see. Do you know any more of what killed you?"

Shifting her posture, the miko recalled further. "It was poison. According to the Yama, I died of poison, and my body wasn't mangled until later. Marcus found it like that."

Marcus himself was remaining quiet, taking in this event observantly...

' _This is pretty surreal._ '

"Poison…" Eirin's expression became focused. "I didn't find anything in your system besides the weak tranquilizer the rabbits in the bamboo tend to use… and alcohol. You said you were unaware for the whole day..."

...Crawling over the side of the couch, Kaguya attempts to fall onto Sendai-

The miko held up an arm for her to roll off of. "Ah- wha-"

 _Thud!_ She rolled onto the floor. "Ga~h…"

"I would like to see where you died." Eirin began moving for the door. "You said it was around the Misty Lake, yes?"

"Yes." Sendai stared at her as she made for the door. "...Are you planning on going right now?"

"Yes." Eirin replied simply. "It won't take long. We'll use a craft. Come along. We'll come back here later, perhaps."

...Kaguya attempts to leap onto Sendai directly. "C'mere-"

 _Whap!_ The miko flung her arm up, slamming it upside the princess's crotch accidentally.

"Eee~...!" Kaguya squeaked as the miko's movement sent her soaring over the couch.

 _Thud!_ She landed behind it. "Fu- fuck… o- ow…"

' _Whoops._ ' Standing up to follow Eirin, the miko paid the princess no mind.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The late morning sun hung over the Misty Lake quietly, as always.

On the shore before the lake, Daiyousei stood, holding two wood pads in her hands. "Um…"

 _Pa- pap, pap_. Cirno punched at the pads, missing them half the time. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Take that! An' that! 'N' this!"

"May- maybe we should be… practicing danmaku." Daiyousei voiced her concerns.

"Enh!" Cirno elbowed one of the pads, nearly falling over in the process. "Woa~h…!"

 _Vuu~m…_ A low hum began to come from overhead, Daiyousei began to look around, as Cirno continued to attack the pads she was holding.

"Do- do you hear that…?" Daiyousei pouted at the sky, looking in the direction of the hum.

 _Pa- pa- pap_. "Yeah, taste the pain!" Cirno began punching a single pad repeatedly.

 _Cli- click_. Overhead, a large, white and silver aircraft decloaked, six cyan-ringed anti-gravity thrusters shimmering brightly over the two.

From inside, Sendai peered through the foggy interior glass down at the world below. "What the _hell_ …"

The interior of the craft had six seats built around a door that lead to the cockpit, with an aisle in the middle clear so that it could actually be accessed. The very back of the craft was a miniature airlock, and the walls around from the ceiling down were glass.

"Princess's personal personnel transporter." Eirin remarked in response, from the cockpit. "...It hasn't seen use in some time. We genuinely need a new model, all things considered. I had this built when we first _arrived_ here."

...As the craft lowered, the miko saw two fairies flee from being crushed beneath it.

Reaching the ground, the anti-grav thrusters shifted to a yellow glow, the bus-sized craft becoming suddenly stationary.

"Ho~ly _shit_." Marcus was still stupefied by the craft, although the actual ride had taken under a minute. "I can't even, like… read the _magic_ this thing uses."

"For the large part, it doesn't." Eirin moved past them, moving for the airlock in the back. "Otherwise, it works non-elementally. This was back when it was believed our uses of artificial magnetism could be traced, but the Hakurei barrier is actually quite solid about that sort of thing. This _was_ a… day ten or so craft."

 _Fwi~sh_. The airlock hissed as it opened, revealing the party to the cold air outside…

"I had no idea vehicles like these existed…" Rinnosuke was still marveling at the glass sides. "This is amazing."

"...I suppose." Eirin only gave him an indifferent glance, before moving for the exit.

Outside the craft, the party was free to look around and move again…

"Now…" Turning to the party, Eirin scanned them. "One of you knows exactly where she died, yes?"

"Tha~t would be me." Raising an arm, Marcus positioned himself forward. "Found it right by the lake, near here, actually."

"Good." Nodding, Eirin stepped aside. "Lead the way."

" _He~y!_ " Rounding the craft, Cirno called out to them.

Eirin snapped her gaze to the fairy-

"It's _her!_ " Pointing at the miko, the once again pale-skinned fairy began to whirl towards her. "I'm gonna-"

 _Pi~chun!_

 _Thunk!_ A wooden arrow met the side of the craft, embedding itself after it had pierced the fairy's skull.

...Nodding, Eirin turned back to Marcus. "Carry on."

Chuckling, Marcus began to move forward. "Well, alright, then…! Sharp shot, you are…"

"...I suppose." Eirin allowed her head to tilt. "The nature of my arrows allowed them to pierce the energy shielding and damage the craft. Not that it wasn't created with abuse in mind, however…"

Within moments of walking, Marcus pointed to a clear patch of grass. It was decently far from the lake, but still well before the trees of the forestry that surrounded it.

"Around here." He nodded. "If not _right_ around… there." He pointed ahead at an immediate patch before himself, where the grass was relatively normal, if a little dry, some of the blades yellowish.

...Looking around, Eirin moved up to the patch, before kneeling down and examining it…

"Hmm." Pressing her hand down into the dirt, she begins to feel at the grass…

...Taking a moment, she stands and moves to a patch of grass closer to the lake, kneeling down and feeling at it, too.

...Once again, she repositions herself, this time moving way over to the grass near the woods.

From there, she slowly slides over to the spot Marcus pointed out.

"Um…" Rinnosuke grinned slightly at her movement. "What're you doing?"

"...Observing." She gave him a blunt response. "...More precisely, checking the age of the grass. This is a rather recent wave of blades- some of it- but even here, you can see…"

She gestures to the dead, dry spots. "Despite our proximity to the lake, it looks rather dry. Beyond that, the temperature is slightly higher than normal, and while some dead blades aren't interesting in and of themselves, the blades all around them are suffering."

Standing up, she moves in a vague line away from the grass, towards the Hakurei path. The path itself was behind the parked craft, but Eirin didn't progress far enough to need to move past it.

...Standing up fully, she nods. "I see."

"I don't." Sendai gained nothing from this experience. "Did the grass feel good?"

"Sure." Eirin allowed herself a small smile. "The properties of the grass where you died are different than the grass around it. The key features being, they've lived for a year or two compared to the one or two month lifespan of typical grass generations, they are very reluctant to spread, and some of them spontaneously die shortly after reaching the average height after an undetermined amount of time."

She points at the path she took leading up to the craft. "The mutations are more common along this way, where a miko from the Hakurei Shrine could have theoretically walked. The mutations cover ninety percent of the grass where Marcus predicted her death to be, and very quickly taper off everywhere else."

Reaching into her pockets, Eirin drew a cube. Pressing a button on it-

 _Fwoom_. An index of translucent shapes whirled to life before her, spinning around. ' _Woah._ '

Reaching up, she took a square device-

 _Fwim- fvhir- vhir- vhir!_ Quickly, the cube shot lasers at the hologram, the materials seemingly flashing into existence wherever a laser connected with one.

Taking the square device and pocketing the cube, she lowered to the ground again, pressing the rectangle close to the grass where the miko died. "Hmm…"

"What's that?" Rinnosuke was curious of the device…

"Geiger counter." Eirin made her reply brief. "Measures radiation."

...Then, she stood. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

' _Okay…?_ ' Sendai gave the grass a level stare…

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you revive?" Eirin questioned the miko. "If it wasn't right here, and if you can remember that far."

"Well, I can remember _that._ " Sendai moved past the parked aircraft… "Let me show you."

' _It was on the other side of the lake and into the plains._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Bam!_ After roaring across the grasslands, Sendai pounded her legs into the ground, dirt and grass splashing up before her as a result of her violent, skidding stop.

...Eirin simply nodded as she landed. "This is pretty blatant. Holy magic is very strongly emitting from a circle around here, forming a column into the sky. Something very remarkable happened over here."

' _You don't say…_ '

...Rinnosuke drifted up to them slowly, Marcus standing on his shoulders.

"Feelin' the wind whippin' through my hair, again…!" Marcus gestured to his fairly short grey hair. "Onward, Kourin! Cha~rge!"

"You're the one making me move…" Rinnosuke had his arms stiffly on his hips, keeping himself still so Marcus had minimal risk of rolling off. "We're already here."

...After making the shopkeeper orbit around the two for a moment, Marcus hopped off-

Thud. Rinnosuke fell onto his face due to the awkward stop. "Ma- Marcus…!"

Some distance away, Eirin looked over at the three. "Column of holy magic, over here."

...Marcus looked over at her, before jerking his head back. " _Hoo~h!_ Holy… holy!"

' _Ah._ ' After a moment, the sensation suddenly hit the miko. ' _...Why didn't it jump out at me instantly? And…_ ' She couldn't gauge it well, either. ' _Weird. My holy recognition is stronger than this._ '

...Raising a brow, Sendai had an idea.

Taking out the Eye of Truth talisman, she put it on-

Before her was a massive column of luminescent, white energy, completely blocking everything on the other side of it with its brightness. ' _Woah!_ '

...Stepping away from it, Eirin nodded at their reaction. "Indeed. This is nothing regular."

Moving into it again, she positioned herself in the center of the column, to the point Sendai couldn't see her anymore. "...It seems to be coming from two directions. Up and down."

' _Wait…_ '

Sendai put on her Whispers talisman. As she moved towards the column, everything was relatively quiet. ' _Let's see if this does anything…_ '

Walking towards Eirin, and the piercingly bright white column, the miko entered the white-

" _Rise._ "

" _In position?_ "

" _Successful._ "

The miko felt weightless, the white filling her vision but not hurting her eyes. ' _Um…?_ '

...Turning around, she still saw white. ' _Hmm._ ' She jerked to take off the Eye of Truth talisman-

After she did, she found herself staring into the deep blue horizon in the distance.

Looking down, she saw the lake, the mansion, and the surrounding woods. ' _Oh. Great, I'm fifty hundred feet in the air again._ '

" _This will do._ "

She blinked at the voice she heard. ' _Who is that…?_ '

...Eirin soon floated up to her form from below. "What happened?"

' _I keep forgetting people can fly._ ' Sendai blinked at her. "...There was a draft."

The doctor snorted. "Apparently. Could you explain a little more?"

"...I can ride on the whispers of the dead." Sendai put it as elegantly as she could. "And hear them."

...Eirin blinked at this. "Hmm. Are you usually flung many feet into the air as a result?"

"Not typically." She figured. ' _Not that I've used this much yet, but…_ '

"How many voices, and who?" Eirin inquired further.

"...One. I don't know." Sendai admitted. "They only said about four things, too…"

...Eirin took this in. "Ah. Hmm. Well, then…" With that, Eirin drifted up further, following the holy shaft.

This left the miko in the middle of the sky, wind whipping through her suit, sleeves and hair.

' _...Just gonna leave me here, huh._ ' Sendai watched her ascend like a bullet.

…

' _It's still really pretty up here._ ' Ignoring the biting cold of the violent wind, the miko gazed into the distance. ' _What's past the Hakurei barrier? Especially now, after seeing the world like that..._ '

...Slowly, Eirin descended to her level. "The magic seems to be projecting partially from the top of the Hakurei barrier itself. The lower source is beneath the ground, and would require either excavation, or an expedition into the caves to really grasp."

' _The caves, huh._ ' Sendai stared down at the ground. ' _I never went really deep, even if I've had to explore some catacombs for youkai dens or to catch certain targets…_ '

"...Do you want me to help you down?" Eirin offered the miko some help.

"Ah, sure." Sendai held an arm out. ' _...I was about to doubt your physical ability, but then I remembered you're some kind of freaky god. When we get down, I should probably ask her about that..._ '

Eirin tugged on the miko, pulling her out of the shaft, and descending down with a grasp on the miko's hand.

 _Woosh_. On contact with Eirin, a low murmur and a buzzing noise filled the miko's head. ' _Um…?_ '

"Oh…" Eirin was vaguely surprised at the miko's persistent weightlessness. "Seems I don't need to apply my flight to you, then."

' _...Apparently not._ ' The buzzing made the miko uncomfortable. ' _Hmm._ '

As they descended, the doctor spoke. "...Your flight is through the whispers of the dead, isn't it?"

"Yeah." The miko examined the doctor. ' _How many people did you kill…?_ '

"What do you hear?" Eirin questioned her.

She considered how to describe it. "...A low murmur, and an annoying buzz."

"Are these normal?" The doctor was intrigued.

Sendai shook her head, expression dry. "Probably not, no."

' _One of the two sounds is from you killing a lot of people. I'm not sure what the other might be…_ '

"...I suppose I've seen a lot of death. It's probably to be expected, how long I've lived. My immortality may also have something to do with one of those noises." Eirin figured. "Try touching the princess with it active."

' _Hmm._ '

...After a moment, the two reached the ground.

"How's the weather, up there?" Marcus stroked his chin…

"Cold." Sendai summarized. ' _Actually glad I'm down here, again. I've gotten pretty acclimated to the cold, but it'll eat through anyone if they're in it long enough._ '

"...I feel as though we've observed as much as we are able." Relaying her thinking, the doctor landed on the grass and began stepping back for the craft, many feet away. "We simply don't know the lower source of the holy beam. It seems to be emitting from the top of the Hakurei barrier, however."

"Should we check 'er grave?" Marcus suggested. "Perhaps there's somethin' you can dig up, there."

...At this notion, Eirin nodded. "I didn't know she had a grave. Very well, take me there next."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

' _Not sure how I feel about showing this god doctor my grave, but…_ '

"My prowess was attained over a long life." The doctor had answered a question the miko asked earlier, while they were on route to the grave. "...I'm sure, if you'd lived as long as I have, and been immune to death, you'd reach a similar state of being."

' _That's a pretty big circumstance._ ' The miko's stare was flat. ' _Immune to death. Immortality's kind of a big deal, from what I heard. Foolish villagers would sometimes kill themselves for the chance to obtain something immortality granting._ '

The four stepped through the woods, coming up on the upturned grave, and the dirt funnel before it.

"Hmm…" Instantly, Eirin was looming over the smooth hole in the dirt. "...There are traces of holy here, too."

"Are there…?" Marcus tilted his head. "You'd think that'd be normal. It's a Hakurei grave, y'know…"

With her Eye of Truth talisman on, the miko looked over the grave…

' _Nothing's really standing out to me._ ' The ambient colors of the forest and whatever masking the location had made everything blurry. ' _There's an aura coming from the grave itself, but it's blue and dark. Actually..._ '

Sendai equipped her Whispers talisman. ' _If I can hear myself, this is going to be silly._ '

"These holy signatures are weak, and recent." Eirin stared at the ground. "Miko, can you see them?"

' _Ah…_ ' Sendai stopped herself from jumping into her own grave, to look at the doctor. "...No?"

"Come closer." Eirin gestured for her.

...Moving closer to her, Sendai crouched down to where she was pointing.

...After looking closely enough, the miko saw white signatures fade into visibility, dotting the grass and dirt. ' _How did she even…_ '

"It trails off, as well." Stepping to the side, Eirin traced the path with her head. "...Perhaps we should follow it."

"Perhaps we shou~ld." Eyebrows raised, Marcus trotted over. "Rece~nt…? How recent?"

"...Not sure." Eirin couldn't tell. "If they weren't recent, they would be gone."

"Hup!" Sendai decided to hop into her grave-

 _Poof_. Dirt splashed out from her landing, but it was less hard than the miko expected-

" _What happened…_ "

" _Damn…_ "

" _Reimu_ …"

' _Good. I can hear myself be sad_.' Inside the dirt indent, she looked around… _'Nothing that helps._ '

"Anything interesting?" Eirin peered in at her from the edge…

"Not really." Sendai poised herself for a small jump-

"Hup…" -which allowed her to slowly ascend up and out of the crater, before she landed with normal gravity outside of it.

Gesturing for everyone to follow, Eirin moved down the holy path traced in the woods. "Come. Let's trace this trail."

As they began to move, Rinnosuke caught up with her. "Who could've left it?"

"If we knew, we wouldn't be following it." Eirin gave him a blank stare.

Moving ahead, she very quickly lead the party to the Hakurei hillside. Scaling the side of it, she began approaching the Hakurei Shrine…

' _Um…_ ' Sendai noticed where they were heading. ' _Hmm._ '

...After a moment, they stopped at the back door to the Hakurei Shrine. Here, Sendai was able to more cleanly see the curious trail of white magic as it lead to the back door, before the trail itself split off from the door in a myriad of different directions.

Eirin slid the back door open-

Fwa- fwa- fwap. Three ofuda met her face.

"...Why couldn't you just use the _front_ door?" Reimu was standing next to her kotatsu, inside.

' _Hah. Sharp reflexes._ ' The elder miko felt a tinge of pride at that.

Ignoring her, the doctor walked inside, staring down the bright, luminescent white trail as it led to the kotatsu…

Reaching the kotatsu, Sendai and Eirin peered around it, the trail abruptly spiking off into nothing.

"Oh, hey mom." Reimu blinked at her mother… " _What_ are you doing?"

"We're detectives!" Marcus marched in behind them. "Still trying to figure out who killed her! I think…!"

"...At the moment, we're probably tracing how she came back to life." Rinnosuke came inside, next. "They see something I don't, apparently."

"Reimu," Eirin looked up at her. "Do you see this holy spike, too?"

"Hmm?" Reimu looked down at the kotatsu. "...Well, it's felt a little different the past few days, but the holy levels at the shrine always fluctuate now and again. It's weird how it's localized, but I don't really care…"

' _I probably wouldn't either, normally._ '

...Turning around, Eirin began to move for the back door.

"Hey, hey." Reimu began to move after her. "Where're you going, already?"

"Following a trail." The doctor gave her a single glance back, before continuing. "You may come, if you'd like."

...At that, Reimu continued after her. "Alright. This is too weird to just leave alone… and _you_ don't normally go _anywhere_ , so it's suspicious too..."

Pausing in the door, Eirin looked back at her once more. "Don't bother fighting me. Your mother's already beaten you to it."

…

Reimu had her eyebrows raised as she addressed her mother. "How. Did you win?"

"No." Sendai summarized, grinning. "Did you win against her?"

"Yeah, with danmaku." Giving her mother a flat stare, Reimu propped her arms on her hips. "Did you just try punching her?"

"...Yeah." Sendai put her arms on her own hips, too. "How was I supposed to know she was some ancient deity doctor? Those kinds of things are typically horrible nightmarish-looking beasts, not _nurses_."

"Again, stuff's different." Shaking her head, Reimu moved for the door… "If you're gonna do things the way I do them… I mean, you're either gonna need a really good backup plan, or actually learn some danmaku to level with them."

...As her daughter left, Sendai followed her.

Moving outside the shrine, the party fully reconvened and continued to stumble down the Hakurei hillside, moving into the woods.

' _...Man._ ' Her daughter's words stuck with her. ' _I feel old, all of a sudden. So much has changed..._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

' _I'm not sure where this trail's even taking us._ '

The five of them were lead by it out off the Hakurei hill, and away from the shrine entirely. Now, they were going in seemingly random paths along the grasslands outside, the same one where the pillar of light was earlier.

"Are we… getting anything done?" Rinnosuke glanced at the lake in the distance as they passed it, again.

"This grassland has multiple overlapping instances, if the trail not being here the previous four times is any evidence." Eirin wasn't closely staring down at the path anymore, but still had her gaze on it.

"...I'd leave the path and fly around, but I don't trust leaving it." Reimu was hovering close behind them…

"I wouldn't either." Eirin recommended. "Perhaps I should've left a breadcrumb trail of my own."

...The path diverged to the left again, leading to the center of the field.

"Goin' _back_ to the center…" Marcus stared up into the sky. "You know, this _is_ quite a nice grassy plain…"

' _Pfft._ ' Sendai kept moving after the trail. ' _There's only so many times this can wrap around. Unless it's trying to lose us or something, but-_ '

"Ahead." Eirin instantly paused, gazing up at something before them.

' _What…?_ '

Looking up, Sendai saw a stone pad in the midst of the field. It wasn't huge; it was a rather simple pad, with four rectangular pillars around the corners of it.

In the center was a lid that was slid out of the way, with a small Shinto-styled arch- a Torii- atop it, and an engraving beneath it. The hole didn't allow light inside the structure.

...Around this pad and its pillars were slots in the floor, arranged in a large octagon around it, overlapping one another and creating a web of dark crevices into the Earth below.

Faded, torn and withered talismans hung off the angular pillars around the stone pad.

' _Are those Hakurei talismans?_ ' Sendai began to move towards them…

Rinnosuke stepped forward-

 _Thoo- thoom_. From the many slits in the ground, two monoliths slid up, awkwardly distanced and angled. Shinto gate symbols, yin-yang orbs and rectangles were carved into various different shapes and sizes all across the surface of the nearly flat, light grey stone.

In the center of each stone was a big flower shape etched into it. Archaic Japanese was scrawled around every shape.

"Stand back." Eirin immediately got before the party. "These aren't friendly."

' _What…?_ '

As the party fell back, the rightmost monolith-

 _fwoa- woaw_. -shimmered, becoming a stream of light for a brief moment.

...Slowly, a magical circle began to be drawn under Eirin, which she easily slid out of the way of-

 _FWOOA~SH!_ The resulting shaft of holy energy made the ground rumble, the column of pure white magic stretching into the daytime sky, and also overloading Sendai's vision. ' _Woah…!_ '

It was over as quick as it began, vanishing without a trace.

 _fvhir- woaw._ The left monolith glowed softly…

 _Woo~sh_. A wind softly blew into the party-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Upon contact with everyone, it bowled most of the party over. ' _Hey…!_ ' Feeling like she took a blow to the gut, Sendai slid onto her back-

 _Thud!_ Reimu skidded to a stop on the ground, still standing. "Wha- what the heck…"

Thud! Rinnosuke fell over. "Aah…"

Marcus tossed some grass up into the air from the floor. "Cool wind magic."

Drawing her bow, Eirin aimed at one as she loaded a wooden arrow...

Energy pulsed through the doctor's form as she drew the string back, a small surge of wind emitted from it in the process...

...Sendai picked up her Eye of Truth and Whispers talismans from the grass nearby, the wind having de-equipped them. ' _That wind dispelled me…_ '

Eirin let go of the arrow-

 _FWOA- FWOA- FWOAM!_

Three immediate shockwaves of nearly blinding dust and wind roared out from the stone one after another once the arrow impacted-

 _Thoo- thoo- thoom_. The monolith came apart, falling into shards…

 _fwoom- fwoom- fwoom_. After a moment, the shards glowed brightly, turning white and fading away, becoming holy flames.

...As it dissipated, another monolith emerged from a different slit in the ground, still to the right.

 _vhi- vhir_. The leftmost monolith flickered, disappearing repeatedly for a second.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ A spread of five square talismans suddenly slammed into Rinnosuke's front, sending him sliding away. " _Hwua~h!_ "

' _Pfft, um…_ ' Sendai and Reimu watched him roll away.

...Eirin started backpedalling. "This will be easier if we fall back for a moment. Just a few meters."

Doing as she said, everyone distanced themselves from the ruin…

...The monoliths slid back into their respective slits.

"...That place doesn't seem to like youkai very much." Eirin noted, her bow now absent for reasons beyond Sendai's knowledge. "You two will have to go ahead, if you wish to see anything. I'd not recommend using dark magic too often, either."

' _Well then…_ '

Reimu proceeded forward. "I've never seen this place before."

"Me either." Sendai followed next to her. "It looks Hakurei-like in design."

"Yeah." Grinning, Reimu moved up to the stone pad… "Just slap Shinto stuff and yin-yang orbs all over everything. I couldn't even read what was on those stones…"

' _I wonder if they would've been stunned if Reimu used danmaku on them._ '

Walking up to the circle, the girls focused on the displaced arch statue.

...Crouching next to it, Sendai looked at the engravement beneath the statue, aided by the sun's light.

"What's it say?" Reimu adjusted herself to look it over with her mother…

"Seinarubuki Hakurei…" The miko read off the etch.

' _That's… my mother's name._ ' Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _She disappeared when I was fifteen, about. I've not thought about her in some time… She used to go by just Seinaru._ '

Looking around at the ruin, she furrowed her brows. "Is this… a tomb?"

"...It could be." Reimu ran her gaze over the engravement. "...Is that really all this says?"

...Looking down at the hole, Sendai pulled the rest of the circular lid out of the way, before leaping inside.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Within the ruin, the darkness gave way to faint light as the miko found herself floating on the way down. ' _Hmm…?_ '

Reimu descended from the light above, filing in beside her. "Dark…"

Fwa- fwa- fwap. She flung ofuda around at the walls, illuminating the chamber.

It was rectangular, made of stone. Ahead was a sealed doorway with a floral pattern similar to the one inscribed on the monoliths.

...There was little else in this chamber except for dirt and some pots. ' _So…_ '

Stepping up to the door, Sendai looked it over. ' _There's no handle._ '

...She equipped her Eye of Truth talisman again.

Suddenly, the floral pattern had a vague red tint to it. ' _I see._ ' Raising her hand up, she pressed it-

 _Thoo~m_. It light up golden after being pressed, the stone sliding down into the floor.

"Ah…" Reimu proceeded inside. "Have you been here before?"

"Never." Her mother stepped in behind her-

 _Thoom_. Once they were inside, the door slid back into place.

Fwa- fwap. Reimu hit it with some ofuda, illuminating the room.

...In the front of the room were a few stone tables, with parchment and pens left lying around on them.

Stout, unassuming square sarcophagi- or perhaps stone coffins- rested in the midst of the room, built into the floor. Torii were perched on the lid of each one, bearing an inscription beneath them.

At the very back of the room was another door, this one crooked, half-open.

...Stepping forward, Sendai looked over the stone protrusions, reading the inscriptions atop each as she traveled into the room.

' _Tsubasa-ken Hakurei, Motoko Hakurei, Tsuruko Hakurei…_ ' Sendai's brows rose as she read the inscriptions. ' _Are these all…?_ '

"...Woah." Reimu realized it, herself. "...This is a graveyard."

' _A Hakurei graveyard._ ' Sendai looked at the door ahead. ' _Why's that one slanted…?_ '

...Moving up to it, she placed her hand on the flower carving-

 _Thomp_. _Thomp_. It attempted to move, but was stuck.

...Crouching down, Sendai crawled through the open space.

In here were a few more square sarcophagi. This room was larger, but had fewer resting places, and no tables or other furnishings.

The very back of the room had a scattering of shattered stone, a large broken door leading into a huge, faintly red room.

...The leftmost end of the room had a door somewhere else, but even with Sendai's vision enhancement, she couldn't see any magic on its flower engraving.

Of the four sarcophagi in this room- these ones not built into the floor, but weighted down in places- one of their lids was cast off completely.

' _Hmm?_ ' This oddity caught Sendai's eye immediately, so she decided to investigate it.

...Maneuvering around it, she read the inscription on the lid with a single holy ofuda to act as a torch.

' _Seinarubeki Hakurei._ '

...Brows furrowed, Sendai looked to the box to the left of it.

This lid had no engraving.

Moving around the boxes and to the right, Sendai strafed around to check the other two sarcophagi.

' _Nagisa Hakurei. Chikako Hakurei…_ ' These names she didn't recognize.

Reimu was now in the room, looking over the open stone coffin. "Did you open that…?"

"No." Sendai shook her head. "It was open when I got here. That's… my mother's."

Her daughter's brows furrowed. "Geez..."

...Looking ahead at the shattered, huge door, Sendai ran ahead into the room it was supposed to contain.

This room was large, column-like. In the very center was a large, open container, held up by chains and slightly ajar. The chains glowed softly with pulsing, red energy.

' _Who was this supposed to be…?_ ' Sendai continued towards the large, open stone box.

The lid was nearby, in pieces it seemed.

Fwa- fwa- fwap. Reimu cast ofuda on the wall behind them to illuminate the room brighter.

Sendai glanced back, and saw huge slash marks marring the wall. ' _Oh. Those look like they were left by a blade..._ '

"Who's _this_ , then?" Expression focused, Reimu made for the pieces of the lid…

...Sendai moved to help her. For awhile, the girls worked to throw nondescript chunks of stone aside.

"Ah…" Looking one of the newer chunks over, she examined it closer. "...Hakurei."

"Wouldn't have guessed." Reimu continued to search the chunks. "...Well. You think they're running around like you?"

"...Maybe." Dropping the last name chunk, Sendai stood. "...I guess there's nothing else to do here."

"...Huh." Reimu exhaled. "This sounds like it's going to shape up to be an incident. Not that it isn't already; my family rising from the dead one by one's kind of a big deal."

...Taking out the Whispers talisman, Sendai decided to equip it. ' _Let's see-_ '

 _Fwoosh!_ Instantly, her form started getting jerked around erratically. ' _Woah…_ '

" _Goodbye…_ "

" _Tell her-_ "

" _Make sure-_ "

" _-not to be trust-_ "

" _I can't talk about-_ "

" _She needs to find this place, too._ "

" _Yakumo._ "

" _I'll make sure of it._ "

" _I'll write her a note._ "

" _I have a lot of time… especially now._ "

…

The air currents stabilized, allowing the miko to stomp back towards her daughter-

" _I'm alive._ "

She had to stomp faster for a moment, before the air flow returned to a strong pulse, a low murmur coming from the main rooms of the tomb.

" _This war… is not over._ "

" _I need to get to the shrine._ "

" _The village…_ "

Sendai removed the Whispers talisman, finding it too hard to fight against. ' _Wow…_ '

...The absolute silence set back in. ' _Now it's a little eerie._ '

"What was that all about?" Drifting up to her mother, her expression was dry. "Getting the jitters?"

...Fwap. Sendai tossed the Whispers talisman at her-

"Woah, woah, woah…!" Reimu started getting pulled around randomly by the air.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Drifting through the holy energy, Sendai emerged on the surface again, outside the tomb. Her daughter flew out behind her.

' _Magic elevator._ ' Sendai appreciated the holy magic her ancestors placed on the tomb's exit. ' _Another thing for the 'things the shrine needs' list._ '

Marcus and Rinnosuke were staring at some passing clouds, while Eirin was staring at the tomb, waiting for the mikos to return. "There you two are."

"I think my mom's alive, too." Sendai relayed her discovery right away.

Eirin blinked. "...Oh. Well then."

"Some other Hakurei, too." Reimu recounted. "In a really big stone coffin, bound by chains. This place is a Hakurei graveyard."

...Brows raising, Eirin looked away, before slowly nodding. "...Ah. That explains the absurdly powerful monoliths, and the enigmatic approach to this place. And, hmm…"

"I'm sorry- wha's this about more Hakurei…?" Marcus just tuned in. "Your mom and your mom's mom, was it?"

'My _grandmother?_ ' Sendai never thought she'd consider the existence of her own grandmother. ' _...Considering the age of Gensokyo, my grandmother would probably be around when it was just founded. Which was, um..._ '

Sendai turned to her daughter. "What year is it?"

"One hundred thirty seven." Reimu revealed.

' _It's been over a century._ ' Sendai looked back at the tomb. ' _...Woah._ '

Whirling around, Eirin began to march off. "Come with me, all of you. We're going to go consider the next course of action."

"Aah…" Rinnosuke looked taken aback.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Eientei Halls_ ====

The party had taken the primitive princess's private personnel carrier back, and were once again in the clinic...

Meandering back into the princess's lair, the five gazed into the dim room…

 _Click_. Eirin flipped on the lights.

"Aa~h…" Kaguya looked away from her computer, eying the party. "...What the hell?"

"Hey, Kaguya." Reimu gave her an idle wave.

"When'd my room become the war room?" Standing from her computer, she adjusted her still bloodstained pink dress…

"I figured you'd be interested in hearing about this." Eirin conceded. "Additionally, opinions are welcome during this time."

"Interested about _what?"_ Kaguya huffed. "I was kinda-"

"Two other Hakurei are alive again." Eirin summarized.

...The princess just jerked her head back, eyes slowly widening. "...I'm listening."

"Should we just go around _telling_ people?" Reimu gave Eirin a trying stare…

"If they're any bit as graceful as your mother here, I'm more than certain everyone worth telling already knows." Giving her a plain remark, Eirin moved further into the room...

' _I'm… pretty certain wherever my mother is, she's starting a commotion._ ' Shifting into the room vaguely awkwardly, the miko shook her head. ' _This has been the weirdest week of my life._ '

Nearing the coffee table, Eirin quickly scooped some of the remaining garbage on it off with her arm.

"What'll Eiki think of this…?" Rinnosuke went with the flow of the party into the room, gathering around the decorative coffee table…

"Pfft." Kaguya snorted. "Eiki's a pushover."

"What about her, now?" Eirin looked over at him. "Has she caught on this quick?"

"She told us she was coming after us, basically." Sendai explained to her. "...I don't think it's much of a problem."

...With this information, Eirin nodded, before panning her gaze between her and the princess as she loomed over the table. "Princess, where is Udongein?"

...Doubling back for the nearby wall, Kaguya grinned. "How the hell should I know…?"

 _Click_. She pressed a button on a square panel, before talking into it "Hey, Reisen! Get your ass up here!"

"We'll worry about that later." Reaching into her pocket, the doctor drew the square device she retrieved her geiger counter from earlier.

Cla- clack. She tossed it onto the table, and swiped the top with her finger-

 _Fwoomp_. A holographic projection emerged from the top, flickering to life...

"What was this about Eiki…?" Reimu narrowed her eyes, looking at the doctor.

' _Oh, right._ ' Sendai's brows rose-

"Nothing important." Eirin waved her off.

"...This a map 'a Gensokyo?" Marcus nodded at the holographic projection. "I see the village 'n' the shrine there…"

"Indeed." Splaying her hand out, Eirin made it begin to enlarge-

The hologram phased into the forms of everyone around the table. ' _Ah- hey…_ ' Sendai was about to move back, but the light went right through her. ' _Huh._ '

"This is the basic geology of Gensokyo, and the areas around the Hakurei Shrine." Locking an arm in place and thrusting the other out, Eirin tugged back on it-

The hologram zoomed in further, now focusing more precisely on the Hakurei Shrine area. "Normally, this map has a Hakurei-locating function so that we may know the current position of the miko at any given time."

"Why." Reimu was vaguely putoff.

' _How._ ' Sendai felt similar.

Waving her off, Eirin poked at the cube in the center-

 _Fwhip_. Red and white circles began pulsing on the map. There were four, two in the bamboo forest area, one at the Hakurei Shrine, and one in the area near the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"...How's this work, really?" Reimu pressed.

"It's simple. Considering the Hakurei Barrier sources its magic from the Hakurei, all I have to do is trace specific strains of it to find your location reliably. The barrier seems to be drawing power from all the living Hakurei currently." Looking over the map, Eirin considered this… "So there's a Hakurei at the shrine, and at the village."

"The shrine…?" Reimu furrowed her brows. "I was _just_ there. That can't be."

"Perhaps." Eirin tilted her head to the side… "Or she showed up while we were looking around, and it happened to be awful timing. Or good timing, depending."

 _Crunch_ , _crunch, crunch…_

Kaguya snacked on some chips in the background.

...After glancing at her, the elder miko focused on the doctor again. "Should we go meet with her?"

"Not yet." Eirin held a hand up-

 _Fwoom_. The hologram flickered out…

"You three." Eirin pointed her finger around to implicate Sendai's regular party. "You will need tools and supplementary skills to not die."

' _Aha..._ ' The miko blinked at her verbal expression...

"You _sure_ about that…?" She expressed her skepticism. "We've been alright so far… aside from against you."

"I have not stood a fighting chance in any of these fights." Giving her a pleading stare as he leaned against the back of the couch nearby, Rinnosuke admitted his ineptitude. "I could use a few gimmes here…"

"The Yama's shinigami have the ability to inflict instant death on mortal targets, normally, with the soul-rending properties of their scythes." Eirin described the abilities of the reapers. "Not all of them have this ability, but there are a few specific units who specialize like this. Under normal circumstances, they're barred from harming the living, but this is also not necessarily a normal circumstance. You all will need instant death resistance."

' _What resistance now?_ '

...With that, she began to move. "I'll meet up with Udongein and assemble some supplies. Princess, please watch over them while I'm away."

Kaguya flopped onto the couch, giving the doctor a cynical stare. "Want me to change their diapers while I'm at it?"

Ignoring her, Eirin marched out of the room.

…

After a moment of silence, Reimu turned to her mother. "Yeah. This is a little crazier than normal, but incidents are kinda like this."

"You… don't say." Sendai gave her a dry stare…

"No shit." Kaguya exhaled from the couch.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

"These're pretty alright…" Reimu munched on some of the dusted chips, the four sitting at the nearby plastic table…

"You're _positive_ …?" Sendai was still suspicious of them. "They're a youkai's snack, you know."

"They're just chips, mom." Reimu dismissed her warning. "They're from the outside, too. Humans make these, I think. Or robots..."

' _Robots?_ ' The miko looked the chips over… ' _I'm not sure if that's better or worse._ '

...Sendai noticed Rinnosuke blankly staring at her. "What's up?"

"...I never asked you before, but…" He adjusted his glasses. "What was your mother like?"

' _This is probably the only good time to ask that question, and it's one hell of an unlikely event._ '

...Sendai took a moment to collect her thoughts, before continuing. "She was pretty stern. Not really the happiest either, but leading up to her death, I think she was pretty content. Combat-wise, uu~h… I'd say _mysterious_ , to me at the time. She always said she'd teach me more complex rituals and techniques as I aged, but she'd died. So much for that."

"...What _were_ her techniques?" Intrigued, the younger Hakurei wondered about her lineage. "...In fact, what were _your_ techniques? You all kind of left me high and dry, here."

"That's how _I_ felt." Sendai grinned at her. "I don't even know how you're not running around with a bow and arrow. Who taught you what you currently know?"

"...Well, there was gramps. Yukari showed me some things, in spite of how useless she usually is. This hermit, Kasen, comes by and tries to pass things onto me once in awhile…"

' _That's probably the most bootleg shrine maiden training ever._ ' She stared at her daughter sardonically… ' _At least mine was tattered shambles of what my mother left me and whatever archaic scribbles I could hash together between then and now. Reimu pretty much had nothing, because I died when she was still pretty young. I'd consider that my fault, but until we know how I died, I'd reserve judgment on that..._ '

"Don't give me that look." Reimu lazily waved a finger at her. "Considering how _you_ fight, I'd think you were raised by a circle of wolf people."

"I sure learned a lot punching them." Sendai admitted. "Among other things. Before I knew how to strengthen my body, I had to get by on traps, bows, firearms… puny little daggers. Anything. Ofuda and such helped, too. Probably more than most potential weapons."

...Looking down at the chips, Sendai almost reached for them-

"You still didn't tell me what techniques she used…" Reimu gave her a flat reminder.

"Ah…" Sendai blinked. "...Ironically, it wasn't very hands-on. I never got to see her in a _real_ battle, but whenever she took me into the nearby woods to practice, she could make golems of armor from nothing, crush opponents from afar, and aid me without being near. She used a long gohei, which really wasn't suitable as a weapon in itself, but she didn't seem to frequently get involved in melee. I could probably use it as a weapon _now,_ but without overkill levels of reinforcement, it'd probably be damaged. I'm not a fan of sticking with one weapon for long."

"...So I see." At that, Reimu considered what she learned… "She shouldn't be too hard to rough up. Especially if I come with you."

' _...We'll see._ ' The elder miko really wasn't sure of her mother's upward capabilities.

"Did she happen to know any magicians?" Marcus interjected himself into the conversation, grinning… "That seems to be a running trend…"

"Not that I'm aware of. Maybe." Sendai tilted her head to the side. "I didn't really care about the village much until she died, because once she was gone, I needed things to survive. She usually kept me at the shrine, or took me to places that _weren't_ the village. Considering how it is, I can understand _why._ "

…

Reimu shot her gaze in the direction of the princess. "Hey, Kaguya~. Do you have any tea…?"

"It'd take forever to make." Holding up her arm, Kaguya waved it about… "There's some Monster in the fridge…"

"Not the same thing." Rinnosuke shook his head. "...Those green and black cans, right?"

"...My kind're blue, but yeah." Kaguya let her arm drop.

"They're like coffee, except worse for you." He recounted his experience with the cans… "They turned up in the woods, and I took them back to my shop. After experimenting, I was worried they were some form of poison or potent alchemical ingredient…"

Springing up off her couch, Kaguya began to stomp over to the party. "Alright, I'm bored."

"Oo~h." Marcus rose his eyebrows… "Hey there, bored. Nice ta meet 'cha!"

"You're cancer." Kaguya shot him a dry glare. "Anyway- you guys suck at fighting."

"I'll snap your neck." Sendai retorted with a dry glare of her own.

"As a party, anyway." Focusing on the miko, she smirked. "You're the MVP though, don't worry. Even if you just _hit really hard_ , which is both cool but also limiting."

' _...Ah. I suppose._ '

"Basically…!" Looking over the three with Reimu being an exception, she pressed her arms into the table. "You guys need to like, _work_ as a _party_. Not just let the thick miko over here throw herself at your enemies while you're both either half useless or totally useless."

"I feel like I do _alright_ damage…" Marcus defended himself. "I mean, I got some _bombs_ but nothin' I can toss around like water, other than my own mana."

Bringing a hand to her chin, Kaguya nodded. "...Hmm. Yeah, your problem is the whole 'dodging danmaku' part, which is kind of everything when it comes to not getting wasted in a danmaku battle. The miko can get by because she's a badass and a tank, but your derpy non-elemental shield only does so much."

...At that, he shrugged. "Movin' fast ain't really a strong suit 'a mine…!"

Looking over at Rinnosuke, she slouched. "You just need _something_. If the miko tanks, and the mage shoots magic, you can't just _run in circles_ and die. From experience, that doesn't help."

"Well…" Rinnosuke considered this. "I have _some_ magic. They're usually of the debilitating sort…"

"You shoot _bright lights_ and make people mad." Kaguya summarized. "That's what I do, except a thousand times better."

...He gave her an enduring smile. "What do you _suggest_ I do, then…?"

"...Well, if you wanna _debuff_ and _ruin_ people, you're gonna need some better status things." Taking a few steps back from the table, Kaguya articulated her hands. "Like, syphon, silence, magnetism. The things you got right now would work on regular mooks alright, but if you're going to go around fighting _Hakurei_ , gods, greater youkai and all that shit, you're going to need some more _technically advanced_ skills and shit."

Reimu blinked, looking over at the shopkeeper. "It just hit me. You actually try to _fight?_ _With_ mom?"

"Why's that surprising…?" Rinnosuke gave her a furrowed brow stare, before letting it loosen. "Well, actually, I can guess why that's surprising, but…"

"I don't know how you were when you were _younger_ ," Reimu shook her head, "but I've always been pretty sure you couldn't hurt a fly."

"...Ah." He didn't have much to say about that.

"He used to be pretty uppity." Sendai revealed. "He's all old now, though."

"Ahah." He gained a sort of lazy expression… "I've matured, I'd say."

"If that's how you wanna describe _getting old_." Sendai smirked, looking back at the princess-

"I'm _thirty_ , about…" Leaning back into his chair, he placed his hands on the table… "I'm a half-youkai, anyway."

"Oh, _yeah_ , that was a _thing_." Kaguya looked surprised, for a moment. "I was about to say, I read somewhere that the peak of your physical incline is like thirty or forty or something, but since you're half youkai it should be a lot higher."

...With that, she turned to her computer and its desk, meandering over and fiddling with some of the items on it. "Since Eirin's gonna be doing whatever for awhile, I guess I'll take you guys on a trip around the place to see if I can _optimize_ your loadouts."

...As everyone began to stand up, Reimu did too. "I'll come with you guys. Kaguya has a history with nasty pranks… as do a lot of people in this neighborhood."

Sendai turned to her blankly. "You're a _little late_."

"Mmm, yeah…" Marcus gave a brisk nod. "About a day, really."

"Just a little." Rinnosuke looked ahead…

...Shaking her head, Reimu followed behind them. "Kaguya~..."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Proceeding down the sprawling halls of the huger-on-the-inside clinic, the princess led the party's way…

...Stepping out of a nearby hall, a lime-ish haired lunar rabbit looked around. "What the he~ll… hnn~gh..."

...Kaguya spared her a glance as the party continued past her.

Snapping alert from the movement, the rabbit almost dared to get in the way, before noticing who was leading. "O- oh, princess! I-"

"Yeah yeah." Turning to her as she continued to strafe in her original direction, Kaguya waved her off. "Last time I attended one of your little 'get togethers', you broke my cervix. No fucking thanks."

...The rabbit blinked. "Wha- whah?"

' _What?_ ' Sendai blinked at the princess.

"Your _what_." Reimu turned to her after a delay…

"Oh, shit." Marcus made his remark in almost mumbled monotone.

...Kaguya turned to the party as she continued to walk backwards towards her destination. "None of you heard that."

"Sure thing, boss!" Suddenly engaged, Marcus gave her a salute.

...Staring at the princess for some seconds after the fact, Reimu searched for words. "Do I _want_ to know?"

"...No." Kaguya gave it legitimate consideration. "As fun of a story that is, no. Maybe if you get me drunk, first."

"No drinks for you then? Cool." Reimu looked away from her, smiling.

"Ah- fuck you." Kaguya frowned, before ceasing to care. "...It's like ten in the morning anyway. Oh- we're nearly there..."

Turning right and traversing down the now sanely proportioned halls, Kaguya quickly came to a door. "This is where I keep some of my toys."

"Sounds right for your age." Reimu quipped with a neutral expression. "You like building blocks, dolls, or trains?"

…

Kaguya slowly turned to her. "Do you want that sentence in _proper_ , then? Dea~rie me, this mayhap be where I store my _entertainment vestiges._ "

Sliding the door open, she proceeded inside with the carried grace one may expect from a princess, in spite of her appearance-

 _Click_. The light flicking on, the room was revealed to the party…

Despite being an interior room, there was a window displaying evening in the back of the room. The walls themselves were loose, too; displaying unidentified darkness and a faded blue hue towards the top of the skybox around the room.

"Welcome to one of my fine outer realms. In this place, I store trinkets, and knicknacks." She continued to speak politely. "Why, they're quite cute, I must confess. Would you all like to see them?"

"Sure." Reimu and Sendai replied nearly simultaneously, indifferent.

"...Be patient, now." Giving the party a dour glance at their lacking enthusiasm, she continued to seemingly glide on her feet towards one of the room's back shelves…

Sliding the top of the counter open, she reached inside-

She pulled out a red, mechanical box, with a long, rounded metal protrusion. An odd chain was linked around the edge of its round, flat extension. "Now, this here… is a rather pleasant device. Used primarily in _gardening_ , yes. I simply must show you."

...Looking around, she made for a large red button on the back wall.

 _Clack_. After pressing it-

 _Fwi~sh_. The figure of some girl with red pants, a white shirt, and long hair materialized atop a white stone pad at the front of the room, standing stock still and staring into space.

...Gliding over to the figure gently, Kaguya reached for a handle atop the device-

 _Vroo~m!_ Revving to life, the edges of the device's protrusion began to revolve, moving at whirling speed.

"This, my friends!" Holding up the humming, chugging machine, Kaguya yelled. "Is called a _chainsaw!_ "

' _Loud thing…!_ '

She brought it down into the idle figure's form-

 _Vrrrr~!_ The chain-augmented blade carved into the girl's figure, a mist of red and myriad chunks splashing into the air as the metal made its way into the girl's body-

 _Vrrrr~...!_ As it lowered, the body began to give way, folding and crumpling from the blade's force as it chewed into bone and got stuck on flesh; tangled with silver, stained red hair.

' _Holy shit…_ ' The miko winced at the sounds of cracking bone and squelching organs.

"Nn~gh…!" Baring her teeth, Kaguya channeled magic into the chainsaw-

 _Vrooo~m!_ As the machine glowed a bright red and white, it cleaved through the girl's figure with a single downward thrust-

 _Shhiii~ng!_ Then, it uselessly dug into the pad beneath, sparks flying-

 _Click._ Kaguya halted its rage.

 _Spla- splat, splat_. The figure of the girl fell apart, her insides spilling out and gratuitous currents of blood staining the entire area around the princess. The silver-haired woman was left in two, not-so cleanly cut pieces…

' _Oh…_ ' Sendai stared at the display with a hard expression.

Reimu was frowning openly, vaguely disgusted.

...The blades of the chainsaw now idle, Kaguya stood up, turning to the party gleefully. "Hehaha~! Now _that's_ a lotta damage…!"

 _Fwi- fwish_. The remaining parts and all of the blood that Kaguya had spilled vanished, pixelating before ceasing to exist.

 _Thum_. She fully shut down the chainsaw, before proceeding towards the party…

"You put that thing on the counter before you put someone's stomach out." Reimu shook her gohei at the chainsaw.

"O~h, come now…" Doing as she said-

 _Thu- thud!_ She tossed the chainsaw on a counter beside herself. "Big miko, tell me you wouldn't do that with a youkai? A chainsaw would fit you _perfectly!_ "

"Let's... _not_." Sendai shook her head, grinning...

"Come _o~n_." Kaguya put her hands on her hips. "It's so _messy_ , though! It's cool as fuck! I mean- let's be serious here, deadly honest. You've probably killed a _lot_ of youkai. Wouldn't you just want to rip one to _fucking_ shreds?"

"...Only if that's what it _took_ to kill it." Sendai decided. "Not just because."

Slouching, Kaguya continued towards the slide-open counters again. "You're no _fun…_ "

"...I'd reiterate my shock and concern, but I don't think you'd give a damn." Rinnosuke lampshaded how his attempts to talk morality into every opponent so far has failed.

"Hey, you're learning." Kaguya grinned back at him. "When you live as long as some of us have, you just stop giving a fuck. Well, about the things that don't matter, anyway. Like _slicing_ a boy into two. Or _laws_ and shit. Or Mokou."

"I think you still very much care about Mokou." Reimu retorted out of nowhere. "...In the 'hate eachother' way, I mean."

"Don't give fanfic writers any ideas." The princess began to dig into her 'toybox' again…

' _Who?_ ' The mikos were perplexed...

The lunar princess drew a wooden and black, long rifle, with a very thin, extended barrel. At the end of the barrel was two feathers, and the gun also had a long scope.

"...Oh. Ooo~..." She looked over at Rinnosuke. "Hey, Rinnosuke. You want this gun? It's yours, it's free, you can keep it, I'll have 'em make another one."

"Tell me what it is first." He looked exceedingly skeptical…

"It'sa Sydney Sleeper." Kaguya smiled at him. "It's a… minimally- well… it's still a sniper rifle. It's a sniper rifle that shoots _darts_ , yeah. No headshot criticals, except if you do hit 'em in the head- well…"

"I don't _think_ I'll be using that…" Rinnosuke gave the rifle a sideways stare. "I don't want to hurt people _that_ badly."

...Kaguya exhaled. "Well, good, then. I was about to say, the rifle magically generates the user's piss into every dart, and coats the target in it. If you hit them in the head, it makes a piss explosion!"

"No, certainly not." His response was monotone.

' _What the hell is that even good for…?_ '

"Alri~ght…" Casting the rifle aside and quickly reaching back into her box, she searched for something else. "Guess I'll show you guys something _reasonable_ , since you're a bunch 'a _normies_ …"

Kaguya drew a rather regular-sized bow from her hidden weapon cache, and also took out a small quiver of arrows.

Rinnosuke sighed. "Sorry, but I'm… not much of an archer-"

"Shut up, the skill works the same." Kaguya talked over him. "If you don't want this dinky bow, that's fine, as long as you copy the magic I'm gonna show you into danmaku or something and _don't forget it_ whatever you fucking do."

"Ok- okay…!" Looking intimidated, he drew his flintlock…

...Kaguya looked back at the party. "Someone hit the insta-Mokou button."

"Don't mind if I~..." Marcus reached over for it-

 _Clack_. _Fwi- fwish_. The Mokou replica stood idly before Kaguya and Rinnosuke, after the mage pressed the button.

' _Who invented this?_ ' Sendai gazed at the silver-haired replica girl. ' _...That's just so weird. Maybe immoral, not that that matters too much, but… how's this work?_ '

"Alright…" Drawing one of the ornate, white arrows, Kaguya asked a few questions. "Can you read magic?"

Shaking his head, Rinnosuke gives her a pitiful smile. "Not really…"

"...Wow." Kaguya gave him a pitying look. "Fuck. Well, we'll just do it the uncool way, then."

Bringing her arrow to the string, she didn't pull it back. "I'm gonna fill this arrow with _magic_. Now..." Pausing, she considers how to instruct him. "...It's _holy_ magic, so it's a little iffy. It's pretty simple, though. Hmm… lemme demonstrate it, first."

...Aiming her arrow at the Mokou replica ahead, she called out. "AI, random underscore buff!"

...The Mokou adopted an aggressive posture-

" _Hroaa~h!_ " -and began yelling, red, blue, and shimmering white energy traveling up her form…

"So!" Kaguya spoke over her yelling. "Right now, she's got some attack, defense, and special buffs on her, protecting her, making her stronger, faster, whatever. That's usually a bad thing!"

"...I, yeah, probably." Rinnosuke followed along.

Kaguya shot him a glance. "...The hell do you mean _probably?_ Whatever, watch my arrow..."

As the arrow kept back, particles of holy light began to travel into it from the back…

 _Fwhip!_ She launched it towards the Mokou clone-

 _Fwoom…_ The arrow broke into large, golden particles of holy energy, splashing across Mokou before traveling back to her as a single clump.

 _Fwish!_ Suddenly, Kaguya's form lit up with the same energy Mokou's was. "Ooo~! Hehehe!"

Energized, she ran in accelerated, hyper circles, for the moment. "Woo!"

"...I see!" Rinnosuke nodded at the results, eyebrows raised. "It copies the magical enhancements of the target to the user…!"

"...Mmm." After a moment, Kaguya's form returned to normal. "Only for a few moments, though. The things you copy wear off faster than the originals."

She held up another arrow, before bringing it to the string… "I don't really _do_ holy magic much. Eirin's the one who made the spell and these arrows, but it's pretty simple… you need a source of holy energy though. I don't think _you_ could make one."

...Reimu walked up to Rinnosuke, and tapped on his shoulder.

"...Hmm?" He turned to her-

She placed a stack of golden, glowing ofuda into his hands. "Holy sources."

Kaguya gave her a stare. "...Yeah, well. Now all you gotta do is learn the spell."

...Walking to the counter nearby, the shopkeeper sat down the neatly stacked armful of talismans, and took one from the top as he returned to his previous position.

"Alright…" Wrapping the ofuda onto the barrel of his gun, he aimed it at the Mokou. "...Do I _have_ to shoot it at Mokou?"

"Are you _shitting_ me." Kaguya disapproved of his morals. "Yes, yes you do."

...As he steadied his aim, Kaguya leaned close to examine the gun. "Basically, you're gonna wanna shoot from the ofuda, or make the bullet that comes out hang on so it can charge the holy energy. If you don't charge it, it's useless, 'cause it won't be holy. You can feel the _ofuda's_ mana, right?"

"Ye- yeah…" Rinnosuke furrowed his brows as he focused on it.

"Alternatively, you could just throw the ofuda after making it do what you wanna do." The princess suggested.

...Nodding at this idea, Rinnosuke took the ofuda, and-

...After throwing his arm similar to the mikos, the paper fluttered out of his hand and to the ground peacefully.

"...Okay, dude." With a palm to her face, Kaguya shook her head. "Good throw. Okay, you _can't_ throw them."

Wrapping the talisman around the barrel again, he grinned. "Ahah... alright. How does the spell work?"

"...Close your eyes." Kaguya supposed. "That always helps novices do shit, where weak prefabs are concerned."

"Alright…" He did as instructed.

"Make a bullet halfway outside your barrel, whatever you want as long as it ain't bigger than the ofuda." Kaguya eyed the area of operation critically…

...A grey dart shape formed just inside the barrel.

"Not sure why it's a dart, but whatever- doesn't matter." She shook her head. "Divert the holy energy from the ofuda into the bullet. Since Hakurei shit just constantly _leaks_ holy energy in an attempt to seal all of reality and cause the heat death of the universe… you should have an easy time grabbing onto some of that, is what I'm saying."

"I'm- I'm doing it…" Focusing, Rinnosuke channeled the holy energy into the bullet, making it glow gold and red, copying the colors of a Hakurei talisman…

...Kaguya put her hand against his on the handle. "Remember how this feels."

Suddenly, the magic in the bullet- and the ofuda- fluctuated. It pulsed out, into the air as if being scattered and pulled back inward repeatedly, released, constricted, released and constricted again.

Now, the holy energy began to gather back into the vague dart shape, the clumps of golden orbs phasing through the ofuda and the barrel to gather around the shot.

" _Fire!_ " Kaguya threw her arm forward-

The holy bullet traveled out, meeting the holographic simulant Mokou-

 _Fwoom…_ On contact, the light spread throughout its body, before breaking off and traveling back to Rinnosuke in parts.

"...Wo- woah." He blinked repeatedly, the holy particles ebbing into her form. "This… this feels great!" Like Kaguya, he began to walk around, testing out his boosted speed and heightened stats.

"...So, the technicalities…" Kaguya scratched her cheek. "The spell's normally called Soul Arrow. It's holy elemental, and actually does okay damage at that, so if you use it on a holy person, you're just fueling a fire. If you use it on a _dark_ person though, it might do good damage. Also, if the target has _no_ buffs or _de_ buffs, it copies that, too, and will always quickly revert you to normal status. So if you debuff someone to hell, and use Soul Arrow on them… _you're_ debuffed to hell, too."

"Thank you, Houraisan." Rinnosuke gave her a smile. "You've been a big help."

 _...Knock knock_.

...Everyone turned to see Eirin in the door.

"Your equipment is ready." She gestured for the party to follow. "Come along."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

(1x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hoh

stuff has been marginally revised yo

this chapter's pretty long by comparison; lots of info to take in, lots of getting ready for the next scenario, lots of fun things

the next intermission or perhaps arc even could be a training scenario for sendai, since she'd probably have a moment to breathe after what's coming up next - w -

who will we fight next chapter dude nobody knows (or maybe everyone knows)

...the only thing i might be displeased about is the way i handled the prose- lots of sentences that start with a character's name

although this is kinda unavoidable 'cause _lotsa characters mate_

but don't worry we'll get some time to develop sendai and reimu's _familial_ relationship and expound upon some stuff in the arc after next arc

...the next arc's not totally just throwing them back into the formula though, if you couldn't tell by this super vague intermission ending; that and reimu will be helping out for this arc!

this arc actually means _PLOT PROGRESSION_ , yo, unlike the hakugyokurou arc which just kinda left sendai with a vaguely neat utilitarian power

as always, see you all next time!


	21. 5-1 - Death's Jungle Shroud

...The miko who came before adjusted the new outfit she was given. ' _This is… hmm._ '

She was currently in a changing room that she'd been directed to, staring in a mirror. ' _Haven't looked in one of these in awhile. Feels sort of surreal, for some reason._ '

' _...And it's not because of these ridiculous clothes._ '

It was curiously similar to the outfit the miko had walked in with, allowing her to replace the temporary lunar rabbit suit she'd been going around with.

She had a white leotard on, and over that was a thick cloth apron. This one was entirely black, except for a sloppily painted skull on the front, with a red X drawn through one eye.

Additionally, she had black Hakurei arm sleeves on, with white string running through the outer hems, where normally red string would be.

Her hakama came _intentionally_ torn up, looking as if it was partially fed to a paper shredder. ' _Really…_ '

...She stepped from the changing room vaguely sheepishly. ' _This feels more than a little cheesy._ '

...Rinnosuke was waiting outside, now clad in a black hoodie with a random, indecipherable but certainly intricate design on the front in a deeper shade of black. "...Uum."

Walking out of his own changing room, Marcus felt at the neon red and black robes they gave him. "I feel like an evil sorcerer! What's up with that, ah?"

In the middle of the room Reisen and Eirin watched them approach…

"...I didn't _particularly_ choose the styles." Eirin admitted. "However, these should all grant fifty percent dark resistance, and immunity to magically-induced instant death. Really only handy against certain shinigami, but you can never be too careful."

' _More dark resistance for me, huh._ ' Raising a brow, the miko looked down at herself. ' _Not sure how that adds up. Also- you can just… prepare against shinigami scythes?_ '

...Reimu came out of a nearby changing room, clad in similarly monochromatic attire. "Why's it all _black?_ "

...Scratching her cheek, Reisen explained. "Well, the modeler for the 3D sewing machine, she… got a little creative."

' _My apron has a skull on it._ ' The miko propped her arms on her hips…

"How's _instant death_ resistance work, exactly…?" Curious, Rinnosuke brought up a question.

' _This seems a little convenient._ '

...Eirin stared them over for a moment, before collecting her answer. "Normally, such is obtained through artifacts or relics. In history, there are artifacts that give their users the power to resist death; not normal causes or murder, _sudden_ death. They're not as uncommon as one may be lead to believe, but they're not something so simple as say, water or fire relics, or proponents of the common elements.

"Celestials and hermits of today often use them." Turning away, Eirin begins to progress towards the door out. Stopping there, she focused on Rinnosuke again. "Our shinigami often don't go terribly farther than to test whether they're resistant. That, and hermits and celestials are rather _messy_ to battle…"

' _Hermits…_ ' Sendai recalled her experiences with them. ' _They're a lot of trouble. I've never had to kill one, and they're generally benign, but they're cheeky, even dangerous if you don't watch them carefully._ '

With that, Eirin nods at them. "In summary, your clothes have the same properties of those scythe-defying relics."

She stepped out of the room. "That should be everything. Thank you for your time."

…

Once she was gone, Reisen moved to mingle with the party in the midst of the changing room hub. "Oh, yeah. Before you guys go…"

Moving up to Marcus, she reached into her suit, and took out something flat. "Here. It's a.. spell _pamphlet._ "

"Oh wowie." Grinning, he accepted it, looking it over… "A spell _pamphlet,_ huh. Don't make books like they used too!" Rotating it, he held one face-

The pamphlet fell open, revealing itself to have at least twenty or more sides. "...At what point do you write a like, _mini-tome?_ "

Smirking herself, Reisen looked the expanded pamphlet over. "When it's efficient to carry a book around on the battlefield. Not that you should walk into battle trying to _teach yourself spells_ , anyway. It's convenient for training."

' _Tell that to the myriad of mages I've fought who've thrown not one book, nor two books, but entire libraries at me. Also- the Gensokyo Chronicle makes a mean bludgeon… as well as a laser cannon._ '

With that, Reisen turned and began to leave. "I'm going to get back to… my _things_ now. Cleaning up that mess…"

...Reimu was vaguely curious at that. "What mess?"

...Slowly, Reisen turns back-

"She dropped a nuke on us." Sendai revealed bluntly, looking over at her daughter. "It burnt all my flesh off, and then she made it grow back again."

…

Reisen giggled. "Eheheh. Now, umm… Reimu-"

 _Thwack-_ _Bwamp_ …! Reisen retreated, her shield flickering after Reimu came up to her and hit her in the face.

"He- hey…!" Reisen fled the room, accelerating with inhuman agility-

Swinging her gohei wildly, Reimu flew after her.

...Looking over at Rinnosuke, Sendai expected him to try and mediate…

...He just kind of stared back at her idly. ' _Hah. Guess not._ '

"What'd I even make you _idiots_ make _danmaku nukes_ for!?" Reimu's yelling was heard from down the hall.

"Aaa~h!" Reisen couldn't find the moment for an intelligent response, it'd seemed.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 5 - Ancestral Battleground

STAGE 1 - Death's Jungle Shroud

...Now immediately outside the clinic, Sendai inhaled a breath of fresh air. ' _It's sort of stale, in there. Too clean._ '

The bright blue sky above was a contrast to the dim of the bamboo canopy, which was blocking the sun from reaching further in.

Marcus was holding the spell pamphlet up with two arms. "...Ah, yeah, this is pretty simple, actually. S'just thunder magic, 'cept a little weird about it. A lotta pages're just spent explaining the basics behind _magic_ in general… which pro'lly only really helps their trainees, 'cause this is real incomplete otherwise!"

"Do you think it could teach me?" Glancing over at it, Rinnosuke approached the mage…

"Pro'lly not, no." Shaking his head, Marcus began folding it up. "Maybe eventually, if we had a sit down! There're some mana placement 'n' elemental concepts you'd need 'fore hand."

Holding his hand out towards a nearby bamboo clump, Marcus casted-

 _Zap! Zap!_ An orb of lilac plasma generated in the midst of the clump, giving it two brief shocks before fading out.

"Issa bit lighter weight than my big kaboom thunder." Stepping ahead, Marcus spoke. "Which is good, 'cause I often didn' wanna use it for fear it might fry someone! This one's more about stunning and _pain_ , an' it's a little roundabout, but it seems pretty cool! Also, cheaper to cast…!"

"That's nice." The miko gazed into the bamboo ahead. ' _It's gonna be a pain getting out._ '

"...Can you guys fly?" Reimu looked everyone over as they approached the bamboo. "Don't tell me you're planning on just _walking through_ the bamboo. How did you even _get_ here?"

"We found a little white rabbit, and beat it up." Sendai grinned at her daughter…

"...Naturally, huh." With that, Reimu floated closer to the ground. "Well, it's definitely easier to get lost and accidentally stumble out of the woods, than it is to get to Eientei from outside."

' _Yeah._ ' Agreeing with this logic, Sendai continued to march forward, the party moving behind her…

After a few moments within the brush, the bushes ahead rustled.

' _Oh, look, a rabbit._ ' Sendai expected to see a rabbit youkai. ' _Maybe she can lead us out…_ '

Instead, a stout girl with short blonde hair came through, holding a large parchment in one arm, and lugging a tiny scythe over her shoulder with the other.

"A- aah…" She seems taken aback at the amount of people she just ran into. "Ah- um…" She was also clad in a rather oversized, faded blue robe.

' _...Huh._ '

Reimu floated down, towards her. "Hey."

"Umm~..." The girl shied away. "...Hi~. I…"

...At the girl's unresponsive nature, Reimu landed. "What's up?"

"...I'm… looking for someone." The girl began. "I- I got lost, and…"

"Who're you looking for?" Reimu eyed the scythe…

"...We- well…" The girl held her parchment before herself. It had a thick, wooden board behind it. "We- we're scouting for, um…"

Fed up, Reimu takes the parchment.

Sendai's portrait was on the front, in monochrome. ' _Oh._ '

"...I see." Dryly, she passed it back to the little reaper girl.

"Ye- yeah, we have to…" The girl focused. "... _Harvest_ , yeah. They said the job was… easy, but I got lost from- from… the team. Ah!" Suddenly, she froze up. "I- I wasn't supposed to show you~ this…!" She hugged the parchment board to herself.

...Reimu glanced back to her mother.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

"Mmh- mmph…!" The little reaper girl was now tied up and attached to a big clump of bamboo Sendai had over her shoulder.

' _If that was really everything, I feel like we vastly over prepared._ '

"She _did_ say there was a team…" Rinnosuke reminded them.

Floating ahead, Reimu looked around. "From what I know, the more bothersome reapers tend to work alone. Or, at least, that's what I _think_."

' _I've only seen a reaper team a handful of times, and never in combat. They act like regular people, from what I can tell._ '

...After a moment of progressing, the party came to a river in the midst of the bamboo woods. There was a short clearing before it, enough for both sides of the river to be well-exposed, to extents. On the other end, there was some sticks set up, creating a tiny structure.

' _...Huh. Cute little getaway, here._ ' Staring down at the running water, Sendai was tempted to jump in. ' _It's a little cold for that, though._ '

"He~y…"

Before the four, a red-haired woman stepped out from the bamboo-

 _SHI~NG!_ She swung a large, ridged-looking scythe wide immediately as she entered the clearing.

... _Kra-_ _Fwii~sh_. The bamboo she stepped out of, among a layer along the whole clearing wall adjacent to her, all fell forward.

From behind her, three more reapers stumbled and struggled with the falling bamboo as they moved to catch up with her.

"On- Onozuka~!" A tall girl with long, blonde hair whined at the leading reaper. "We were _using_ that bamboo, you know…!"

"I see you found Chitose-chan for us!" The red-haired woman called out to the miko's party…

"Hey, Komachi~!" Reimu called out for her. "You mind taking a hike!?"

"I wou~ld…" Komachi leans back lazily… "Today _is_ like, classified as an _easy_ job. We _cou~ld_ just go…"

...Reimu blinked at this. "You're… really?"

...Smiling back, the reaper began to walk forward. "No~. You defending your _mom_ , there?"

Drifting ahead, Reimu held her gohei ready. "Yeah? Is that a problem…?"

"It ain't healthy, sweetie…" Shaking her head, Komachi twirled her scythe around-

 _Thunk._ -before embedding the tip of the staff part into the dirt. "She's _dead_."

"Not if we beat you up." Reimu contested. "Five cards."

"Aa~h, na~h…" Komachi turned away. "I'll spare ya that trouble…"

 _SHI~NG!_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Komachi Onozuka and Shinigami_ ====

...Sendai blinked, the reaper gone.

Turning around, she saw the shinigami standing behind her, scythe extended as if she'd just swung it.

…

Slowly, Komachi turned around. "...Now, who went and gave ya _death_ resistance…? Damn i~t. The workaround _su~cks_ …"

' _What did she just…?_ ' Sendai felt at herself…

" _Hey!_ " Reimu yelled, accelerating towards the shinigami. "What did you just do!?"

"...Nothi~ng?" Komachi gave her a grin. "In fact… you _all_ have instant death resistance. Now _that's_ fishy…"

"Look…" Rinnosuke walks forward receptively. "I-"

"Guess I'm just gonna hafta beat the crap out 'a all 'a ya." Komachi began twirling her scythe around…

"Yeah, alright." Two yin-yang orbs began to gravitate around Reimu. "Let's see a slacker like you try to take on _all_ of us."

...Komachi winked. "Did you forget about my mates, over there?"

 _Click._ She snapped her fingers-

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish_. The four other shinigami appeared around her, stumbling in place from the sudden movement.

"Aa- woah…!" The little blonde girl fell over. "Ow…"

...Sendai looked at her bamboo shaft clump, the shinigami now free. ' _Oh._ ' She tossed it aside…

...Drawing a double-bladed scythe, the taller blonde reaper held it forward like a short sword despite its size. "Keep on your guard, everyone. These are two _Hakurei_ we're dealing with…"

Next to her, a robed shinigami reached up…

Letting down his hood, he revealed his long, messy pink hair. "Their hearts shall be judged."

The final shinigami let down her hood, revealing short blue hair. Then, she drew two chain sickles, swinging the chains and by extension their scythe-esque ends parallel to one another. "Yeah, yeah, Marusha. Next time you get Chitose lost, we're using you as bait."

"So it shall be." The pink-haired reaper accepted this-

 _Fwi~sh!_ A scythe with a pink blade formed in his right hand, sakura petals fluttering off of it before vaporizing.

' _Looks like a fun crowd._ ' Sendai cracked her knuckles. ' _Reimu here'll be a good equalizer…_ '

"Oh, yea~h…" Komachi held up her scythe. "Me and Marshy's scythes, they don't stab, they just kill. The other scythes, though…!"

"Komachi!" Rinnosuke attempted the impossible. "...We don't-"

" _Bo~y._ " Komachi interrupted him loudly.

…

He tried again. "Bu-"

" _Bo~y._ " Komachi flatly bellowed over him.

Sighing, he held up his pistol…

…

' _Here's the stare off._ ' Taking a deep breath, Sendai watched her opponents. ' _That Komachi girl can move instantly._ '

…

"If you guys so much as _move_ a _muscle_ …" Reimu enunciated the building tension-

 _Fwish_. Marusha vanished, a tuft of sakura petals in his wake. Komachi was simply gone.

' _What's with this pink guy? Is he related to Yuyuko or what…?_ '

"Ha~h…!" The blunette with the dual chain sickles began running towards the party-

" _Onozuka~!_ " The blonde haired reaper stabbed one end of her dual-bladed scythe into the floor below-

 _Fwo- fwoa~sh!_ She lit up with white energy herself, although Komachi was nowhere, yet.

" _Spirit Sign!_ " Reimu instantly announced a spell card. " _Fantasy Seal!_ "

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Erecting a barrier, Marcus ducked towards it-

 _Spla- splash!_ Instantly putting away his gun, Rinnosuke made a mad dash across the river as the chain sickle swinging shinigami came sprinting after him. "Aa- aah…!"

' _Two are missing…_ ' Sendai was still looking for the other reapers-

Marusha appeared before her, moving to swing up and hit her with his scythe-

 _Bam!_ Lunging forward, Sendai punched him in the chest, sending him skidding back-

 _Fwish_. He vanished into a tuft of sakura petals, again.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- bam- boom- fwam- boom!_ From above, Reimu's technicolor yin yang orbs descended upon the few shinigami present on the battlefield.

"Ngh…" The blonde one was only slightly staggered by the attack-

" _Aaa~h!_ " By contrast, the stout blonde reaper was knocked out of a very long casting procedure she'd been executing in the background, sent flying.

 _Splash!_ The blunette was submerged into the river, the orbs bowling her over. "Mmgh- aghk…!"

 _Ba- bam- bam!_ Sendai felt herself thrown forward from a force behind herself. "Aah…"

Turning in the air as she soared for the bamboo, she shielded herself with her arms-

 _Pat- pap- bam!_ Thick, ring-like coins pattered against her flesh like bullets. "Ugh…!"

...Looking around, Sendai noticed that the shinigami was gone now. ' _This is going to be a fun one, isn't it. The harasser types of youkai are the worst..._ '

...Marching out of the river, the chain sickle wielding shinigami began to spin her sickles up again, this time making for the miko rather than the shopkeeper. "He~h! You really think you can take _five_ 'a us!?"

" _Force Blizzard!_ " Marcus yelled out from across the battlefield-

 _Woo~sh!_ The tall blonde reaper shielded herself as a small snowstorm suddenly fell upon her. "Wha- what…!?"

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash!_ The blue-haired reaper had two instances of herself split off, three copies of herself running at the miko. "Hehehe!"

The left one only had a sickle in her left hand. "What's one…"

"Plus one!?" The right reaper flailed her sickle wide, the chain extending despite the reaper's distance-

Ducking under it, the miko ran under the chain itself-

 _Clink!_ Chains clattered together as the main one cast her two sickles straight down, trying to track the miko's movement. "Plus one!"

 _Woosh!_ The left reaper's sickle now soared straight for Sendai. "Plus _one!?_ "

As it neared-

Sendai leapt, before accenting her arms with dark energy, and grabbing the chain-

 _Woo- woosh- clink!_ Grabbing it, she began to run towards the wielder, evading a retracting right sickle and another lunge from the main reaper as she moved-

 _Fwash!_ Marusha appeared to her right, flinging her into the air with an upward, grand swing of his great pink scythe. ' _Woah…!_ ' The attack itself felt more like push force, than being struck by a blade or even the shaft.

"Ha ha~..." He let out a laugh as he dissipated into petals again, talismans raining down into his former position from above. ' _Reimu's keeping 'em suppressed…_ '

...Up here, Sendai kicked towards the blunette clone-

 _Woosh!_ -and began soaring towards her.

The girl crouched down-

 _Fwuu~sh!_ A geyser erupted before the miko, but she sailed through it as she neared the girl-

Closer now, the miko was able to grab the chain nearest the reaper. Reinforcing the dark energy in her arms, she tugged-

"Wa- ah…!" The clone fell along her side as the miko tugged, her legs pounding from the momentum, the landing contrasting with her pulling. ' _C'mon…!_ '

 _Woosh!_ With a mighty heave, she began spinning the shinigami around, slowly loosening her grip on the chains so that the radius of the spin would become wider and wider…

At the edges of this spin attack were the other two blunettes, searching for an opportunity-

 _Bam!_ Sendai stopped abruptly, whipping the back end of the chain sickle she commandeered-

" _Woaa~h!_ " The clone roared as she held on for dear life.

" _Hroa~h!_ " Sendai put maximum leverage into her legs as she pushed and pulled with her arms-

The clone soared over her head, before-

 _Boom!_ Sendai struck the clone against the ground ahead, the other two reapers out of the way of her crash-

 _Pi~chun!_ The clone exploded similar to how a fairy would.

" _Haha~!_ " Blue-haired shinigami rushing forward, Sendai saw her pounce towards her again, sickles in the air back beyond the girl's head and ready to impale-

 _Boom!_ Pounding against the ground with her legs, Sendai tackled her directly, grabbing her by the arms. ' _Enough of that…!_ '

 _Woosh- woosh- woosh…_ The remaining clone was spinning her sickle up not dissimilar from how the miko had spun the other clone around…

 _Woosh- woosh…_ Sendai began spinning the reaper she was holding by the arms. ' _Here we go…_ '

After a moment-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai let the girl go sailing towards her clone. "Nngh…!"

Eyes widening, the clone swung her sickle away to avoid hitting her master-

 _Wham!_ Their bodies collided-

 _Fwa- za- za- zap!_ Crackling with energy, the girl merged with her clone, their bodies snapping together. "O- _oww~...!_ "

' _There…_ ' Sendai huffed. ' _...The answer's apparently 'none', by the way. To her riddle, that is. A little late to answer it now._ '

Overhead, Reimu was hovering over the battlefield, ofuda raining down wherever the high priority shinigami were.

The blonde reaper was now frozen and crackling with electricity.

"Pu- purif- aah…!" Chitose, the stout blonde reaper, was running around her, attempting to heal her only for Marcus to round the ice block and spook her every other moment. "Purif- aah…!"

"Hoohoo~! Here comes the paddleball…!" Marcus was using a paddle ball to achieve this effect.

"N- no! Purif- aah!" Chitose ducked under a bounce of the ball that would've come short of her face anyway...

...Rinnosuke stood on the opposite shore, flintlock ready and body rigid, ready to get abruptly smashed for no reason.

... _Fwish_. Marusha appeared in the middle of the clearing.

" _Hraaa~h!_ " Yelling out, he spun his scythe around over his head- " _Haa~h!_ "

 _Thunk!_ He plunged the shaft into the grass below-

 _FWOAM- FWOAM- FWOAM…_

Stationary, pink and black wells of malevolent magic formed around him. There were a total of three, but only adjacent to him, and while they were massive, they didn't move.

' _Area denial…_ ' Eying the writhing, violent black and pink wells, Sendai strafed around the edge of the clearing. ' _The blue one seems down for awhile, Marcus got the healers. so…_ '

Bringing his scythe up again-

 _Fvhir- fvhir- fvhir!_ Marusha abruptly whirled towards the miko, instantly roaring across the ground akin to a saw blade with his scythe as he progressed towards her-

Drawing a yin-yang orb-

 _Bam!_ -she maximized it before punching it towards him.

 _Fwa- Bam!_ "Guh…!" He tried to continue through it, only for the orb to knock him out of his spin, leaving him awkwardly on the floor-

 _Fwish_. He vanished into sakura petals again. ' _Hah._ '

...As she strafed, Sendai neared the river. ' _Maybe I should leap across. That'd make all these dark pools he made useless._ '

Considering this, she gazed over the glimmering, clear water-

" _Boat Sign!_ " Sendai heard the reaper from all around her. "Flow of the River!"

Looking to her right, she saw Komachi riding across the river towards her on a small boat-

 _Woosh!_ As the miko leapt, the boat accelerated towards her almost instantly-

 _Clack!_ Her sandal clicked against the shaft of Komachi's scythe as she passed the miko by…

The charge attack missing, Komachi continued in her boat-

 _Splash! -_ which dropped into the river, accelerating down it and out of sight…

' _What._ ' Sendai blinked at the blunt nature of the attack.

Upon landing, she saw Marusha before her again. ' _Hey there..._ '

 _Woo- woosh!_ Spinning his scythe around, he quickly began to close the distance between himself and the miko, swinging complexly at the air in the meanwhile-

Reimu appeared out of thin air above, dropping down-

 _Wham!_ Her sandal met the back of his head. "Hua~h…!"

As he staggered forward from the blow, Sendai ran up into his personal space-

 _Bam!_ -and struck him with a normal, sudden high kick to the face.

"Guh…!" Holding his nose, he stumbled back again-

 _Thwa- thwack!_ Unwilling to spare him mercy, Reimu followed up with a spinning gohei strike to his back, hitting him twice…

"Poor Fate…" Komachi's voice echoed throughout the clearing. "Your Days Are Numbered."

 _SHI~NG!_

" _Aaa~h!?_ " Sendai felt an explosion of pain roar through herself.

 _Thwack!_ Looking away from the male reaper she was manhandling, Reimu gazed at her mother with wide eyes. "Mom!? What's wrong!?"

' _Shit…_ ' The miko checked her body, feeling at herself feverishly. ' _...Nah, I'm still in one piece. Don't feel like it, though._ '

"...You have a _lot_ of vitality~." Komachi lazily walked up from the end of the clearing opposite of where she left. "Especially for a shrine maiden. Here Reimu got me all thinking you guys were all cupcakes and smooth skin…"

Fwa- fwa- fwap! Komachi took a small barrage of ofuda to the face, before blinking away.

 _Zap!_ Their magic worked behind the two shrine maidens. "Ooo~...! Ow."

The two women whirled around to face her again, as the shinigami brushed the ofuda off.

"What did you do!?" Reimu initialized her orbs again…

"I just cut her health in half…" Komachi admitted outright. "Should make this a little easier…"

' _What the hell…_ ' The miko felt at her chest. ' _Instant death resistant, sure. Half death resistant, apparently not._ '

 _Woo~sh!_ A blizzard suddenly formed over Komachi, which she evaded with one step, a good distance away from it now. "You guys _really_ aren't makin' this-"

 _Fwoom…_ Holy particles splash onto Komachi's form, before parting from her and traveling to Rinnosuke, across the river.

...Looking over at the shopkeeper, the ferrywoman smiled. Kneeling down, she pressed a hand to the ground.

Slowly, a purple, blurry glow of energy began to travel across the floor, seeking Rinnosuke. In response, he put his gun away and began slowly jogging to evade it…

" _Jewel Sign!_ " Reimu calls out another one of her own spell cards. "Orbs of Light, Cast into Shade!"

 _Woosh!_ With a cast of the miko's arms, three yin yang orbs rolled up into the air, intent on arcing down to crash down on Komachi's position-

Now above the orbs, Komachi casted, too. "Death Price. Price of Life…!"

 _Cli- cli- cli- cli- cli- cling…!_

Coins began to roar out from the air around Sendai, the points at which the silver and copper coins shot from orbiting around her, opposite to one another.

Running with one, Sendai avoided the hailstorm of coins that pattered her area. ' _Why's she throwing money…?_ '

Drifting up, Komachi also seemed apt to engage the miko directly. ' _Here we go…_ '

Appearing from above, Reimu kicked down at Komachi-

The reaper was behind the elder miko, now-

 _Click- cli~ng!_ Spinning around, Komachi released a slowly expanding spread of rapidly rotating gold coins, to keep the miko from engaging immediately.

Reaching into her pockets, Sendai drew a yin-yang orb-

 _Fwa- fwash!_ Gritting her teeth, the miko doubled back as Komachi's scythe passed through her twice, each physically harmless slice draining her. ' _Ugh…_ '

The reaper vanished again-

 _Cli- cli- cli- clink!_ Gold coins splashed off the yin-yang orb the miko created...

Discarding the orb and stabilizing herself, Sendai drew her flintlock as she moved to strafe around the orbiting copper and silver, the coins creating two vortexes around her as she strafed through them-

" _Vol Fulger!_ " Arching back, she cast her limbs out-

 _Fwa- Zap- Zap- Zap- Zap!_

" _Oo~h!_ " Komachi flew back from the orb, having swung her scythe into it. "Ahaha~...! Oww~." Softly, she landed on her feet a distance from her danmaku-

 _Thunk_. Reimu approached her out of nowhere and jabbed her gohei into the woman's side, making her cringe.

Grinning, Komachi threw her arm to the side-

 _Thunk!_ Reimu blocked the sloppy blow-

 _Woosh!_ In the next moment, the shinigami was in the coin vortex with the miko again, bringing her scythe down-

"Go to _sleep!_ " Rinnosuke aimed his pistol at the reaper-

 _Fwam!_ A green, soft muzzle flash came from the gun-

"O- oh…!" Standing still, Komachi blinked for a moment as the energy ran through her. "Waa-"

 _Bam!_ Sendai delivered a dark-accented punch to the reaper's jaw. ' _There!_ '

...The coins all clattered to the ground nearby, their momentum lost. Komachi herself spiralled to the floor before the miko, before disappearing prior to splaying out completely.

"You _support_ guys are _annoying…_ " Komachi was now walking slowly towards Rinnosuke, across the river. "I would've begged the big guys to come with me if I knew…"

 _Zap- Zap!_ Before Komachi even got to swing at Rinnosuke, an orb of plasma generated within her form, shocking her. "A- ahaha~!?"

Dropping his pistol aside, Rinnosuke raised his arms defensively. "No- now, I don't wanna hurt you…!"

Jittering from the combined electricity, Komachi reached forward at the air-

-and suddenly had Rinnosuke up by the collar. "A- aah…!?"

 _Splash!_ ...She easily tossed him into the nearby river. "I don't get _paid enough_ fer this…!"

 _Zap- Zap!_ Marcus cast the same orb of plasma on the shinigami again, hiding behind the frozen one as he did so…

"I thought Hakurei didn't travel in packs…!" Grinning, Komachi walked out from behind the ice block, holding Marcus by the back of his robe. "Or- y'know, didn't run around with a personal army…!"

...Reimu appeared from behind the reaper, sliding in behind her-

 _Thunk!_ -and kicked her in the butt, from the floor.

"Ahp!?" Surprised, Komachi fell forward, dropping Marcus as she did so-

"Ooo- hoo~...!" He glided off awkwardly, sailing gently across the clearing…

"Aah…" Marusha let out a labored breath, beat up.

Sendai heard it come from beside herself...

Looking to her left, she saw him stumble forward out of nowhere, looking about. The wells of black magic he summoned on the floor earlier were long gone, although it took the miko a moment to notice as they hadn't got in her way anyway.

 _Fwish_. He vanished into more sakura petals, again.

...Scanning the clearing, the miko still saw the blue-haired shinigami crumpled against a tree.

"Malice Sign…" Komachi held out a hand as she regained her balance, Reimu having eluded her. "Regretful Bound Spirits!"

 _Fwoosh_. From all around her, a cloud of white and blue, bright spirit orbs began to drift around, before slowly convening towards Sendai…

Marusha appeared near her. "Forget Sign! Whirlwind to the Void!" Then, he cast his arm out, spinning his scythe-

 _Woo~sh!_ A small whirlwind formed, slowly homing in on the miko…

Getting back on his feet, Marcus seemed to almost trip back onto one knee-

 _Kri~ng!_ -although he actually took the moment to summon an ice spike, beneath Marusha.

" _Augh…!_ " The shinigami soared into the air from the eight foot tall fissure that erupted beneath him, his scythe falling at his wayside. The whirlwind he summoned died, too.

Komachi sighed. "Marshy, ma~n. You owe me my next _ten_ bottles…"

' _These spirits…_ ' Sendai tried throwing ofuda at them, but they went right through. ' _I don't trust them._ ' Pacing about, she kept a distance from them as they tried to convene on her…

Reimu appeared over Komachi again-

This time, the reaper grabbed her ankle as her leg came down. "Move's a little _stale…!_ "

 _Wham!_ She slammed Reimu into the floor. "Ngh…!"

Soaked from climbing out of the river, Rinnosuke held his gun up again, before aiming it at Komachi, aim shaky…

 _Crack!_ A holy molotov broke over the shinigami's torso. "Aah- ooh woah woah…" Quickly, she patted herself a little, before-

Sploosh. She took a dip in the river. "Ooo~...!"

...Eventually, Sendai noticed the ghosts had stopped trying to form around herself-

 _BOOM!_ All the ghosts that were present exploded, becoming violent blasts of cyan energy.

" _Hwuaa~h!_ " Rinnosuke flew overhead, clearing the river. ' _Woah…! They must've stopped flanking me at the last moment… I should've read their movement!_ '

"Hell…!" Komachi floats up out of the river… "Narrow Confines of Avici!"

 _SHI~NG!_

Sendai braced herself, but felt nothing. ' _...Hmm?_ '

...All around her, a wide rectangle of grass was glowing pinkish red. ' _Ah._ '

' _...I can't move my legs!?_ '

"Hup!" She jumped successfully-

 _Woosh!_ ...Upon trying to kick in the air, she realized she was locked horizontally, only able to move up and down. ' _What…!?_ '

 _Fwa- fwash!_ Up in her face again, Komachi swung at the miko safely, her blade passing through her twice again. "Hehehe~!"

 _Woosh!_ Uppercutting into the air, Sendai got up high to try and dissuade the reaper, as she dug through her sleeves-

 _Woosh!_ Komachi was right up there with her, taking swings-

Sendai threw a chunk of holy salt at her, which crumpled into mist as it neared the reaper-

"Aa- _oow~!_ " Doubling back, Komachi held a hand to her face. "Wha- what the he~ll…!?"

' _...Huh._ ' Sendai braced herself for the landing… ' _Didn't think that'd-_ '

 _Thoom!_ She landed hard, kneeling. ' _Ow._ '

...Standing, Sendai looked around. Komachi vanished from the sky above.

"Anyone got any potions…?" The miko looked around, brows furrowed. ' _Not that I need one, but just seeing…_ '

"Don't use any potions." Reimu remarked, glancing around as well. "We can't beat her if we use healing items."

' _What…?_ '

"Nnn…" Appearing before the party again, Komachi rubbed her now red eyes. "I'm pooped."

"Good." Sendai looked down, realizing the ground beneath no longer locked her in place. "Are you just about done?"

…

Looking around, Komachi smiled. "Na~h." Her gaze settled on Marcus. "Hey, mage~y! No one's even hit ya yet, huh!?"

... _Fwoa~sh!_ Preemptively, he erected a magic barrier before himself. "Ya, uh, could say that…!"

...At that, Komachi nods-

"Exchange…" She twirls her scythe back, planting the back of the blade beneath the heel of one of her sandals. "Unvalued Life, Valued Life!"

 _SHI~NG!_

...Komachi was still where she was moments ago, the two shrine maidens tense.

 _Woo- woosh!_ A few dim globs of energy expelled from Komachi's form-

 _Woo- woo- woo- woosh!_ A cluster of bright ones expelled from Marcus's form-

 _Fwoa- fwoa- fwoash!_ They both glowed brightly as their clusters traveled to one another, Komachi receiving all of his, and he receiving all of hers.

"...O- ooh. Shit…" Exhaling, he stumbled for the nearest tree. "Wo~w…"

Komachi stretched, smiling widely. "Wa~h… for an old man, you have a lotta mana…!"

' _She just exchanged energy with him…_ ' Sendai furrowed her brows at this transgression. ' _So that's why Reimu said we shouldn't heal. She's just going to keep trading health and mana with us until there's no more left and we happen to win or lose._ '

"Alri~ght…!" Bubbly once again, Komachi jaunted in place… "Round two, here we-"

 _woa- woa- woa~h_. An echoey noise came from one of her pockets, said pocket also flashing.

"Ooh…" Reaching into it, she took out a glowing, green stone tied to a frayed, rope-esque string. "Ki~nda busy actually doing that super important, quote unquote 'easy' job you sent me ta do."

...The mikos stared at her idly as she talked with the stone.

"...Whaddaya mean, 'whaddaya mean'? Y'know, fight the punch miko? Didn't tell me her daughter and freakin' extended family'd be here! Look, I- I kinda wanna hit the bar 'fore-..."

…

"Wha~h!?" Komachi yelled into the stone. "Are- are you… Is- is this a joke 'bout that 'extended family' joke? 'Cause good one! Aah… aah. Ah."

...Looking back over at the mikos, Komachi rose her eyebrows. "...So yer sayin' we're just _fucked_ , ah? No, tha's what yer sayin'...! Whaddaya want _me_ to do about 'em…? If I could fight like the entire Hakurei lineage, I wouldn't be a grim reaper…! I'm already havin' trouble wit' _these_ two little headstompers over here."

…

"Alright, wh'ever. I'll see wha' I can do. Ye- bye…"

 _woa~h_. The stone faded out, becoming a aquamarine rock.

...Komachi looked over at the mikos, and gave them a grin. "Ehe~. We're gonna hafta put a rain check on tha' whole 'kill eachother to death' thing. Ah-"

"More dead Hakurei walking the earth?" Sendai tilted her head…

"A 'course _you_ know already." Komachi waved the miko off… "Eiki want's me to come over and help her beat up the shrine maiden who found the Hakurei barrier. I mean, look. I know I'mma _amazing_ reaper, the Yama's gift to the shinigami squad and a _super_ girl, but freakin'… can I make it ta the pub 'fore I have to get run the hell over by bloody… a _Hakurei family reunion?_ Nnn~h…"

 _Woosh!_ She tossed her scythe into outer space, before pointing at Sendai. "...I'm still comin' fo' _you._ Just, not today. Maybe fer the next week…"

With that, Komachi casually strolled out of the clearing…

…

She returned a moment later. "Oh, right." She reached into her pocket…

 _Fwo- fwo- fwo- fwooshi~ng!_ She'd tossed a shiny yellow potion into the air, quick casting it. The liquid splashed onto all her applicable party members.

 _Click_. She snapped her fingers-

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish_. Her allied shinigami all appeared next to her-

Thu- thu- thud. Some weren't quite ready yet…

"C'mon, lads!" Komachi threw an arm over her shoulder. "We're gonna go spend all our Mega Elixirs gettin' wasted by more undead Hakurei!"

"Aa~h…" The blunette began to get up, brushing herself off. "Really? I feel li'-"

"Eiki's _orders_ , yeah…!" Komachi grinned at her. "Who knows. Maybe they have a spell that makes ya _drunk_. Ooo- actually, we should stop a' the shrine! That oni might be there…!"

"Onozuka…" Marusha approached her, stepping closer to her. "I believe it would be in our best interest to formulate a plan of action, this time."

…She gave him a sideways stare. "Says _you_ , mister 'I always use the same attacks all the time'. An' wha' was that _wind_ spell back there…? Ya got your ass folded by a _human_ mage…!"

"If you'd performed proper reconnaissance techniques, as we were instructed…"

Their bickering trailed off into the bamboo woods as they marched off.

…

Sendai looked down at her instant death resistant clothing. ' _Well. That… happened. If that was an amateur shinigami team, I'm sort of apprehensive about meeting a team composed of enemies entirely as competent as that 'Komachi' one._ '

"You're lucky Komachi's a big pushover when it comes down to it." Reimu landed next to her mother. "...At least, when it's both unethical _and_ hard for her. It's pretty hard to tell, but she can be a menace if she really felt like it."

' _Those were some frighteningly table-turning abilities, which she just kind of showed off rather than screwed us over with. Those other shinigami really didn't compare._ '

...Glancing around at her trashed party members, Sendai tilted her head. ' _We didn't really stock up, did we. We can do it at the village, since we got the shinigami situation out of the way…_ '

...Reimu began stepping about. "We should probably pick them up…" She gave Rinnosuke's unconscious form a dry stare.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

(1x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

 _Reimu Hakurei,_ Shrine Maiden of Paradise

WEAPON: Gohei - Her regular gohei. Nothing fancy, but she likes it like that. Balanced and easiest for her to use.

INVENTORY:

Reimu's Outfit - Armpitless Hakurei attire. Excellent for flying. Seventy five percent holy resistance to anyone who isn't Reimu.

Hakurei Yin-yang Orbs - The Hakurei yin-yang orbs. Keeps her from getting fat when she eats sweets. Enables the use of Fantasy Heaven.

Money - For everyday living.

Talismans - Hakurei talismans. Used to seal youkai. Deals recurring holy damage, and may weaken foes.

SKILLS:

Spell Cards - Powerful danmaku and misc. spells which confer a variety of game-changing effects. Usually unable to be used more than once per fight. Part of formal spell card duels.

Danmaku - Non-elemental play bullets that deal scratch damage. However, its magic clumps up in the bodies it strikes, slowly disabling a target. Also able to confer statuses and elemental affinities, where damage bonuses are instead translated to how powerful the danmaku's stunning effect is.

Floating - Reimu can fly free. Incorporated in her Fantasy Heaven. Allows her to teleport, too.

Fantasy Heaven - The shrine maiden's innate abilities unleashed, brought to their most powerful, logical extreme. Showers the area in devastating holy magic and unleashes a seal nuke, before rendering Reimu impossible to hit and invincible for as long as she desires. Effects unique to every Hakurei miko. Requires landing seven melee attacks to execute. Due to the nature of this attack, it cannot be dispelled.

Barrier Magic - Reimu is well versed in defensive and technical Hakurei techniques, giving her a balanced fighting style that combines blunt attacks with defensive maneuvers.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

komachi fight

a pretty relaxed and arcadic party fight

komachi planned on a war of attrition where she'd snipe a victory, but fate had other plans

she's used to easy ganks and fighting undying beasts or the occasional douchebag hermit, not hakurei

she's also normally more relentless on her own and usually doesn't let up even if it takes days to properly corner an enemy, but she also had to take her _noobs back_ and _there's a lotta stuff goin' down_.

that and eirin's interfering with the hakurei getting reaped into oblivion _for some reason_. hmhmhm

komachi's party was somehow less competent than sendai's! then again, komachi thought that was gonna be a good training day for some of the department's noobier people, and if things had gone according to plan, she would've looked all cool going forward and instant killing sendai before running off with them and showing them how to not get bushwhacked by trees or something

instead they all got hurt and komachi was forced to slowly whittle away at everyone before eiki informed her there were in fact _multiple_ rogue hakurei. didn't go as planned, dude

reimu also really helped because it made komachi wanna spam her teleport for fear of getting mowed down by air support for awhile; you saw how quickly all the non-teleporting guys got annihilated!

reimu won't be a permanent party fixture but she will be for this arc

she's friendly, dude

since it's winter break i have a little more time for writing things :3

as always, see you all next time!


	22. 5-2 - Ancient Discipline

_Di- di~ng!_

...Sendai sprinkled some potion onto Rinnosuke. "Hey, hey. Get up."

"Nn- ngh…" Groggily, he waved his arm about as the miko spilled the rest of the bottle onto him. "Hey- stop, stop…"

Sitting up, he found himself within Reisen's medicine stand, inside the village.

' _The rabbit may not be down here right now, but those samples behind the desk are sure coming in handy._ ' The miko glanced back at the desk...

Nearby, Reimu placed what she'd found onto the counter. "Resistance drinks, specific status cures, useless stuff."

Sendai passed him a couple normal potions. ' _She had about six normal potions in her desk. I used two to wake the guys up, and I'm giving Rinnosuke three, so that should leave me with… one. I think I'll give him two instead, so I have at least two group heals I could cast._ '

...As he sat up, he looked down at the potions. "Ah…"

With her two potions in her pockets now, Sendai began to leave the stall. "Alright. I think we're ready to start looking around."

Marcus was already outside, panning his gaze around the square. "Rather nice day, innit? Warmer than the past couple 'a days!"

' _...Well, yeah._ ' She couldn't fault that statement. ' _It is pretty good out._ '

"We should get a move on before they cause any havoc." Drifting over the stall's counters, Reimu floats out before her mother. "...Because I think we both know _we_ cause havoc, when we're just left to look for answers."

"Mmm." Agreeing with that, Sendai began to scan the square… "If they're older than me, they probably have some funny ideas about what to do with youkai."

Reimu snorted. "I wouldn't doubt it…"

' _I'm not sure if the one who stopped in the village would still be here. I'm not sure why she'd stop by here, but I have ideas..._ '

There was no one notably off in the square at the moment, other than some eccentric looking villagers here or there.

"Ah…" Rinnosuke stumbled out of the stall behind the party. "Did- did we win…?"

"Nah, we all died." Marcus shook his head. "This is what Hell looks like!"

...Exhaling, Rinnosuke began to put away his new potions. "It'd figure, wouldn't it…"

After a moment of surveying, the party caught sight of a brigade of village guards moving towards the western main street, near them. ' _What's got them riled up?_ '

Once they got onto the road proper, Reimu moved to follow the archers, swordsmen and shields men. "C'mon. They probably know where the fire is."

Sendai was pretty much with her as she moved, the only people taking a moment being Marcus and Rinnosuke…

' _They all look pretty geared up. Considering how there's not a whole horde of them, it's a single target they're after, rather than a lot of them._ '

And then-

A nimble, barely clad guard ran past the girls, running towards the guard horde. "It teleported aga~in! The square- s'back in the square…!"

...Letting out grunts and groans, the guard posse slowly began to rotate-

Reimu and Sendai pivoted around. ' _Teleported…?_ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - Ancient Discipline

Dashing into the midst of the square, the party gazed around at a lingering dust cloud, and the sudden absence of villagers.

' _The last few people are fleeing. Whatever happened, it was right when we looked away…_ '

"Da~h…" Marcus scratched his nose. "...You think this is her?"

...Looking around, Sendai adopted offensive posture. "Maybe."

The guards quickly passed the four, moving around them idly and keeping their eyes opened…

One of the guards stopped before the girls, giving them a glare. "What the hell're you all still doing here? Get back!"

Sendai gave him a dry stare back…

...At the four's non-compliance, the guard just waved them off impatiently, before marching ahead. "Mount the very center! We do _not_ let them escape without a glance!"

...Looking around, he sighs. "Wh- where's the scout…?"

"Ri- right here, sir!" The barely clad guard boy runs up to him and flashes a salute-

"I want you to find whoever's the most in charge right now, have them station a blockade at every entrance to the square." He gave the boy instructions. "Get the captain, too."

"Ye- yes, sir!" Saluting again, the boy began to sprint off…

...After some moments, the guards began to take a circular formation in the middle of the square, all keeping an eye on the entrances of the clearing…

...Sendai let her posture slip. ' _Whoever they were, they don't seem to be-_ '

 _BOOM!_

" _Hua~h!?_ " Men yelled out. Before the miko, there was a massive geyser of dirt.

Shields, swords, and chunks of armor rained down on the ground around the party. ' _Wh- what…!?_ '

As the massive dirt geyser began to settle, the entire guard unit displaced, scattered and otherwise decommissioned, a woman slowly drifted down towards the floor from above, her form flickering into existence.

' _That's…!_ '

The woman wore quite regular shrine maiden attire, fit with the Hakurei colors, a large red ribbon on the back of her otherwise generic kimono.

In her right arm was a long gohei, nearly the height that she was, with two long paper trails flowing from the very tip.

...As Sendai stepped forward-

Reimu ran ahead. "Hey, he~y!"

As the woman drifted down, she panned her gaze down on the miko.

"Why're you making explosions!?" Reimu flailed her gohei in the woman's vague direction.

"Just _what_ are _you_ supposed to be doing, within _these_ walls…?" The woman's voice was level, and suspect. Her appearance was similar to Reimu's, although taller, her hair longer, long locks contained by hair tubes as well.

...Furrowing her brows, Reimu stopped swinging her gohei. "What do you mean?"

"Your _regalia._ " The woman landed before her. "Perhaps _you four_ are this youkai infiltration that has been framed on _me_."

Sendai ran up to her daughter's side. "...Hey. The village-"

"I haven't _time_." The woman shook her head.

"Hey, miss…!" Rinnosuke ran up next. "Um-"

"You cannot fool me, with your _dark energy_." The woman narrowed her eyes at the party. "Of you, there is only _one_ of you with a dim semblance of _holy_. You will trouble the souls of the misfortunate no more."

...Sendai looked down at her clothing. ' _You know, this may've not been the most convincing dress to wear. The cheesy skull on my apron, and everything. It's actually kind of embarrassing._ '

…

Instantly, the eldest miko twirled her gohei around-

 _Thunk!_ She stuck the base of it into the dirt-

" _Spirit Syphoning Field!_ " She planted a hand on the top-

 _Poof!_ A stack of ofuda exploded up into the air, from the tip she'd touched.

Sendai whirled forward to engage-

 _Thu- thunk!_ Her fists met the gohei's flank with each rushing jab she'd performed, her attacks blocked by precise adjustments of the long gohei. ' _Ah…_ '

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ The ofuda rained across the edges of the village square-

 _Woosh!_ Accelerating backward, the eldest miko's arms extended, lighting up as her gohei floated before herself-

 _Cli~ck_. The party heard an echoing click-

A low hum came from below them, as translucent, rune-clad rings began to materialize from the floor of the square, folding up from the floor and rotating, passing through everyone on the field, the effect not truly colliding with any material.

' _What's this…?_ ' Sendai looked around at the revolving, fluidly twisting rings, as they passed through her in their rotations around the square's center-

 _Cli~ck._ There was another echo-

Reimu fell out of the air ahead, having flown towards Sendai's mother. "Oof…!"

' _Ah…?_ ' Sendai blinked, before checking if she could channel her dark energy. ' _She's sealed our magic. Hmm._ '

 _Fw- fw- fw- fwshi~ng!_ Around the eldest miko, four blue yin-yang orbs flared to life, some kind of energy splashing about within each of them.

"Whelp…" Marcus exhaled. "...We'll see how she likes the _paddle ball_ , then…!"

' _I can still hit her._ ' Sendai ran forward. ' _Ofuda will do even less to me like this, too._ '

Back up again, Reimu ran forward at her, determined to get a strike in herself…

With the four magic yin-yang orbs orbiting her, the opposing miko began to glide across the ground towards the party, her sandals just off the floor's surface-

 _Thu- thunk!_ Reimu had to instantly strafe around her, two of the orbs moving to thrust at her.

' _I don't think my mother will be an easy fight…_ ' Sendai readied herself. ' _If we can't get rid of this seal ever, we might be in trouble._ '

As Sendai neared-

 _Pap- pap!_ She deflected the two incoming orbs that were meant for her. ' _We should see if we can break these orbs._ '

Seinarubeki- the eldest miko- readied her long gohei like a staff as Sendai approached-

 _Thwack! Thwack!_ Sendai guarded two great sideward strikes from the long gohei, as her mother neared. ' _Easy open-_ '

As Sendai thrust forward-

 _Wham!_ Flipping forward, her mother grazed the lunge and struck her on the head, with unexpected velocity. ' _Aah!_ '

 _Clack- thunk!_ Reimu was focusing on the orbs that came for her, since they denied her any opportunity to get close. "Stupid _things_. Now I know how youkai feel."

" _Stop!_ " Rinnosuke came to the rescue, pointing a gun at the miko who came before the miko who came before. "I- I have a gun! And, I _will_ shoot!"

As Sendai stumbled to the side from the head blow, her mother snapped her gaze to the shopkeeper-

 _Woo- woo- woosh_. Jumping up, the miko rode the wind as if a twister had suddenly taken her, jittering over to Rinnosuke's position with alarming aptitude.

He immediately dropped the gun and bolted. "Aa- aah- I was lying- I'm sorry…!"

 _Woosh!_ She attempted to slide around him and block his path, but with his agility, Rinnosuke managed to just pass her-

"Aa- aah…!" Then, he was stopped. The miko brought her long gohei around his stomach after thrusting towards him, catching him between her and her weapon.

 _Woosh!_ With a tug, she cast him into the air-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwack!_ Her gohei roared after him, spinning to repeatedly strike him and juggle him further up-

The orbs stopped harassing Sendai and Reimu for a moment, to whirl up towards him-

 _Boom- boom!_ Two sent him flying to the right-

 _Boo- boom!_ The other two came from the right, sending him leftward-

 _Wham!_ Appearing above him, the miko kicked him straight down, sending him flailing to the dirt below-

 _Thoo~m!_ A shockwave was emitted from his landing-

"Woa~h!" Marcus was sent rolling away.

' _Yeah, okay._ ' Sendai'd expected as much.

"Ee- eeuh…" Slowly, Rinnosuke tried to push up off the ground… "Oo~h…" Then, he gave up, flopping back down.

...As the miko fell at a rate akin to gliding, she stared him down. "A… _half_ youkai. The village has fallen farther than I thought…"

Then, she held up her gohei. " _Magic Hour!_ "

 _Fwa- fwam, fwam, fwam!_ Thin pillars of holy energy began erecting randomly around the entire battlefield, suddenly, with no rhyme or reason.

' _Okay- we need to break those orbs…!_ ' Sendai was a lot more skittish at the proposition of holy magic. "Reimu, let's focus one orb at a time."

"Alright!" Her daughter agreed promptly.

Dropping down with newfound speed, Seinarubeki sent her orbs forward first, all four of them moving to strike Sendai-

Sendai leapt up-

 _Bam!_ -and kicked off of one of them, letting it push her back. ' _There._ '

As the elder miko's mother skidded across the dirt on her sandals, Reimu ran towards her-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ -and grazed past a rising, spinning swing of the miko's great gohei, moving to attack the orbs instead.

The eldest miko reached out to grab Reimu as she passed-

Reimu rolled out of the grapple attempt, poking the miko as she passed her in mocking.

As the orbs moved back to attack Reimu, she locked her gaze on the one Sendai'd kicked in the formation earlier-

 _Fwam!_ "Nnh…!" Sendai was flung by a random, weak holy pillar, the spell behind it still constantly at work in the battle's background. ' _Really…_ '

 _Clack!_ Leaping, Reimu threw herself at the incoming orbs, her gohei striking and rolling off one of the top ones of the four-orb formation. "Hoh…!"

Reeling her arm back, the eldest miko threw her weapon-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ The gohei spun towards Reimu with great speed, barrier-esque fragments flaring off of the edges as it whirled towards her.

Reimu rose her gohei to guard-

 _Whack!_ "Enh…!" The attack came from her side, flinging her instead.

The gohei changed trajectory dramatically to whirl towards Sendai as she fell. ' _This landing's gonna suck…_ '

As the gohei neared her, Sendai rotated herself to fall face-first, so she could grab the midst of it-

 _Pap!_ Her hands connected loudly-

' _Wo- wo- woah…!_ ' The gohei still spun wildly, but slower with the miko's entire weight on it. ' _Ho- holy shit…!_ '

As she whirled around, she saw the holy pillars, the sun, and the village's many stalls rotate around and around…

Closer to the ground, she let go-

 _Thud_. ' _Wa- woa~h…_ ' She was dizzy, scrambling to roll away incase the other miko felt it apt to capitalize on this-

 _Ba- bam!_ Orbs hit the soil near her. ' _Shit…!_ '

Still on the outskirts of the battle, Marcus reached into his robe. "Le~t's see, here…" He drew an unassuming brown package, nodding at it. "I still got any _matches_ , let's see here…"

Forcing herself to stand despite her dizziness, Sendai-

 _Bam!_ -took an orb to the face. ' _Fuck…!_ '

 _Thud_. She continued to roll across the ground-

 _Clack!_ Reimu attacked one of the orbs, ready again. "Hey, hey! Pick on _me!_ "

Marcus was desperately rubbing a depleted match against the exterior of the package. "C'mon, c'mo~n…!"

 _Cla- clack!_ Reimu fought the orbs as her mother began to get back up…

The eldest miko was leisurely walking towards them, swinging her gohei about. "You two…"

As Sendai stood, she saw an orb coming for her-

 _Boom!_ She met it with her fist, the strike sending her skidding, and stopping the orb's acceleration-

 _Crack_. A small crack lit to life on the surface of the orb. ' _Hey!'_

 _Fwi~sh_. Marcus somehow managed to light the cardboard exterior of the package, the match itself worn down to the base, the fire lit more likely by wood abrasion than by anything helpful. "Success…!" Looking up at the eldest miko, he began discreetly sprinting, as discreetly one could sprint.

 _Clack!_ Reimu came for the cracked orb, striking it with a sideways blow-

 _Bam!_ Sendai met it with a direct kick, after strafing about and avoiding the other orbs…

"You are weak." Seinarubeki put both arms on her gohei, which began glowing-

A package slid between her sandals, fizzling like a sparkler.

Blinking, her gohei immediately depowered, and she tried to leap-

 _Boom!_

A huge cluster of red and blue, star-shaped danmaku chunks splashed out wildly-

 _Kla- kla- klack!_ The danmaku stars popped into bursts of festive greens, yellows, and pinks, lighting up the clearing with a fireworks-like display.

"Nn~h…!?" Twirling away from the display, the miko brushed herself off. "...What form of mockery is this? _Danmaku_ … _?_ "

While this was happening, the orbs floated around with only half their normal intent-

 _Cla- clack!_ Reimu unleashed a spinning strike on the already damaged one-

 _Crack!_ The damage began to spiderweb-

 _Boom!_ As it retracted, Sendai brought the side of her foot into it-

Splish.

The orb softly shattered into a confetti of clear bubbles and shards of quickly dissipating magic glass-

 _FWOAM- WOAM_. The runic syphon circle flickered to life on the dirt below, evidently still present, even if invisible in every other moment. Then, it vanished again.

 _Fwoom!_ Dark energy returned to Sendai's form in a burst. ' _Woah…_ '

...Reimu leapt, but still couldn't fly. "What gives…?"

Seinarubeki focused her gaze on Marcus…

...Marcus gave her a sheepish wave.

 _Woosh_. The orbs began moving for him-

 _Bam!_ With her dark energy back, Sendai pounded against the ground, roaring towards the orbs to intercept them-

 _Boom!_ She met one with a dark-accented heel within moments-

 _Crack!_ Immediately, damage began to ripple throughout the orb's form…

The eldest miko began drifting towards the scene, eyes narrow. "You simply had to break _one_."

 _Fwam!_ "Woah…" Reimu almost lost her balance, a random holy pillar piercing her for a quick second. ' _Pfft. Holy magic does nothing to her..._ '

The other two orbs roared to smash Sendai between each other-

 _Bam_. Holding her arms out, Sendai stopped both of them with dark accented hands. "Ghh…"

Like this, she was left open for the other orb she'd damaged to wrap around and make its revenge-

 _Clack!_ Reimu intercepted-

Splish. This orb broke as a result, the mighty strike ruining it, spilling magic everywhere.

 _FWOA- WOAM_. The runic symbol beneath flickered once again-

 _Woosh!_ Seinarubeki whirled up for her-

Reimu turned-

 _Bam!_ She was sent soaring, her arm and shoulder taking a jab meant for her face. " _Anh!_ "

Sendai parted from the orbs, sprinting towards her mother-

 _Woosh!_ The miko tried to jab towards Sendai's face-

Sendai leapt, clearing her entirely, before-

 _Bam!_ She came down, her sandal meeting an orb, rather than a head.

Splish. The orb broke immediately upon this impact, more magic splashing about-

 _FWOA- WOAM_. -and the circle beneath protesting loudly once again.

Reimu hadn't landed yet, now floating in the air above the battle. "Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"

...Once Sendai landed, she began to vacate the area. ' _Let's see how this works!_ '

Seinarubeki glared up at the revolving ring of yin-yang orbs, before focusing on them-

They lit up with the colors of the rainbow, traveling from Reimu in a linear line towards the miko below…

As they approached, the eldest miko brought up her staff-

Fwa- fwa- bam! She tried to parry three of them, before-

 _Ti- ting, ti- ti- ting, ti~ng!_ The rest pattered against a barrier she'd erected before herself-

 _Crack_. -the barrier itself quickly shattering right after.

Drawing some ofuda, Sendai threw it at the miko to see what kind of reaction it would spur-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap_. Twirling around, the miko caught the talisman spread of three with one swipe. "...Talismans? Yin-yang orbs?"

Appearing from above the miko, Reimu kicked down-

"Hmh!" The miko barely pivoted out of the way of Reimu's downward kick, before shoving her away with a thrust of the wide end of her gohei.

"Oof…" Reimu cringed back…

Sendai ran up to the miko, arms raised for combat.

Seinarubeki twirled her long gohei around like a staff, ready-

 _Bonk_. Marcus hit her temple with a paddle ball.

...It took her a moment, but she doubled her gaze back to his total grin, as he was backpedaling.

When her gaze returned to Sendai-

 _Boom!_ A maximized yin-yang orb took the eldest miko by surprise. "Whah…!?"

 _Thud- woosh!_ After falling onto her back, she quickly flipped back around-

 _Woosh_. -before kicking against the ground, sending herself into the air so she could glide back a great distance…

 _Poof_. The remaining blue yin-yang of mana around the eldest miko dissipated, letting out a quaint blast as it came undone.

...As the previous-previous miko floated down, she began to sit in the air, crossing her legs. " _Cautionary Barrier!_ "

Fwoo~sh. Unlike Reimu's variation, lines of red began to run from beneath the miko, forming a sphere around herself-

 _Fwshi~ng!_ The lines disappeared as the sphere initialized, a flowy, translucent yin-yang of gold and deep red shimmering as it encapsulated the miko.

Now contained, the miko drifted back towards the party, one hand on her gohei more akin to a casting staff than the martial arts-esque manner she used before.

At this, Sendai ran up to her, and kicked towards the barrier-

 _Ti~ng!_ Her force was nullified completely, some orbs of magic splashing out of the barrier and onto the ground around them.

...Reimu appeared from above the orb-

 _Ti~ng!_ -but her downward kick had no effect on it. "Ah…?"

The miko inside twirled her gohei around-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Dust storms began to kick up around Sendai, forcing her to shut her eyes. ' _Wh- what…?_ '

 _Ti~ng!_ As Reimu fell, she struck the giant orb's side, still achieving nothing.

" _Plasma!_ " Marcus thrust his arms out-

 _Zap- zap!_ The orb of plasma generated inside the barrier, shocking the miko within. "Nnh…" Glowering, she turned her attention to him…

Now out of the dust storms, Sendai glared at the barrier. ' _It seems impervious to physical attacks…_ '

Reimu threw some danmaku ofuda forward-

 _Ti- ti- tick_. It pierced the barrier, pattering against the miko inside, but not catching her attention.

As the miko twirled her gohei around again-

Silently, red, glowing yin-yang globes began to warmly light up around Marcus, hanging still in the air. "...Hoo~ boy."

 _Fwam!_ Sendai's spontaneously flung by another one of the very unaimed, inaccurate holy pillars, which were _still_ happening. ' _Ow- why…_ '

" _Holy Relic!_ " Reimu announced another spell card. "Yin-Yang Demon God Orb!"

Floating up to the unimpressed looking miko, Reimu's gohei floated along her side as she thrust both her hands towards the orb's surface-

Immediately, a huge blue and white yin-yang orb-shaped blast of raw holy power roared out of Reimu, immediately before herself-

 _FWAM- Fwam- fwam- fwam- fwam- fwam!_ The magic roared over the miko before her like a tidal wave, the raw magical blast impressively bright and pulsing with life.

...As a result, the great cautionary barrier was sent skidding across the dirt, the miko inside spinning around. "Wha-... what?"

...Then, she dusted herself off once she quickly righted herself. "That _holy_ power…"

 _Fwoa~sh_. Marcus erected a barrier around himself… and slowly expanded it out-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwam- fwam- fwam- fwam!_ The minefield of yin-yangs around him simultaneously exploded into aesthetically pleasing splashes of royal red. They expanded similarly to the spell card Reimu just unleashed, although marginally dimmer, since there were many of them.

"Waa~hoo hoo~!" Marcus soared into the air, flailing his limbs…

Sendai began moving to catch him. ' _I'm betting the only reason he's fine is because of the barrier he had up…_ '

...The cautionary barrier began to float over the midst of the battlefield, along with the miko within. " _Hakurei Hour!_ "

 _FWOO~SH!_ A column of light began to encapsulate the entire village square, sealing the exits onto the main roads…

 _FWOA~R…_ Once the field was contained, the faces of the octagonal barrier shimmered, before revealing nothing but open sky past them, as if the battlefield were floating in a featureless void.

From above, the miko began swinging her great gohei around, as if striking-

Shimmering, white, glass-like yin-yang orbs began to roll out towards Sendai as she leapt for Marcus, one after another, with every swing. ' _What the hell's going on…!?_ '

 _Pap!_ She caught the mage hard in the air-

 _Woo- woo- woo- woosh!_ A stream of almost linear, vaguely homed yin-yang orbs roared past her and out of the barrier, into the open sky past it. ' _Let's just keep running, then…!_ '

Reimu flew a regular yin-yang orb into the cautionary barrier around the miko-

 _Ti~ng!_ The barrier wouldn't take it.

 _Fwoosh!_ Reimu threw an arm out, four huge person-sized danmaku talisman squares roaring out of her and zooming for the miko inside-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash- fwash!_ They explode against her, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge, still swinging her gohei.

Sendai felt the cool wind off of each of the yin yang orbs as they grazed her back. ' _This isn't gonna hit me if you just keep swinging, you know, no matter how close they get!_ '

Ti- tick. Tick tick. Reimu was casually floating just over the miko's yin-yang stream, sending danmaku ofuda inside one at a time to make the miko's nose itch.

Marcus held up an arm from within Sendai's arms. " _Force Blizzard!_ "

 _Woo~sh!_ A violent, tiny snow storm suddenly enveloped the eldest miko. "Hmh…!"

 _Fwi~shi~ng!_ The entire barrier around the village square shimmered with blinding light, as the miko dropped her cautionary barrier.

Rolling out of the blizzard and dusting the frost off her clothing, the miko gazed at the party-

 _Woosh_. -drifting to the side as Reimu roared past her with a downward kick. "...You two are more than I'd considered."

...Setting Marcus down, Sendai marched towards her. "Is that _it?_ Got any more people-crunching attacks?"

 _Woosh_. Seinarubeki drifted to the side again, this time avoiding an _upward_ kick from Reimu in the process. "...Admittedly, my expertise was in cooperative tactics, rather than one-on-one, or even one-on-many."

 _Whack!_ "Woah!" Reimu appeared over her again, so she whacked the younger miko away casually.

"However…" The miko began to float to the middle of the space again. "If you individuals are _truly_ worthy… then you will not falter."

...Floating down towards the ground, the miko landed, pressing the base of her gohei into the floor below.

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwoom!_ _Fwoom!_ Around her, four pillars of blue shone from the floor…

"Nn- nngh…" The battle had been going on so long, and Rinnosuke had been downed so quickly, that he had begun to stir again. "O-... ow…"

 _Fwoa~sh_. From the blue, holy pillars, emerged four translucent, inexpressive figures.

Sendai blinked at them. "Hmm…?"

One was a petite harpist, clad in a regular-looking shrine maiden kimono, similar to Seinarubeki. Her harp- a koto- floated before her, her fingers ready to play, face expressionless and eyes devoid of anything but translucent blue.

A figure with short, bobby hair and economic rags had a chain-sickle ready, standing near the harpist and swinging it idly next to itself. One hand held the sickle securely, and the other was swinging around the rest of the chain, a weight on the end of it.

An armor-clad samurai marched from the pillar, pointing in the vague direction of Sendai's party, before drawing a line across its throat.

The last to emerge was a hard-faced, bearded man, holding a flintlock rifle, clad in what Sendai could only guess was the male equivalent of the retro Hakurei outfit.

...Stepping behind them, Seinaru held up a hand. "This land shall be _protected_."

 _Fwoa~sh_. Yellow, barrier-esque panels rapidly form around the four party members momentarily, before fading into obscurity.

' _This got a lot more intimidating really quickly._ ' Sendai eyed the other party. ' _Still, I can't imagine some of them being a big threat._ '

Rinnosuke was up again, looking around with wide eyes. "Wha- what's… where's the village…!?"

"She erased the wo~rld!" Marcus yelled over to him. "Spooky shit, huh!?"

He jerked his head over to the mage. "She what…!?"

Reimu nears the party… "If you guys need cover, stay near me. This looks like it's gonna be a mess…"

' _Here I was hoping we could walk out of this without spending a few potions.._ ' Sendai's eyes searched the opposing party…

As the four began to progress towards Sendai's party, Seinarubeki tapped her gohei on the floor again-

 _Fwoa~sh_. Blue energy flared from their forms, pushing wind away from them momentarily.

"She's buffed their defense and magic defense somethin' fierce…!" Marcus called out some information.

" _Cautionary Barrier!_ " Reimu threw her arm out-

A blue, translucent barrier erected before her, for her to hide behind. Marcus and Rinnosuke quickly made for it…

" _Thunderbolt!_ " Marcus extended his arm-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwash!_ Three clusters of bolts came down on the samurai, drilling into it.

It only flinched slightly as a response, leaning back just a little.

 _Fwap- fwap- fwap!_ Sendai lobbed some ofuda at it.

They fluttered off the armor it wore uselessly.

...Aiming his pistol forward-

 _Fwoom…_ Rinnosuke shot a holy arrow forth, the particles splashing onto the samurai's form, before seeping out and returning to him.

...Then, he took a big, greedy stride outside of Reimu's barrier. "Woa~h… I feel…"

"Get back here, ya stupid." Marcus tugged on the back of his shirt. "Ya just woke up from gettin' yer shit kicked in. No matter how strong ya feel, yer gonna go right back down if ya don't heal up or wait 'ere…"

"A- ah, right…" He stumbled back behind Reimu's barrier…

...Then, the opposing party ceased their slow march, taking stances. ' _Here they come…_ '

...Immediately, the samurai bolts for the cautionary barrier-

 _Shi~ng!_ Its downward slice is blocked by the magic-

 _Shi~ng!_ It brought its arm up, bringing the blade back up against the barrier-

 _Ti- ti- ti- ti~ng!_ Thrusting four times, the warrior made no progress-

 _SHI- BAM!_ It brought the katana down with great might, scarring the floor, but still skidding back, Reimu's barrier unyielding.

The rifleman brought up its flintlock, aiming around, before setting its sights on Sendai…

She maximized a yin-yang orb as a shield. ' _I see you._ ' Crouching, she hid her head, too. ' _Go away._ '

…

 _Boom!_ After it'd fired, the yin-yang orb was blown from Sendai's arms by an explosion. "Ah…!"

The bobby-haired male specter approached Sendai too, swinging the weight of the chain sickle over their head…

' _What's up with you…_ ' Sendai stared at it warily. ' _I've seen those things used on youkai before. I'm not dumb._ '

The harpist began playing a melody on their koto…

...Sendai's vision began to blur. ' _What the hell…_ ' She channeled dark energy to her head, and the feeling went away. ' _Oh. Okay..._ '

Beneath Sendai, a circle of darkness began to spread out-

" _Woa~h…_ " Spirit-like entities emerged, floating through the miko's body.

Sendai was unaffected. ' _...Huh. Feels a little funny, but that's it._ ' She started brushing herself with talismans to get some of the darkness that didn't belong to her off.

Rinnosuke aimed his pistol out from around the barrier-

 _Fwa~sh!_ He fired a flare into the oncoming foes, to attempt to blind them.

Seinarubeki crouched down, jamming the base of her gohei into the soil-

 _WOO~SH!_ A fierce gale washed over all her party members, their movements suddenly noticeably quicker. ' _Oh, great._ '

" _Force Blizzard!_ " Marcus cast his new favorite ice spell again-

 _Fwoo~sh!_ A fierce, tiny snow storm encapsulated the samurai-

 _Fwa~sh!_ It was frozen solid, trapped in place.

Reimu was still keeping a hold on her barrier, in case the squishier party members might get focused otherwise...

Maximizing another yin-yang orb, Sendai aimed at the rifleman, before-

 _Bam!_ -punching it forward-

 _Woosh!_ He slid out of the way with ease, before bringing his rifle up again-

Sendai guarded with her arms-

 _Boom!_

"Aa- aah~...!" Sendai stumbled back, her arm sleeves tattered and flesh bloody from the blast. ' _Shit…_ '

 _Woosh!_ Sliding in a kneeling position towards the miko, the chain sickle wielder threw their weight forward.

Bringing her arms down-

 _Pap!_ One of Sendai's wrists was caught by the weight, which wrapped its chain around her limb like a grappling hook

Before she could consider what to do from there-

 _Clink- Woosh!_ The wielder pulled on the chain to drag themselves closer to Sendai, before whirling towards her with great speed-

 _Boom!_ Sendai stomped against the floor, launching herself into the air with a dark uppercut. ' _Let's go…!_ '

 _Cli- cli- clink!_ Still riding the chain, the wielder began to snap closer along it towards the miko-

 _Bam!_ Although, up here, Sendai couldn't be leveraged against quite so easily, especially not when only one wrist was bound; so she punched the specter away-

It landed on the floor silently-

 _Thoom!_ Sendai landed on darkness-accented legs, which buckled from the impact. ' _Damn…_ '

 _Cli- cli- cli- clink!_ The chain sickle almost magically unwound from her, but not before crushing her wrist and abrading it on the way off, as it snaked back to its wielder. ' _Ugh…_ '

Di- di- di~ng. The harpist played a refreshing melody on their koto…

 _Fwoa- fwoa~sh!_ Cra- samurai was freed from their frosty prison by healing magic-

 _TI~NG!_ It immediately attempted a devastating thrust on Reimu's barrier, which was entirely nullified.

 _Kri~ng!_ Marcus flung the harpist with a massive blade of ice, casted directly beneath the girlish specter. "Hehehe~!"

The bobby-haired chain sickle wielder snapped its blank gaze to him, before starting to strafe around the battle's side…

The gunman took aim again, focusing on Sendai once more-

Sendai began to run around the side of the battlefield as well. ' _I need to catch one or more of these things in an item crash. Maybe if I go around the other side of Reimu, I can try and get the samurai, harpist, and chain guy all at once._ '

 _Boom!_ "Ga- ngh..!" Sendai nearly fell over, the blast from the gunman appearing beneath her legs. "Fff~..."

' _Good thing my legs channel darkness nearly all the time in combat. Ow._ '

Sighting the chain sickle wielder, who is now cautiously mindful of the miko's incoming presence, Sendai drew a yin-yang orb-

 _Bam!_ -and sent it roaring forward.

 _Cli- cli- clink!_ The boy specter sent the weight to wrap around the orb, catching it as it went by-

As it did that, Sendai ran by its wayside, trying to line up with the samurai who was almost ready to wise up to the fact it couldn't vanquish Reimu's barrier-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt over the the chain sicklist's yin-yang flail-

 _Bam!_ Kicking forward as the kid slided under her, she bowled it over with a head-bound kick. ' _I'm not actually helpless in the air, I'll have you know._ '

 _Kri~ng!_ Marcus erected another glacier blade from the soil to stop the samurai-

 _Boom!_ A single swing of the samurai's blade caused the massive ice shaft to crumple inward. "Woa~h…!" Marcus marveled at the power-

As the samurai moved around the barrier, Reimu vanished-

 _Boom!_

Rinnosuke stumbled back, a blast from the gunner striking him, but the powerful enchantments running through his system reducing otherwise fatal damage to a punch in the face. "Ouch…!"

 _Clack!_ Reimu struck the samurai from above, slapping it with her gohei before darting back-

 _Woosh!_ Its blade barely missed her-

 _Shink!_ Spinning around with alarming speed, the swordsman suddenly connected with her shoulder, moving faster than she could drift back.

" _Aaa~h!_ " Reimu yelled from the sudden, blooming pain-

 _Bam!_ She spawned an orb that sent the samurai skidding away-

"Marcus! Water!" Sendai roared a request, running for the samurai-

Pop- pop, pop! On her request, a surge of bubbles ran up its form-

" _Vol Fulger!_ " Drawing her flintlock, Sendai slid into the samurai's form-

 _ZAP- ZAP- ZAP- ZAP!_

The sphere of electrical energy flared to life around Sendai, clipping the armored Hakurei specter's form-

 _spli- splish_. The phantom lets out a lucid noise as it stumbles out of the electricity, crackling and jittering, limbs stiff.

 _Shink!_ Sendai shut and opened her eyes repeatedly, its blade coming into her arm as she guarded preemptive of any warning signs. ' _Fucking swords…_ '

 _Bam!_ Reimu brought a yin-yang down from above, smashing the samurai on the head-

 _Fwa~sh!_ The gunner fired an icy shot-

 _Thunk_. Reimu dropped to the ground, frozen solid. ' _No!_ '

"Hra~gh!" Out of nowhere, Rinnosuke came up with his own sword, a health potion in his mouth-

 _Cla~ng!_ The samurai met his clumsy short sword with its katana. The shopkeeper stared the spectral warrior in the face.

Sendai looked over at the harpist, seeing it begin to play. ' _No you don't!_ '

Maximizing a new yin-yang orb-

 _Bam!_ She punched it forward, sending it soaring for the harpist-

 _Woosh_. By an unholy miracle, the harpist strafed out of the way, taking its instrument on the wind with it. ' _Motherfucker!_ '

" _Thunde~r!_ " Marcus held out his arms-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwa~sh!_

 _spli- splish_. The harpist twirled away from its koto, holding its face as if crying, after the bolts sent it sprawling.

...Seeing the gunman take aim again, Sendai traced the aim, and moved to get in the way. ' _No no no you don't-_ '

 _KRA~CK!_

"Wo- wo- woah…" Sendai nearly fell over from the force of the bolt that hit her-

Cla- clack, the bolt itself fell from her, shaped more for impact than anything else. ' _...What? If that hit Reimu..._ ' Looking back at her frozen daughter whom she shielded, Sendai shuddered. ' _I'm breaking this fucker's legs._ '

"Ngh…!" Rinnosuke took another cut, as he tried to defend against the samurai's attacks…

The chain sickle wielder was up again-

 _Kri~ng!_ Marcus sent him down again, flinging him into the air with an erupting ice blade casted from afar.

Running towards the gunner, Sendai steeled her arms-

 _Boom!_ She dodged a blow from the gun, the bullet exploding harmlessly against the edge of the battlefield.

As she neared-

 _Shink!_ The gunner had slid around her flank, shoving a hunting knife into her side. ' _Really…_ '

Grabbing onto its arm-

 _Bam!_ Sendai threw the gunner against the floor.

Suddenly, the samurai parted from Rinnosuke, running after the miko instead.

"He- here…!" Rinnosuke tossed his last panacea into the air. "Reimu!"

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi~sh!_ The liquid splashed down onto the ice-

Cra- crack. It broke open, freeing the miko. "Hua~h…!" She took a deep breath. "Oh- oh, geez…! Wa~h…"

Sitting on top of the gunner-

 _Shink!_ -as it tore its knife into her side, Sendai began to pull one of its legs back. ' _You're fucked now!_ '

...As the samurai neared, bringing its sword up high-

 _Bam!_ Sendai pounded her legs into the ground; one into the soil and one into the spectral man's other leg-

 _Cra- crack- rip- crack…_

 _Woosh_. While it didn't fling Sendai like she wanted, it prevented her from being bloodied by the blade.

 _SWISH- SWISH…_

The form of the gunner dissipated, shattered by the damage the miko caused.

...At that, the samurai staggers back, reeling its arms back and silently roaring into the air-

 _Shink!_

Rinnosuke came up, slid his sword around the samurai's exposed neck, and brought it back into the throat. "I- I'm… sorry…"

…

 _SWISH, SWISH…_

The samurai was now also defeated.

...Running around the edges of the battlefield, the chain sickle wielder moved to regroup with the harpist.

' _There…_ ' Sendai exhaled. ' _We've got a breather._ '

At this development, Seinarubeki pressed her gohei's base into the soil below.

"Hakurei God, hear my plea…" The Hakurei miko made a request… "Grant me this blessing, for the world, land, and all things in it. _Mother Gaia!_ "

Fwoo~...

A soft sound filled the clearing-

 _FWOA~OOH…_

A huge, green and black magical circle began to flare from the entire village square, soft earthy magic seeping from the soil beneath…

' _Oh, good._ ' Sendai wasn't sure what to brace for-

 _FWOAAH!_

 _Ba- bam- bam- bam!_ Everyone was slammed into the the ground, as the earth trembled.

' _Ho- holy shit…_ ' Sendai's eyes fluttered briefly.

...She began trying to press her limbs against the soil to get back up, but she was just too tired. ' _What the hell…_ '

...Reimu stepped up to her mother. "Figures that you couldn't dodge that…"

' _If only I could- I could have flash stepped that, if I knew what was going to happen, actually._ ' Sendai would've shaken her head if she had the energy. ' _Whatever._ '

Marcus stood, a little uneasily. "Hehehe~! No~ _status effects_ fer me, baby~!"

Rinnosuke had crumpled again, wiped out by the sleep element and brunt force.

"...By the way!" Calling out again, Marcus walked around. "That spell _poisons_ ya, too. Not a bad kind, but it doesn't make recovering from bein' tired any easier!"

' _That's… great._ ' Sendai's eyes began to flutter. ' _I… this sucks-_ '

Reimu tapped her with her gohei. "Cleanse."

Fwoo- fwoosh. White swooshes ran along Sendai's form.

...Suddenly, she crawled onto her legs. "Well. That… happened."

' _Reimu knows a spell like that? ...I probably should too, but I might a gohei or a some candles or something._ '

The harpist and the chain sickle wielder began to encroach upon the party's position…

Looking to one another, the specters give each other a nod.

"They're blessed, 'cause of that big earth spell." Marcus rattles off their status. "No~ negative statuses work on 'em, _period_. Includes death and dispel!"

"Oh. I can do that, too." Reimu reveals. "I have to get a quill and make a some charms, first. And, they usually only work against _one_ element or status, unless I waste a lot of time."

' _That's nice…_ '

...Sendai focused on her again. ' _You mean you could've just blessed us with charms, instead of us wearing these silly costumes? ...Then again, I'm not sure how well charms would work against the workers of death._ '

Looking ahead, Sendai eyed the remaining specters. ' _These two shouldn't be a nightmare, without their tankier buddies._ '

...Spinning its chain sickle weight about, the bobby-haired specter began to approach Sendai-

 _Fwoom!_ Marcus lobbed a fireball into its form, and although it darted back fearfully, it wasn't ignited due to the blessing placed on it.

Running forward, Sendai made for the harpist, just as she began to play-

 _Thoo- thoo- thoom!_ Powering across the ground, the miko reached her target, whirling past the frazzled chain sickle wielder-

 _Woo~sh_. The harpist brought their koto wide, the instrument producing a soft breeze before the miko, who'd stopped short of the swing.

At this development, Sendai lunged forward-

 _Woosh!_ The harpist soared into the air with their koto before themself, over the miko…

 _Twi- twi- twi- twi~ng_. It played a melody in the midst of the air…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ An air shield came around the harpist, as she began to glide back down-

 _Bam!_ Reimu floored the bobby-haired party member with a downward kick, after teleporting above its form.

From above, the harpist flung an arm-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Sendai had to wipe some Hakurei ofuda from her face, launched by the harpist. ' _Good attack._ '

 _SWI- SWISH…_

The chain sickle warrior came apart into splashes of magic, Reimu having stomped on its head repeatedly.

...This just left the harpist in the air-

" _Evil Sealing Circle!_ " Sendai thrust an armful of rebound stones into the air.

 _Cli- cli- click!_ The rebound stones collectively arced into the air, forming a column of light with lines drawn in their wake.

Between the eight lines of light, the harpist looked around-

 _Fwa~sh!_ The shaft was filled with holy energy-

 _Cli~ng!_ Floating out of the shaft, the harpist curled up into a ball, protected by its wind shield-

 _Cli~ng!_ Reimu kicked down on the wind shield orb from above, sending the harpist hurtling down-

 _Cli~ng!_ As it came down, Sendai ran up and kicked it hard, sending it hurtling to the side. ' _We could make a game out of this…_ '

 _Cli~ng!_ Appearing before the orb, Reimu kicked it back to her mother, the harpist inside flailing its harp around wildly- or possibly vice versa.

"Hup!" Sendai leapt up, as the solid orb of wind came towards her-

 _Cling!_ Kicking back down, she sent the ball hurtling towards the earth-

 _Bam!_ The wind was dispelled in an instant, the harpist landing flat against the floor.

Leaping over, Sendai thrust her leg out again-

 _Boom!_ -stomping the harpist's head into the soil-

 _SWI- SWISH…_

With that, every phantom party member had fallen.

...Sendai looked around for her mother. ' _Where'd she slip off to…?_ '

...Looking up, she saw the eldest miko hovering above the battlefield, long gohei held by the midsection with one hand.

The three gazed up at her, weapons ready where applicable.

"...I see." Seinarubeki ran her gaze across the party. "...Unrefined, wild power. It was only what could be anticipated."

Sendai took a defensive posture, unsure of what was to come.

"Before we finish, here…" The miko began to lower from the air. "Let us go all out."

She held her arms out, her gohei beginning to float over her, rotating around. " _Fantasy Heaven!_ "

At this proclamation, Reimu spontaneously zipped into the air from the floor. " _Fantasy Heaven!_ "

' _Oh..._ ' Sendai braced herself, strafing to the side…

As seven yin-yang orbs emerged from Reimu's form-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ The eldest miko began sending out a steady stream of white, glassy yin-yangs again-

She rocketed towards the floor as Reimu neared-

 _Boom!_ Her impact sent out a huge, white shockwave-

"Hup!" -which Sendai cleared. ' _I should probably chip in…_ '

"Oo~hwaa~h!" Marcus was thrown into the barrier wall around the arena by the holy shockwave…

" _Fantasy Heaven!_ " Sendai reeled her arms back-

 _fwoosh- fwish- woosh_. Black began pouring out from inside of her, rolling over her limbs, before reaching her head…

 _Fwam- fwam- fwam- fwam!_ Thicker pillars of holy energy began roaring from the ground randomly and without reason, making the floor tremble-

Reimu weaved around the stream of yin-yangs that homed in on her, moving to engage her grandmother-

 _woosh- woosh- woosh_

Navigating around the beams, the dark miko whirled towards the eldest miko. ' _power_ '

Fw-Shi~ng! Around Seinarubeki, well-defined, glaring lasers shot up a certain height, as if forming blades of light around her form.

 _Fwroa~r!_ As she focused in the middle, the lasers roared out-

 _Za- Zap!_ "Ngh…!" Reimu tried to cut corners by diving straight through one, only for it to knock her back.

 _fwi- fwish_. The youkai zig-zagged through the beams at ninety degree angles-

After it neared the miko in the midst-

 _Fwoosh!_ The miko leapt into a great, vertical spinning technique, a ring of light forming around her as she-

 _Fwam!_ -blew the youkai aside.

' _burns_ ' The holy strike made the thing's skin writhe-

 _Fw-Shi-Shi-Shi~ng!_ Three walls of blade lasers erected around the miko in her new position, before roaring outward, traveling away from her-

 _Thwack!_ Reimu hit her across the head, one of her yin-yangs lighting up orange…

 _fwi- fwi- fwish_. ' _so warm_ ' Intent on feasting on the great power that lied before it, the youkai shrine maiden scrambled through the beams, bounding towards the holy miko on all fours-

It stopped on a dime, suddenly standing and leaning back on its heels as the miko spun around-

 _Whack!_ -sending Reimu flying. "Woa~h…!"

 _fwi- fwi- fwish- Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Whirling forward with a series of unrelenting, compromising jabs and scratches, the youkai almost seemed to try and encompass the miko's form-

 _Fw-Shi~ng!_ A blade of light came from within her, sending it flying. ' _too warm_ '

 _Thwa- thwack!_ Reimu crouched down, spinning her gohei beneath the other miko's feet-

 _Woosh!_ As she lost her balance, the eldest miko sent her gohei back as she moved to land on one arm-

 _Whack!_ Reimu sent her twirling away with an upward, wide strike, still kneeling down. Three of her seven orbs were lit now…

 _woosh_. Pulled through the air by a magical force, the youkai almost snapped to Seinarubeki's position again-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Throwing its arms out, it unleashed an expanding sphere of slashes, which quickly tore into the miko's clothing-

Suddenly, all the orbs that were flowing from the miko and towards Reimu doubled back and moved for the dark shrine maiden-

 _fwi- fwi- fwish- fwoosh_. Darting around, the dark being grazed the orbs almost tauntingly as it came for the miko in the center-

 _FWA~SH!_ A disc of white expanded beneath the eldest miko, soft light pouring from it…

 _Wha- whack!_ Reimu delivered a spinning strike to her side, two more orbs lighting up from the attack's deliberation-

 _Thu- thunk!_ The youkai miko's claws met the great gohei's flank.

...Silently, the disc expanded to include the entire square that was trapped within the enclosed space…

 _Bam!_ Reimu really reeled her arm back this time, sending the older miko skidding to the side with her blow, the sixth orb lighting up…

Gohei parting from her, the shrine maiden began drifting into the air, bringing her arms together. "May the impurity be washed from this depleted land..."

 _Bam!_ Teleporting in next to her, Reimu stole the seventh blow required to activate her magic. " _Haa~h…!_ "

 _fwish_. Body flinging towards the predecessor with blurring speed, the dark maiden moved to embrace the miko-

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA-_

Reimu's ofuda storm was unleashed, the inner-column battlefield becoming blindingly white.

The seal below began to crack-

 _ **BHOOM**_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

Outside the glassy, perfectly reflective barrier, Komachi tapped her fingers on it. "...A~ny second now."

...Behind her, the other shinigami were conversing.

"What's a… _paddle ball?_ " The stout Chitose gazed up at her fellow blonde reaper…

"About what it would imply." The long-haired blonde had her arms folded. "...A paddle and a ball."

"Onozuka." The pink-haired man, Marusha, spoke up again. "We've been waiting for twenty minutes. If memory serves me correctly… I believe they're onto us."

Komachi gave him a dry glance, before lifting her sake bottle. "Aha~h. Lookie~ here. We're just gonna _pretend_ we ca' handle this, and y'know, if we try _real hard_ , we might get far."

"I'm running out of Firaga casts, Onozuka." He continued. "We should restock."

Komachi looked incredulous. "Outta- whah!? What the hell've you been usin' 'em on!? You been cookin' burgers behind us the whole time 'er somethin'!?"

"Chitose wanted to see magic." He explained, stoic. "I showed her magic."

...Komachi's gaze glazed over, and she returned to her bottle. "Freakin'... _lolicon_."

"He~y!" The blunette reaper walked up, her clones beside her, all carrying cases of beer. "We got the stuff for the long haul…!"

...Looking over at her, Komachi's jaw nearly dropped. "Oo~h, hell yeah!"

Focusing on the barrier once again, Komachi readied her scythe. "Alright, soon as this barrier drops, we drop _'em!_ "

 _CRA- CRACK_. Abruptly, damage began to spiderweb on along the great octagonal shaft…

Blinding, ultimate, brilliant light flourished from the cracks, almost making the sunny village a degree brighter.

 _CRA- CRACK…_

...Komachi turned back to her party. "Y'all ready!?"

The blondes and blunettes were running in the opposite direction, and the pink-haired reaper hung his head.

...Rolling her eyes, Komachi focused on the barrier again. "Pussies. Holy magic's _fierce_ but I don' imagine-"

 _ **BHOOM**_ \- _**CRAAA~CK!**_

In an instant, the barrier shattered, and the human village faded to white.

" _Aaaa~h!_ " Komachi flung herself forward, but immediately ceased being able to feel her limbs.

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA_

Ofuda rained from above, violent and bright arcs in their wake as they slapped against every surface like a falling star or hail particle.

As the light dimmed, it wasn't truly dim by any means, the entire village a monochromatic scape of white and the faintest contrasts of texture and shade, almost gas-like clouds of holy energy whirling from the epicenter of the blast.

Within the ground-zero of the cataclysm itself, the reality was ill-defined, objects appearing to randomly change shape and proportion, either the light itself being displaced or greater damage occurring to the surroundings…

 _FWOA~SH_

Reimu's Fantasy Heaven reached its climax, an echoing shockwave of light distortion shaking the village itself-

 _FWOASH. FWOASH. FWOASH_. Seinarubeki's reached its conclusion, the massive representation of a Torii drawn in the sky above the village with pure light magic, before dissipating.

...As the light truly dimmed, the ground continued to rumble, making sound akin to thunder, except from below.

...The village square was now a hole, stretching down onto a flat rocky surface some feet beneath the soil.

Translucent, Reimu hung in the air, looking around as her orbs whirled around her wildly.

 _Fwoa- fwoa~sh. Fwoa~sh…_ The sounds of magic restoration began to echo throughout the crater.

 _fwoa- fwoash- fwoash- fwosh fwoash…_ The sounds echoed throughout the entire village as well, the sun's shine becoming white and unnaturally pure, as opposed to bluntly gold. The land was blessed by a Hakurei's power.

...Drifting down into the crater, Seinarubeki held her torso. "Ha~h… ha~h…"

Sendai began to rise from the floor, almost fully restored. ' _What…?_ '

Before her, she saw her party members rise up and dust themselves off as well, about as worse for wear as she was, which wasn't much…

... _Thud_. Rinnosuke promptly dropped onto his limbs. "S- so… weak…"

Thud. He fell onto his torso… ' _Oh._ '

...Drifting down from above, Reimu looked between Seinarubeki and her mother, expression pleasant.

...This time, Sendai approached her mother with casual posture.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

From the Hakurei Hill, a woman clad in armor stood tall, helmeted head tilted towards the immense Shinto insignia drawn in the air by holy magic.

She was outside the shrine, giving the premises of the structure a basic, very leisurely once over. However, that raw display of holy had caught her attention; as it would any person with eyes within a fifty mile radius of the village.

...Slowly pivoting around, the long-haired Hakurei took short, relaxed steps back to her shrine, metal boots clicking against the stone path and wood porch.

' _That strategy is sufficient._ ' She regarded the display of holy. ' _Pleasantly more audacious than expected, of her. Perhaps this second chance has been cause for reflection._ '

She slid the shrine door open.

"Mmrh…" Inside, a two-horned, stout oni turned to her, rubbing her eyes. "Ey, who turned on the _sun_ …"

Stumbling out from under the kotatsu-

 _Thunk_. -and tipping it over, the oni drew a gourd-

"Mmgh…" -and began greedily chugging from it.

…

"Fwa~h." As she finished, she wiped her lips on her arm. "There we are…!"

She turned back towards the Hakurei shrine maiden. "...Lotsa fancy armor, there. An-..."

Taking pause, Suika looked the miko up and down. "Wait. You…"

 _Fwish_. A long, grey katana appeared in the miko's one and only hand.

"...Didn' ya used ta have a _second_ arm?" The oni gave the back of her head an aggressive scratch.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(2x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

(2x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(seventeen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

 _Reimu Hakurei,_ Shrine Maiden of Paradise

WEAPON: Gohei - Her regular gohei. Nothing fancy, but she likes it like that. Balanced and easiest for her to use.

INVENTORY:

Reimu's Outfit - Armpitless Hakurei attire. Excellent for flying. Seventy five percent holy resistance to anyone who isn't Reimu.

Hakurei Yin-yang Orbs - The Hakurei yin-yang orbs. Keeps her from getting fat when she eats sweets. Enables the use of Fantasy Heaven.

Money - For everyday living.

Talismans - Hakurei talismans. Used to seal youkai. Deals recurring holy damage, and may weaken foes.

SKILLS:

Spell Cards - Powerful danmaku and misc. spells which confer a variety of game-changing effects. Usually unable to be used more than once per fight. Part of formal spell card duels.

Danmaku - Non-elemental play bullets that deal scratch damage. However, its magic clumps up in the bodies it strikes, slowly disabling a target. Also able to confer statuses and elemental affinities, where damage bonuses are instead translated to how powerful the danmaku's stunning effect is.

Floating - Reimu can fly free. Incorporated in her Fantasy Heaven. Allows her to teleport, too.

Fantasy Heaven - The shrine maiden's innate abilities unleashed, brought to their most powerful, logical extreme. Showers the area in devastating holy magic and unleashes a seal nuke, before rendering Reimu impossible to hit and invincible for as long as she desires. Effects unique to every Hakurei miko. Requires landing seven melee attacks to execute. Due to the nature of this attack, it cannot be dispelled.

Barrier Magic - Reimu is well versed in defensive and technical Hakurei techniques, giving her a balanced fighting style that combines blunt attacks with defensive maneuvers.

Cleanse - Holy utilitarian technique. Heals one party member of all debuffs and negative statuses.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

seinarubeki fight

sendai's mom, and burly

from a time where she had more peers, so cooperative builds were more powerful! that, and she's like the grand daddy of support classes, with powerful magic and attacks.

her most common strategy for fights she thinks she'll have a hard time with, is to switch between sealing the enemy party and beating them down with physical attacks, and rendering herself immune to physical attacks but able to shell them with magic. additionally, she can create things to fight for her when she's alone- not actual spirits, just her own mechanations

like this, switching between magic and physical attacks, she can quickly weed out enemies unversed in either field, since one form demands magic only, and one demands physical only

...i'd say more about seinarubeki's intents, but she can speak for herself when the time comes - w -

her fantasy heaven is meant to be used within the pocket space she can create, and allows her to combine her physical prowess and magical prowess all at once to engage enemies inside. once she's done, she unleashes a massive holy elemental nuke

when the spell's done, it weakens all youkai in a huge radius around the shaft's position, as well as heals all humans. it grants auto-revive status to all allies, and dispels an enemy party.

oh yeah

her gaia spell was the logical extent of the magic earth attack prefab series, and was essentially an item crash of it in and of itself

large earth damage, drugs the enemies, and makes them really really tired. blesses all allies, for awhile!

so yeah

it was a pretty even match over all - w - her daughter and her daughter's daughter were a little much for her to handle, especially when her focus actually _isn't_ supposed to be primarily combat

whereas sendai is pretty much full force forward offense and reimu is very technically apt when she's allowed to fly and teleport and block with barriers

removing reimu's magic really hampered her offense down to nearly nothing, whereas becoming invulnerable to physical attacks made sendai all but useless for that phase, except where helping marcus not blow up was concerned

poor rinnosuke; a hakurei might be a tall order for him…! he did manage to sleep off losing in the middle of the fight and get back up to get swole and duel an ancient hakurei samurai

it was an interesting adventure for him yo

oh yeah grandma hakurei showed up at the end there- as in, the miko… who came before the miko who came before... the miko who came before. previous-previous-previous hakurei miko…! and also the hakurei at the start of the barrier

 _which means she's seen some shit_

also if you're like me and are like "wuh only three" gensokyo's only existed for like 130 years so three generations is about right i'd imagine

the hakurei were around before that ye

and as for male hakurei leaders, there probably were some! ...these three aren't, though! but, more on that later! (and no they don't also come back to life we're done reviving dead people i think)

she's a friendly person, which is why she only has one arm

as always, see you all next time!

==== OH, AND BY THE WAY… ANNOUNCEMENT ====

we have a discord now as of the time of this! it's posted _here_ , dude

and also on my profile

https SEMICOLON SLASH SLASH SON discord DOHT gg SLASH mcVps2R

if you know how discord invite links go you only need that last bit; sorry it's so ugly but fanfiction DOT net is deathly scared someone's gonna link to kiddy porn so we can't have nice things


	23. 5-3 - Court of the Extraordinary

"...You are…" Seinarubeki, the Hakurei maiden from two generations ago, focused on her daughter, tired and depleted from the preceding action.

"Hey, mom." The miko who came before gave her mother a nod, and a smile.

' _...I really don't know how to take this. Now I know how Reimu must've felt… sorta._ '

Almost awkwardly, Sendai stepped up to her, unsure what to do next.

...Pacing up next to them, Reimu had a slanted grin. "So…"

Seinarubeki looked the shorter miko over. "She is…"

"My daughter." Relaxing a little, Sendai explained. "Reimu Hakurei."

...Smiling, Seinarubeki gave the two another once over. "...You still seem rather young, for a daughter so old. I'm glad you found happiness so quickly…"

' _Uh, right._ ' Sendai snorted at that. "Ah. Well… it's a little more complicated, than that."

"Ahah. I'm sure…" Inhaling, the eldest miko stood tall once again. "...I'm not sure if you two know, but we have a mystery on our hands."

"I'm pretty sure we know." Sardonically, Sendai assured her. "Hakurei being revived, and all that."

"...It figures you would be well informed, I suppose." Panning her gaze to the daytime sky, Seinarubeki began to step past them. "... _My_ mother has been reborn- or, revived, more accurately- as well."

' _I know literally nothing about her. I've seldom even considered having a grandmother..._ '

"Why _were_ you ripping around here?" Reimu stepped up to her respective grandmother. "I don't think peacekeeping was just a recent tradition…"

Seinarubeki focused on her. "I had intended to survey the village, as well as stock up on supplies, seeing as the shrine that remained was so direly empty. That was when the village, in all of its exceeding competence and confidence, mistook me for a _youkai._ I had thought it fallen leading up to my departure, but this… this is reprehensible."

Raising her arms, the eldest miko gestured to the rest of the village from the crater the party stood in. "Youkai have taken deeper root in this village than ever. When we have resources, we'll have to come back here, and retake it."

...Sendai's brows were furrowed. "...Should we really care _that_ much? I mean-"

"Without a _doubt_." Seinarubeki snapped her gaze to her daughter. "This village, and the protection of its people, is one of the remaining birthrights of our lineage. We may have long lost the Hakurei compounds that made its true strength, but with my mother and I alive once again, we no longer have to watch as humanity and our bloodline fades away into nothing."

' _...I'm not really sure-_ '

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reimu's tilted her head. "Like, what do you plan on doing?"

"Once we're ready, we'll return here to exterminate the infiltrating youkai." Seinarubeki proposed. "...I'm unsure what possessed you two to wear those silly black garments, but you will also need something more… tactful, at the bare minimum. You two really do look like youkai, in those getups."

' _Well, she's got a point there._ ' Sendai looked down at the skull decal on her apron…

"We had to wear them to deal with the shinigami." Gazing over at the two male party members, Reimu justified the party wardrobe. "...Which, yeah, we've got shinigami after us. No dead mikos allowed, and all that."

"Let them come." Seinarubeki is unfazed. "For what reason do you need such apparel to deal with the shinigami? If your souls are strong, and your skills sharp, there is no chance of failure."

Sendai rose a brow. "Even from instant death scythes? They're supposed to-"

"A Hakurei's spirit is above such tools." Seinarubeki waved off the concern. "I've tangled a few times with shinigami. They knew to attack my allies, but were ignorant of my supportive prowess. Those I aid are blessed from even death."

' _...I'm not actually sure what she's getting at. Does she mean we're naturally death resistant, or…?_ '

Uncertainly, Reimu spoke. "...I'm sure the village has a few troublesome names, but I don't think we really have to go about wrecking the place to get rid of them."

 _Di- di~ng!_ Marcus threw one of Rinnosuke's potions on the shopkeeper himself in the background.

"Oo~h…" Slowly, he stood, once the potion's effects kicked in. "...I- I feel like I've been crushed."

Marcus grins at him. "Pro'lly 'cause you _were_."

...Seinarubeki frowned, looking between the shopkeeper and Reimu, before centering on the latter. "Are you sure you were taught discipline? It should be a simple task. This village is the weakest it's ever been. There is no excuse for laziness."

"Um, yeah, about that." Reimu continued to argue with her. "A lot of the known youkai within these walls are peaceful. I'm also confident enough that _these_ youkai-slaughtering guards are capable enough to deal with real inside threats that I can't get to."

" _Excuse me?"_ The eldest miko's eyes widened. "Peaceful? How do you mean? Very few if any youkai are capable of being granted _trust_ , you realize."

...Sendai contributed her own thoughts. "Well, from what I've seen, Gensokyo's hit a sort of weird… neutral point. Relations are at an all time high by comparison to even when I was kicking about."

"...Elaborate." Seinarubeki still wasn't sure what was meant by that.

"You guys and your bias against youkai…" Reimu huffed. "There's a distinct difference between the bad ones and the alright ones. You know-"

Lunging forward, Seinarubeki grabbed onto the younger miko's shoulders, stoicism fading into a glower. "I _haven't_ _confidence_ in the way you're putting this."

"Hey, hey!" Grabbing her mother's shoulder, Sendai held on tight. "I'm having a hard time coming to grips with it, myself. I had to always be on edge, but not anymore."

' _...Kind of. I've still had to fight a mega-youkai every ten steps or so, and these 'factions' are really out there. No more tentacle goo monsters, or giant wolf people, or angry beasts. Less batshit magi, too; there used to be some pretty terrible magus territories across the land. They're just… all gone, seemingly. If you don't count Marisa, but she doesn't leave intentionally deadly traps everywhere. I think._ '

...Looking over at the miko, Seinarubeki narrowed her eyes. "...So this is why it took two of you to match my power. Which, might I add, was the trait I was least known for, compared to the Hakurei warriors of the previous generation."

Letting go of Reimu and backing away, she closed her eyes. "You _naive_ , stumbling _fools!_ Have the two of you done _nothing_ in the time I was…!?"

...Pausing, she stared down and ahead. "...This is my fault."

"...Really." Reimu wasn't impressed, despite the show of rage. "Just calm down and walk around with us, and you'll see what we mean. There's really no point in raising hell, if no one's being troublesome."

"This barrier was erected for us to do our duty." Seinarubeki scowled at the younger miko. "Even if things are as you say, that is a dire sign. You two are being played for fools, and it is all my fault."

"Duty?" Sendai held her arms out. "What duty? Was it not simply village defense, and upholding morals? Maintaining the shrine?"

' _A village that doesn't give back, at that. We protect them, surely, but with their supposed autonomy, we expect them to help themselves with the small things. Youkai extermination is the job description, but that doesn't mean we have to just kill everything._ '

...Sighing, the eldest miko shook her head. "...At this point... I believe you should speak with my mother. I… do not believe that it is within my capacity to convince you, either of you. That would truly be safest."

' _What did we even do that wrong?_ ' Sendai was put off by her mother's sudden lack of drive. "...If it's really so big, I doubt you couldn't so simply explain it to us."

"It's not a conversation fit for _here_ , either." The eldest miko gestured to the crater they were all inside. " _She_ might find us, and I don't doubt that if we act displeasurefully, it will end poorly."

"Hold on, who's 'she'...?" Caught in the moment, Sendai gestured outward with her arms.

...Her mother simply looked down and away. "Find my mother at the shrine. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, when you needed me the most, Tsukiko."

...The miko blinked at the utterance of her own name. ' _...Ah. Not something I've… heard a lot._ '

After a moment, Reimu turned to her mother. "Huh. You _do_ have a name."

"I prefer 'Hakurei miko'." Sendai gave her daughter a tilted smile. "...Or, 'the miko who came before', now."

"Good thing I get to just call you 'mom', 'cause that's a mouthful." Reimu grinned back at her. "...Also, now there's a couple other miko who came before, so you might have to come up with a new thing."

"Well, yes…" Sendai bended her limbs idly… "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"How are you both so… _carefree?_ " Seinarubeki was mildly bewildered. "...Do either of you care about the conversation we just had?"

"Mom, I heard you, but that doesn't mean I have to freak out about it." Reasoning with her, Sendai began to walk over to her other party members, as they stared at the edge of the crater, looking for an escape. "Whatever the problem is, we'll figure it out."

"...At least you have _confidence_." Seinarubeki watched her daughter walk off with furrowed brows, expression dour. "Confidence gets you killed. I _know_."

...Sendai took pause, for a moment.

"Are you always all doom and gloom?" Smiling at her grandmother, Reimu propped her arms on her hips. "Look. We get it. We're not exactly newbies here."

"If you were anything _but_ , I would not even be a challenge." The eldest miko shook her head, again. "Excuse my tact in discussing the future and purpose of our clan, which you both seem to have completely missed. Which… which is, admittedly, my fault-"

"Ye~s, we get it!" Snapping, Reimu's had enough talking down to, for one encounter. "Look, just calm down. We'll go down to the shrine, meet _super mom_ or whoever, and then we'll argue politics, okay? The world's not gonna end just 'cause we're stupid or something."

Seinarubeki snorted, suppressing a chuckle. "Ah. I could only wish I was so carefree…"

...At that, Sendai turned to the crater wall-

Rinnosuke stepped past her, moving towards her mother. "Hey. I'm-"

" _Who_ is _this?_ " Scowling, the eldest Hakurei moved for him. " _Half-youkai_. What a _pity._ "

Bewildered, Rinnosuke jerked his head back, blinking. "Wha- excuse me…?"

"Do you even _know_ your parents?" Talking down to him, Seinarubeki kept her expression scornful. "Why do you travel with a Hakurei, much less my _daughter?"_

"Hey, mom?" Sendai stepped up to his side. "Cool it."

...Looking between the miko and her mother, Rinnosuke just had his brows raised, mouth agape.

...She turned to her daughter blankly. "If he is your mate, I may just find strength in me yet for a second bout."

"Hell no." Sendai shook her head. "He's a good friend, though. Stop screwing with him."

"He wants something from you." Marching forward, the eldest miko swiftly slid her arm forward and lifted his head by the underchin, with her hand. "Be he a half-youkai, the beast types are notoriously nefarious when it comes to _hormones_. Do you stay in a room away from him at night?"

 _Thwack!_ "Whunh!?" Seinarubeki flinched, eyes wide, as her head was knocked forward slightly.

...Reimu twirled her gohei around. "I'm fine with grilling him, but he's not a bad person. Stop bullying him."

...Raising her long gohei, the eldest miko slowly turned to her granddaughter.

 _Swish!_ Reimu ducked under her swing. "Pathetic _ingra~te!"_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - Makeshift Courtroom of the Extraordinary

The three Hakurei sat at a quick food stall, next to one another. Marcus stationed aside Reimu, while Rinnosuke parked next to Sendai.

"U- um…" The unassuming middle-aged guy behind the stall looked between the mikos nervously. "...Wo- would you… like something to eat?"

"...What do you _serve._ " The eldest miko makes her request bluntly.

The man flinches back, as if he was hit. "We- well, well, um… we- we serve-"

"This is the breakfast stall." Reimu explained for him, to save him the apparently immense trouble. "It makes good pancakes and waffles."

...Seinarubeki was unimpressed. ' _That seems to be mom's default expression, for now. Then again, when I was younger, she was pretty moody when she wasn't with me._ '

"...Waffles, I suppose." Seinarubeki makes her decision.

"Ah- pancakes myself, I guess."

"I'll have waffles."

"Yeah, waffles sound about right."

...Sendai blinked at the voices around her. "Yeah. Waffles _do_ seem fitting."

...After a quiet moment, they got their assorted meals. ' _Woah. That was fast._ '

…

"Hehehe~!" Marcus tried his hand at breaking the ice. "So~. The~m _yin yang orbs_ , huh…?"

"If that was innuendo, you shall be punished." Seinarubeki jumps to a conclusion.

...He nods, after a moment. "You know… it _wasn't_ initially, but now that sounds like a good idea! So- yes, yeah it was."

' _Oh, boy._ ' Sendai hoped her mother didn't attempt to lynch any of her party members over the course of their brief meal.

"...Hrm." Despite that, Seinarubeki chose not to follow up.

...Swallowing some of her waffle, Sendai looked over at her mother. "I never really felt the urge to ask this, but… what was grandma like?"

"Powerful." The eldest miko summarized.

"...You know what I mean." Sendai tried again.

"Strict. She was… commandeering, but kind if the situation did not call for steel. Sometimes even warm, although such feelings seemed almost alien to her. It is a shame she'd left us well before you were born. Although, I suppose that is now… less relevant than it used to be." Upon reminiscing, Seinarubeki calmed down, focusing more on her thoughts...

' _Life with mom was so different._ ' Sendai took this time to think back, too. ' _...I hardly thought of fighting until she was gone, and I had to. That definitely wasn't a typical upbringing. Still… I have to see more of today's world, to really know what's going on. But, so far, I haven't done anything resembling my routine before I died. And, my training..._ '

"There's still so much you wanted to show me, isn't there?" She panned her head in the vague direction of her mother.

"Indeed…" Her mother played with her food as she talked. "I would say I coddled you longer than I should have… but I did not anticipate my death so aptly. Cruel fate, and all that. Surely…" Frowning, she shook her head. "Nevermind."

"How bad was Gensokyo, really?" Reimu speaks up, almost done with her waffles already. "Before me and all that."

"I had to punch big things, and surviving in the shrine came down to setting traps and sleeping in weird places." Sendai summarized. "I'm not big on magic, except for some harassment between punches, or to end unfair fights. It worked at the time."

' _Things ran at you, or tried to trap you. If the latter, it's not prepared for a fight. If the prior, well, watch it and then fight it. If it's really big, bring friends. Simple in theory..._ '

...Seinarubeki stared at her daughter for a moment, before continuing herself. "Well. Before we had to settle for… _one shrine_ upon that hill, the true Hakurei Shrine-"

"It's the buried place." Knowing this already, Sendai rattled information off. "There were even more rooms, but most seem to be lost now."

"Essentially, yes." Nodding, the eldest continued. "The chance of death for a normal human leaving the nearby, now disjointed village or our holy ground was immense, those days. Leaving the village's walls, rape, corruption, and death were all on the table, from any angle."

"You mean like…" Reimu thought of an example. "I've run into a bad one, once. There was this hot spring in the middle of the woods… but after tossing an ofuda at the water, I'd realized it was either slime, or there were malevolent spirits in it. After exorcising all the water- as in, I'd somehow destroyed it with my magic- I found dead bodies at the bottom, their mouths and… cavities destroyed."

"Ah. Such was a lot more common." Recognizing the scenario, Seinarubeki nodded. "Leading up to the collapse of the clan village, it was… horrifying, seeing people- ones that I knew- return ruined, broken, or converted into mindless adversaries. Finding bodies days to years later, or seeing portions of the human village overrun by assaults or giants."

She turned to Sendai. "I thought my death had sealed the clan's fate. I… will be honest. I didn't think you'd survive, Tsukiko. With no combat skills, no techniques, and without my aid. I had doomed the both of us with my carelessness."

"Yeah, I felt so, too." Sendai grinned at the recollection. "That's when I got my spine. Talk about a trial by fire."

Reimu snorted. "I was like _six_ when you died, and I raided another dimension. I suppose it's not quite the same, since I was pretty much just running around mowing people down. I had magic, so…"

…

Seinarubeki regarded her daughter with a taken expression. "You… died?"

' _Ah. Right. She kind of assumed I never died._ '

...Sendai exhaled. "Mhm. If I was alive the whole time, I'd be sixty right now. I've been dead for about twenty years. Or, maybe a little less. Still."

' _Reimu's not really that old, so maybe I wasn't dead for a really long time. Long enough for things to change radically, though._ '

"God…" Seinarubeki shut her eyes, for a moment. "...If you don't mind me asking, how?"

"I'm actually trying to figure that out." Sendai provided. "I don't have any memory of how it happened- aside from, you know, _knowing_ I'd been dead. So far, we've found that it had something to do with... 'radiation', perhaps. I'd also been mangled _after_ death, killed silently before. The judge of the dead couldn't even make out how I died."

"...I have my suspicions." Frowning, looking down, her mother pushed her plate away. "...We should head back to the shrine."

' _...I expected something more baffled._ '

As she stood preemptively, Reimu's expression was somewhere between dry and focused. "...So about that trans-dimensional raid."

' _Alright, genuinely…_ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Instead of giving the Hakurei a wide girth through the main road, the villagers stayed off of it entirely, leaving the road mostly clear.

' _Yeah, I guess we freaked them out, a little._ ' Sendai grinned at the few remaining villagers who scrambled off. ' _Oh well._ '

...As they progressed down the road that lead directly to the shrine, they began to pass a store.

Di-di~ng! From within, Akyuu stepped out. "Ah…"

' _Oh, hey._ ' Sendai began to focus on her-

"Hieda…!" Seinarubeki broke from the group, moving directly towards the chronicler.

...Pausing, Akyuu looked over at her, before her eyes widened. "Wh- whah…!?"

 _Woo- woosh!_

Two vaguely armored men slid into the miko's way. "Stop! We cannot allow you to approach-"

 _Thwa- thwack!_ The miko swung her long gohei once, stroking it across both their foreheads.

...Thu- thud. "Nnh…" They dropped almost instantly in response to her violence.

"Yo- you…!" Akyuu clammed up at the miko's sudden approach.

With both the men down, Seinarubeki's posture went from combative to casual on a dime.

"...So this… revival thing, affects more Hakurei." Naturally, this whiplash of events put Akyuu off considerably.

"Correct." The miko greeted her. "It is an honor to meet you again. Pardon my rudeness, but- Lady Hieda, while we're here, I'd like to know if you've found out any more about this Hakurei situation… we're making haste, you see."

...Akyuu gently shook her head. "I- I just heard about… the miko who came before, just the other day-"

"Tsukiko-chan." At her deliberation, Seinarubeki gestured to her daughter. "I don't follow your precarious manner of wording it, but I understand you."

"...Right." Dismissing the miko's assertive mannerism, Akyuu looked the party over. "...Uh. Is there any reason you're-"

"Death resistant, shinigami." Sendai didn't feel like repeating the ordeal again. ' _Akyuu's smart enough to intuit things._ ' "I would like to know some things about… my grandmother, while I'm here."

This question earned a glance from her mother. "Hmm…?"

"...Ah?" Akyuu didn't expect the line of questioning either.

"Why?" The eldest miko turned to her daughter. "You're about to meet her. Surely she may answer anything pertaining to herself."

...At that, Akyuu clammed up again. "She- she's _alive_ …!?"

...Seinarubeki blinked. "I thought that much was ascertained."

"Oh… oh my." Taking a deep breath, Akyuu calmed herself down. "...Well. I suppose I'll rattle off some things you might find interesting."

"Again, why." The eldest miko protested this line of discussion…

"Kiyoko Hakurei, the first Hakurei shrine maiden of Gensokyo proper." Taking in a breath, Akyuu began detailing the shrine maiden... "While she's definitely not the founder of the Hakurei- as the clan dates centuries into the past- she was the Hakurei to be present for the foundation of the great Hakurei barrier."

' _I sort of figured that._ ' Sendai already knew this. ' _It might speak to her prestige, though._ '

"Her notable life accomplishments, aside from the contract for the Hakurei barrier, include being a reserved daimyo prior to founding the barrier, the one who participated in the banishment of oni to the underground, and the one who ensured the tengu would keep to their mountain properties. She herself propagated the initial war on youkai, leading as the head general. The founding of the barrier was one of her first direct strategies on countering the land's youkai."

...While she listened, Sendai watched Akyuu's gaze travel across each girl present.

"The Hakurei clan was reputable for being the utmost zealous in youkai extermination, and never settled for long in an area with the knowledge that youkai still existed, if they could reach them. This lead Kiyoko to the grounds for where Gensokyo would be. Finding the youkai here- and making strenuous deals to ensure as many youkai as possible would not only be here, but would come here and stay here- she and her clan sealed themselves inside to wage war."

' _...Grandma's life sounds like a ride.'_ While the chronicler spoke, Sendai idly practiced her stances. ' _Also, does Akyuu ever need a water?'_

"How come I've never heard of a lot of this…?" Naturally, Reimu was also curious. "This kind of thing seems like it would have been forced down my throat at some point."

...Akyuu smiled at her. "You were never particularly interested… and, I'm surprised no one ever told you."

"Hieda. The fight against Youkai is not yet over." Seinarubeki instantly jumped on the intelligence Akyuu gave. "...Provided, it has been a battle of attrition in recent years. We've spent our last decades quite helplessly, I'm sure."

' _Yeah, yeah. Just what's your idea of progress?_ '

" _Anyway._ " Undeterred, Akyuu pushed forward to keep talking. "In regards to her actual combat style, she uses a blade. The katana she wields may appear unremarkable, but don't be fooled. It's very durable, and very susceptible to enchantment, acting as her secondary focus whenever she performs magic. She wears heavy armor, made lighter through holy means, and incorporation of the most extreme materials available to the Hakurei, as well as magic. She leads her charges with great banners, said to grant immense power to her army."

"Anything more… specific?" Sendai really wanted to know what she was capable of. "Favorite attacks, magic, maybe resistances…?"

"She mixes between magic and melee attacks, typically intent on killing as fast as possible." Akyuu was beginning to look tired… "Her armor is immune to holy and dark magic, as well as... resistant to most common elements. She herself may be healed by holy, but I've not confirmed this. Not that I _can…_ or, maybe I can now. Ah- her favorite… attack, might be grappling arts. Oh-... also, she only has one arm."

…

Sendai tilted her head. "How do you _grapple_ with _one arm?_ "

"How'd she lose her arm, if she's so powerful…?" Reimu asked a different question.

"Does she used a helmet…?" Marcus had a totally unrelated question. "More importantly, does it make a good _bucket?"_

Sighing, Seinarubeki checked back in. "We could so simply _meet her_ in under an hour. This entire conversation is meaningless."

' _Maybe for you, but I'm pretty confident she's going to beat us up for existing._ ' Sendai began to stretch… ' _It's a running theme at this point. She's also not being made out to sound like the typical friendly shrine maiden. What, with high-class armor, war banners, and an_ army.'

"Haa~h…" At this point, Akyuu was all tuckered out. "...We- well. You're all… planning to meet her, right?"

...Everyone just kind of stared at her in confirmation.

"Be _careful_." The Child of Miare issued them a warning. "If you girls think you're bad about shooting first and asking questions later, she's on a whole other level. ...She's from a time where she had to spend days, _months_ doing nothing but fighting and thinking on her feet, and… I don't think she'll take _well_ to this 'revival' circumstance… or the state of Gensokyo."

' _Yep, we're gonna have to fight._ ' Sendai nodded at this… "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll get through to her."

...Akyuu turned towards the bookstore she'd come out of. "Are- are you guys… good?"

"Probably." Reimu begins marching off, in the wake of Seinarubeki, who'd walked off during the warning. "Thanks, Akyuu."

"Co- cool…" Slowly, the chronicler began to meander back inside. "...If you'll excuse me, I need to go lower my heart rate."

…

Once the girl was back inside, Sendai began to move towards her family again.

"...I'm worried." Catching her midway towards the other girls, Rinnosuke voiced his concerns.

"You're always worried." Sendai countered.

He shook his head. "Yes, but this time especially so."

...Reimu lagged behind to add her input. "This isn't the first time I had to deal with someone obsessed with youkai genocide, but _they_ at least followed the spell card rules…"

' _...I'm not sure if Kourin and Marcus should help with that fight. If she's really as powerful as everyone's hyping her up to be, that would probably end badly._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The three Hakurei marched outside the village gates, down the path leading towards the shrine.

' _How tough is she supposed to be…?_ ' Sendai kept herself vaguely tense.

Reimu stared up at the sky as they moved, carefree.

…

"So, um…" Rinnosuke broke the ice as they walked. "...Do we have a plan?"

"...I'm getting the impression you're all considering _fighting_ her." Seinarubeki remarked, as she marched along with everyone. "If you're seriously considering it… _don't._ "

Sendai snorted. "...I know she's your mother and all-"

"I'm saying that as _your_ mother." ...Expression stern, she glanced at Reimu. "And as _your_ grandmother."

Furrowing her brows, Reimu floated slightly into the air. "She can't be _that_ bad. Besides, I have strategies for the worst opponents, if I'm really all out of ideas."

"Arrogant." Her grandmother chided her. "...Do not cross her, or you will regret her retribution. I _implore_ you listen, and heed her counsel."

…

Within moments, the five reached the stone steps of the Hakurei Shrine.

However, there was someone there waiting for them.

...Clad in blue, Gensokyo's Yamaxanadu turned away from the steps, to look the party up and down.

' _Oh, right._ ' Sendai blinked at her.

...Eiki sighed. "...I _told you_ to not let me find you. And..." She focused on Seinarubeki. "Hmm. Great. First my backup never comes, and then you all decide to party up. How… _unfortunate._ "

"...We have no issue with you, Yamaxanadu." Seinarubeki announced. "Are you not out of line?"

"I am not." Eiki confirmed. "Unwarranted reincarnation- _revival-_ of Hakurei is a serious issue. Something is terribly wrong. _Someone_ is out of line, and I'm getting to the bottom of it."

" _When_ did Hakurei get special treatment?" Approaching the Yama, Seinarubeki glared her down. "Such is _unjust_."

"Gensokyo isn't Japan." Eiki argued back. "The reality of this realm is not like the outside. And, even then, life force of a certain quality must be handled _appropriately_. It's how the afterlife _works_ , Hakurei."

…With that, the eldest miko ceased marching.

...Eiki held out her Rod of Remorse. "I'll have to send you both back. I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey." Reimu drifted ahead. "Eiki~. Five cards?"

...Eiki shut her eyes, before frowning up at the miko. "This is not something that can be negotiated. It is law, and it will be _done._ It is my duty. I cannot play danmaku with you."

Cracking her neck, Sendai began to snap her knuckles, and articulate her fingers… ' _Good. This should be more in my element, then… and it's not just me and my washed up friends this time, either._ '

"I know we can hold you at bay, Yamaxanadu." The eldest miko brought up her long gohei. "You are a judge, not an executioner, despite the powers bestowed to you for the purpose of executive action."

"Believe as you will." The Yamaxanadu glowered at the shrine maidens before her. "Faith cannot outlast the inevitable."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _S_ _hikieiki Eiki_ ====

Wind caressed the path before the shrine. Leaves upon near trees shivered, the autumn colors spreading across the imminent battlefield…

"Sin of judgment resistance." Eiki held a hand to her Rod of Remorse, along the length. "One hundred pounds. Endless counts."

 _Fwi~sh!_ The Rod of Remorse lit alight with golden, amber energy, becoming enchanted…

"If that's how you wanna do it…" Reimu floated higher in the air, her orbs spreading out around her.

"Sin of unwarranted life." Eiki continued to charge her disciplinary tool. "Five tons. Endless strikes."

 _THOOM!_ The ground around her cracked instantly, the weight of her weapon and herself now too much for the soil to handle…

 _Fwoo~sh- Fvhi~r!_ The Rod of Remorse extended, becoming as long as a proper blade, glowing with bright, blue and white energy. "Meet your fate. We do not need to fight."

"Like hell I'm goin' back _now!"_ Sendai yelled over at her.

' _Of course the stupid parts of law apply to the afterlife, too._ '

Reimu spread out her arms, her yin-yang orbs orbiting around her. " _Divine Spirit!_ Fantasy Seal!"

"Protection!" Crouching down, Seinarubeki stabbed the hilt of her long gohei into the dirt.

 _Fwa~sh_. A circle of golden light generated before her…

 _Shi- shi- shi- shi- shi~ng!_ The gold light ran up the entire party's forms. ' _Woa~h… I feel really… solid, all of a sudden._ '

" _Arrow_ of the _soul!"_ Not even so much as suggesting Eiki could take a more peaceful route, Rinnosuke aimed his gun at her.

 _Fwoosh!_ The holy energy traveled to her form as she floated into the air…

...As the energy traveled back to Rinnosuke, he held up his sword-

 _CLANG_. He was forced to drop it, the iron sword becoming embedded in the dirt before him, making an almost perfect sword-shaped hole in the path. "U- um… oh."

...Reimu's neon rainbow yin-yang orbs roared down towards Eiki, one at a time-

 _FWAM!_ The ground shook as the judge took to the air, dead leaves whirling in her wake. Her height far surpassed the trees; even the Hakurei hill immediately adjacent to the scene…

 _Woosh!_ Sendai darted back, dark energy in her legs. ' _What goes up, comes down. She'll be like a meteor, too._ '

Seinarubeki drifted back, a second copy of herself drifting forward and up, as if to engage the Yama-

 _BOOM- THOOM!_ Kroo- kroom!

In an instant, almost faster than Sendai could make out, Eiki came back down, destroying the entire section of path she'd touched down on.

' _Still a little harder than I expected…!_ '

Leaves, soil, rocks and grass coils exploded into the air, Eiki having touched down like a shuttle landing. The yama's luminescent blue orbs glared ahead at Sendai.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwam- fwam- bam- fwam!_ Reimu's rainbow spheres burst in the air over the battle, unable to track the judge before exploding.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Instead, Reimu chose to shell her with an immense danmaku spread from above…

' _Where'd that clone go…?_ ' Sendai noticed her mother's ofuda clone was all but vaporized by Eiki's landing.

 _Woo~sh!_ Marcus's background spellcasting brought a blizzard over the judge of the dead, but she seemed to ignore it completely, marching out of it…

Ofuda flaked off of the slender girl, as she drew a mirror from her pockets. "Judgement…!"

' _Magic's not going to work! We need to hit her, hard!_ '

From her sleeves, Sendai drew a yin-yang orb. "Mom! Need power!"

Her mother snapped her gaze to her, before dropping down to heed her request.

"Cleansed Crystal Judgment!" Eiki held the mirror with both hands, letting her five ton implement drift aside her…

 _Fwi-Shi~ng…!_ Red energy began to run along Sendai's limbs, along with the gold from the previous defense buff, and her own darkness. ' _Alright…! This is some power!_ '

" _Hrro~h!"_ Reeling her arm back, Sendai slammed it into the maximized yin-yang orb-

 _Kaboom!_ The orb spiraled towards the judge with alarming speed-

Eiki stared the orb in the face as it came at her, intent on finishing her spell. " _Haku-_ "

 _WHAM!_ The orb shot up at a ninety degree angle, after rebounding cleanly off her head. "Fuaa~..." Saliva splattered into the air.

...The mirror she still held up began to flash-

 _FWISH!_ Blinding light filled the clearing, hiding a cone-like spread of more immediate light from the mirror. ' _Woah…!_ '

...In a few moments, she saw the results of the spell.

Stepping forward from the judge, three individuals stood in the yama's defense.

A shrine maiden clad in a royal red hakama stood tall, cracking her knuckles. She wore a thick, red cloth apron, and below that, a black leotard. Naturally, she had the Hakurei arm sleeves, as well.

In faded blue robes, a mage stepped up next to her, grinning ear to ear.

Tossing his backpack off, and implements aside, an unassuming but otherwise well-balanced looking man stepped up around the other miko's side.

 _Crack!_ He shattered his glasses, tossing them aside.

' _What._ ' Once her vision returned, Sendai saw herself, and her party.

...Rinnosuke pointed his gun at the other him. "Um…! Hey!"

...The other Rinnosuke gave him a middle finger. ' _Oh._ '

The other miko reeled her form back, black, inky darkness immediately beginning to flow from her core. ' _What- you're just gonna use that right away…!? Not even gonna trade blows first!?_ '

Holding his hands up, the other Marcus allowed them to glow with bright blue energy…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Columns of magic encapsulated the three alternative party members.

 _BOOM!_ Eiki rocketed off the floor, moving for the other two miko. Reeling her instrument back, she swiped at Reimu as she neared her in an instant-

 _Fwish_. The Reimu who gazed at the oncoming blow with wide eyes was made of ofuda, which burst outward after Eiki'd swiped them.

" _Dream Sign!_ " Instead, Reimu was below her, where she'd figured Eiki wouldn't dare tread; while the lives of her predecessors were on the line, hers was still off-limits. " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ "

 _Fwa~sh!_ From the core of Reimu's being, a column of faintly blue holy energy generated in her and spread out, catching Eiki above her.

Even so, the holy magic didn't seem to do much but hassle the judge, who had to blink off the sensation.

' _We'll have to keep an eye on her throughout the fight. If I hang near my party members, she should ignore me, though. She can't afford killing people, or else Reimu wouldn't be under her like that, and she wouldn't be ignoring the fact Reimu's under her._ '

Sendai focused on her doppelganger, ahead… ' _I'll just have to trust that they can take care of her, for the time being. Mom can fly, apparently, so she's at an advantage._ '

...Across from her, the other miko had already become a youkai, crawling forward on all fours, eyes faintly luminescent, its entire body different shades of black.

 _Fwoom._ Orange energy flares from the alternate Rinnosuke, as he marches towards his counterpart, barring his teeth.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ The other Marcus's hands glow a vibrant red, before columns of red erect around the three.

 _Kri~ng!_ Suddenly, an ice blade threw the other Marcus off his feet, jutting out of the floor.

"Hehaha~!" The real Marcus guffawed. "Didn' see that shit, ah!?"

...Sendai blinked-

In the next moment, the other miko had snapped up to the corner of her vision, and began soaring towards her linearly, as if it'd found an invisible line and began riding it towards her. ' _Woah._ '

As it neared-

 _Fwi- fwish_. She cast ofuda towards it-

It almost blinked out of the way to avoid them-

The dark shrine maiden slid on the air as though it was solid ground, skidding behind Sendai quickly-

 _Woosh!_ The miko leapt into the air, kicking her leg out as the dark miko flailed her limbs at where her legs used to be-

 _fwish_. Her leg met the dark miko's face-

 _fwish- fwish- fwish- fwish_. To the youkai, it was as if it didn't even matter. The being suddenly lashed forward with dark claws, digging into Sendai's black, skull-adorned apron.

Even so, the dark gear served the miko well, however, even as it began to get torn apart by the sickly black digits of the youkai; which acted as blades, despite being as smooth as her normal hands. ' _So fast. Am I really this fast when I lose it…? I mean, I knew I was fast, but-_ '

Leaping back from Sendai, the dark miko pounced on the ground repeatedly, yellow orbs wide-

 _swish- fwish- swish_. Sendai felt pain bloom from her back. "Wha- nh…" Whirling around, she failed to find the miko. ' _Damn, I lost her!_ '

She looks up-

The dark miko was hanging upside down in the air over her, legs perched on nothing to keep her afloat.

Her arms reached down to latch onto Sendai by the chin-

 _Bam- woosh!_ Punishing the ground beneath her, the real miko backflipped out of the choke attack-

 _Wham!_ Her leg met the dark youkai once she was upside down, sending it flipping away almost comically.

...Upon landing, she saw it whirl off. ' _Wha- okay…_ '

 _Wham!_ "Gfhu~!" Rinnosuke flipped over, a blow from his alternate self sending him soaring away-

 _Bam!_ -and onto his shoulder, before he landed on his stomach. "Gahk- ngh…"

Grinning widely, the other Rinnosuke marched towards him with excessive, forceful movements, almost stomping the entire way.

The miko moved to intervene-

 _shink_

She felt breath against her stomach. Looking down, she found the other miko's arm partially into her. ' _Ah…!_ '

 _Fwap!_ A single ofuda met its face, before it was gone, leaving the empty, gashing hole in the miko's abdomen.

' _Ow- ow, ow…!_ ' The shrine maiden channeled darkness to her stomach to stop the blood. ' _Damn. What a jab..._ '

...Back on his feet again, Rinnosuike aimed his gun at the alternate Rinnosuke. "Stay back! I- I mean it!"

 _Woosh_. The other shopkeeper came at him with a sluggish, heavy left hook, almost throwing his entirety into the swipe.

Backstepping the other half-youkai's engagement attempts, Rinnosuke kept his gun on him, grimacing…

 _Kri- Kri~ng!_ Ice blades were erecting one after another in the background, orbs of magic being exchanged between the two mages.

 _fwish- fwish_. Sendai held a molotov in her offhand, flinging ofuda at the elusive youkai of shade, each toss missing, the being sliding out of the way with almost perfect, graceless shifts.

As the being neared her again-

 _Crack!_ Sendai cast the molotov at the floor, the holy flames flaring bright.

The youkai shot back with artificial velocity, before stopping perfectly still in the air, as if getting close to the flames blew it away, and someone pressed the pause button.

...Brows furrowed, Sendai stepped through the holy fire to engage it-

Curling up into a ball, it threw itself at Sendai-

 _Bam!_ ' _Not taking me by surprise._ ' She stopped its cannonball-esque move with a jab.

As it darted back, almost as if expecting the attack, Sendai moved to follow up, lunging towards it-

 _fwam_.

Hugging itself to the miko, the youkai shoved its face into hers.

 _fwoosh_

' _Woah- shit…!_ ' Sendai shut her eyes. The inside of the other miko was a mess of sharp, white and black particles, hell on her eyes.

' _It- it…_ '

...Feeling herself grow cold, she dug through her pockets, still aware of her body.

...With rebound stones in hand-

' _sin_ '

' _eat_ '

' _love_ '

' _stop stop stop_ '

 _Fwam!_ She shoved the rebound stones into the other miko's chest, her arm accepted into its body.

' _mine_ '

"Ev- sh-... cle." Sendai's limbs began to weigh her down, growing heavy.

' _me_ '

 _Fwa~sh!_

"Haa~!" There was a bright light. "Wa- ah…"

' _Did I cast it!? I must've-_ '

The rebound stones were on the floor. She'd failed.

Rinnosuke stood next to her, gun pointed at where the dark miko's head was. "...I owe Kaguya _so_ much."

As the being of darkness stumbled back, feeling for its slowly reforming head, Sendai ran up towards it-

" _Mom!"_ Reimu bolted over her. "Quick, hide!"

' _What!?_ ' On instinct, the miko grabbed Rinnosuke-

 _Woosh_. -inadvertently saving him from a mean hook from the other shopkeeper-

 _THOOM._ Eiki touched down directly before Sendai. Rocks, rended soil and blades of grass sprinkled the air around the two, as Eiki brought her Rod of Remorse back for a killing swipe-

 _Thud_. Sendai tossed Rinnosuke into her.

"Wha-..." Eiki caught him, awkwardly, fumbling to catch him.

In the next moment, the dark miko was in the air over Sendai, a blur of black-

" _Evil Sealing Circle!"_ Sendai thrust her rebound stones into the air one more time-

 _Cli- cli- clink!_ They gravitated from her hand, shooting into the sky, creating the shaft of holy lines.

The other miko didn't care. Eager and hungry, it pounced down, ready to devour the miko below-

 _Fwa~sh!_ Holy light bloomed from the column Sendai created.

The other miko's limbs were outstretched. Its stomach had met Sendai's palm, at the very epicenter of where the column of light began, boring a hole straight through it. " _Kfgh…_ "

...Thud. She rolled off of Sendai's arm, black particles flaking away, blood freely oozing from the massive black and now neon red gash. "Kaugh- kauf- hau~h…"

' _Holy magic does weird things to blood._ ' Sendai eyed the cartoonishly red gash, as it mixed with darker shades.

Eiki huffed, having discarded Rinnosuke somewhere. Winding her strike up again-

 _Bam!_ A huge yin-yang orb slammed into her. It served only to throw her off balance as it rebounded away with almost just as much velocity as it had before. "Re- really…"

...Bringing her leg back, Sendai decided to follow up on this.

As Eiki adjusted her balance-

 _BAM!_ A darkness powered kick met her nose. "Nnh! Wh- nrn…!" Stumbling back, the judge felt at the area.

' _Woah._ ' The miko grinned. ' _Guess Mom's powerups are still in effect. No way I'd normally hit that hard, on a yama._ '

...Uneven and shaky, the other Sendai began to sit up, reaching into her pocket-

 _WHAM!_ Sendai pivoted around, kicking her in the ribs.

" _Ouh!_ " The other miko was sent rolling, a potion flying from her pocket.

' _Let's finish this._ ' Marching up to the miko, Sendai contemplated stopping rigidly before her to stomp her-

 _Kri~ng!_ A blade of ice erected beneath her-

-but Sendai leapt from it as it rose, bringing her knee up as she ascended…

When she came down-

 _BOOM- Cra~ck_. Her sandal met the other Sendai's face, just as she'd been poising herself to spring onto her legs.

...Thud. The mirror miko was dead, the unexpected, immensely powered stomp crushing her head.

 _Splish._ A moment later, it dissipated into blue and white energy, before vanishing entirely. ' _One headache taken care of._ '

...Sendai looked for the potion her mirror-self lost, only to see it dissipate into magic too. ' _What, no._ '

Pain trickled into her form, and she cringed. ' _My stomach…_ '

" _Heal!_ " Seinarubeki drifted by, thrusting her long gohei into the air-

 _Di- di~ng_. The basic healing spell worked to remedy Sendai's deep stomach gash. ' _...She_ did _know healing magic, didn't she? She'd use it whenever-_ '

 _BOOM!_ Bounding across the now uneven dirt path, Eiki readied to smash the miko-

 _Woosh!_ Filling her arm with black energy, Sendai uppercut out of the way-

 _THOOM!_ Touching down beneath the miko, Eiki crouched, looking up at her.

 _BOOM!_ Promptly, she rocketed after the airborne miko-

 _Pap_. Reimu tackled her airborne mother, hugging on. ' _Woah…_ '

 _WOOSH_. As Eiki ascended, she tried to make a precise slash with her rod on the elder miko's head- where there was no chance of hitting Reimu- only to miss them both by a wide margin.

...Reimu tried to keep them both afloat, but her mother was too heavy. Slowly, they began sinking…

 _Fwoom!_ From below, a fireball slowly arced toward them…

...Watching it near, Reimu furrowed her brows. " _Cautionary Barrier!"_

Ti~ng. The resulting barrier she made consumed it instantly.

' _Nice spell._ ' Sendai stared in the direction of the mirrored magician dryly…

...Once they neared the floor, Sendai focused on him. "Hey, Reimu, stick near me."

"Ka~y." Her daughter agreed.

 _THOOM!_ Nearby, Eiki touched down, making the ground rumble, the particles beneath her punished again.

Moving up to not-Marcus, the miko cracked her knuckles…

Articulating his fingers, the mage grinned widely-

 _Pap_. Marcus hit him in the side of the head with a paddle ball. "Hehehe~! Hey there, buckaroo~!"

Swatting it away, the other Marcus observed this, and was compelled to pull out his paddle ball as well, unwilling to be outmatched.

' _Good._ ' ...After a moment, Sendai reached them.

Woosh! She leapt partially over the other Marcus-

Getting into a knee-sitting posture, she clamped her thighs and calves around his head.

"Ah…!?" The other mage blinked, gazing at the bottom of her hakama.

Bringing her arms to the left, she filled them with dark energy, before twisting her upper body to the right, and her waist to the left-

 _Crack!_ Her thighs rotated ninety degrees from where they started, snapping his neck.

Inhaling, she focused energy into her biceps, and-

 _Woosh!_ -thrust both arms back, sending her into a backflip with the mirror mage still between her thighs-

 _Crack!_ On the way, his neck snapped once more-

 _Bam!_ Sendai landed in what looked like a crouched position, the dead mage _still_ between her thighs as his corpse slammed against the forest floor.

"Hup…" She did a quaint summersault away from the body. It was still subtly twitching-

 _Splish_. Then, it broke into fuzzy magic like the fake shrine maiden.

"Hohoho~ly shit…!" The entire exchange left Marcus with a toothy grin. "Wha' the fuck was that…!?"

Standing up, she bopped him on the shoulder. "What I'll do to _you_ if you don't take this fight seriously."

 _WOOSH. WOOSH._ In the background, Eiki was swinging at Seinarubeki-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwack!_ Her long gohei came into the back of the judge's head multiple times, one swing striking thrice, seemingly.

 _WOOSH._ "Ngh…" At this point, Eiki's clothes were worse for wear, after the abuse she'd taken.

' _Idea…_ ' Sendai began marching towards Eiki. Meanwhile, she looked around for Rinnosuke…

"A- ah…" Unarmed, Rinnosuke ran circles around his doppelganger, who was throwing hilariously short, huge swings around himself to try and land a blow…

 _WOOSH_. Eiki swung her huge rod at the eldest miko, again. "Please…"

As she readied for another swing, and took it-

 _TI~NG!_ It was reflected. ' _Ow. Goodbye, hearing._ '

... _THUD_. The Rod of Remorse embedded itself in a mound of dirt some feet away, having been blown out of Eiki's hand after hitting a tiny barrer made specifically to parry it.

"Ah…" Eiki began to move for it, expression jaded-

 _Whack!_ Seinarubeki's long gohei met her face, causing her to step back in surprise. "Ah- really- whah…!?"

As the miko strafed around her, she tilted her long gohei up and around the judge's back, between her arm and torso.

By tilting it up, she forced the other end of the gohei down, making Eiki bend over. "Hey- genuine-"

 _Wha- Crack!_ The shrine maiden's knee met Eiki's face, a karate chop to the back of the judge's head occuring at the same time, doubling the impact and crushing her nose. " _Nn~rgh…!"_

 _Woosh._ Pulling the gohei's raised, backmost part forward freed it from the limbs it intertwined, and sent the judge spinning away into the air. "Uua~..."

 _Thud_. Eiki landed on her back, four or five feet away. "Ngh…"

' _Hot damn._ ' Sendai's eyebrows were raised. ' _Mom's got moves._ '

"Were you mortal, that blow may have had a chance at being fatal, _yamaxanadu_." Seinarubeki talked down to the judge. "Count your blessings."

Wiping her mouth- despite being seemingly unable to bleed- Eiki slowly began to sit up. "You… overconfident…"

' _Honestly, this would've went better if she challenged us to danmaku. Reimu's the only one of us actually any good at it, I'm sure._ '

As she stood, Eiki seemed to regain stamina quite rapidly. "Don't feel _proud_. Your resistance only increases the weight of your sins…"

Backing up, her Rod of Remorse floated back to her side, jutting out of the earth it'd embedded itself in to do so. "This violence towards a yama should add… a few more _tons_ , maybe? I am beyond mortal means of destruction. Do _not_ test me."

' _You sure as hell feel pain as we do, almost._ '

"Can you just _cool it_ for ten seconds, Eiki?" Reimu drew more ofuda, floating outward… "If you're gonna keep being unreasonable, I'm just going to have to load you with danmaku and call it a day."

"It will not work on me if I don't _let it._ " Eiki glowers up at her. "I am being _nice_ , giving you _all this time_ to reconsider, and pay penance. And you repay me with-

 _ **SHING**_

A massive wave of light blinded Sendai, for a brief moment. ' _What…!?_ '

...After a moment, the wave was gone. It'd passed in almost a split second, nearly invisible. ' _...What? Did anyone else see that?_ '

…

Thud. Eiki dropped to her knees, expression vacant. "I- a- ah…"

Thud. Splaying out on her side, she begins to convulse, tears emerging from her eyes. "N- nn…"

…

Sendai blinks-

 _BOOM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_

The stone steps of the shrine immediately split in half, all sliced straight down the middle-

 _ **KABOO~M!**_

The forest behind everyone exploded into a mess of carved stone, trees, and other shrapnel. ' _Woa~h!_ '

...Looking back, Sendai marveled at the rain of _trees_ , cleaved bark, and ruined foliage. The forest itself hadn't been decimated by any means; however, the force of _whatever_ had just roared across the path had done quite a number on whatever it came across, creating the illusion of supreme destruction.

... _Bam! Bam! Thoom…!_

Uprooted trees, some truly shattered and some merely cleaved, landed along the path's wayside.

Eiki's hat was in two clean pieces, although her body itself was fine.

Tracing the steps, the hat, and the line across the dirt, Sendai realized what'd happened. ' _...Guess she was right about that whole 'can't be killed by mortals' thing._ ' Her gaze traveled to the momentarily broken judge.

Thud, thud, thud. "Agh- nngh- fa- nh…"

Everyone laid their eyes on a roughed up looking Suika, who was rolling down the shrine steps.

...After a moment, the shrine maidens all stepped up to her.

…

After an idle moment, Suika drew her gourd, and poured it on her face. "Ra- nnh…"

Letting the arm fall to her side, she scanned the shrine maidens looking down at her. "...Ow. Still a' much've a badash as a' reme~mber…"

...Sendai looked up the steps.

At the top, a figure clad in gleaming, steel armor glowered down. Attached to their back were huge banners, their height rivaling the Torii gate, fit with different variants of black, white, and the Hakurei standard red.

... _fwish_. After she'd gleamed the imposing figure, it was gone.

"He- help…!" Rinnosuke was still running away from his mirror clone. "Somebody~!"

"Tha- my stairs…!" Reimu's jaw dropped at the clean incision through all the steps. "Uu~gh! You know how much a mason's gonna cost for all that…!? Hahaha~nh…"

' _You hire people?_ ' Of all the things Sendai remembered, it was how to patch up the steps. ' _No wonder they looked more together than when I died._ '

"The stairs truly are regrettable…" Seinarubeki frowned at them. "Surely we can get volunteer work from the village. They would be stupid to refuse our requests."

' _Yeah- sure._ '

...Moving forward, Sendai began to climb the steps. Reimu drifted close behind her, while Seinarubeki seemed to sprint up five or so steps at a time, practically jumping.

...She glanced back, to see Marcus drifting up in their wake.

"Aa~h…!" Rinnosuke clambered up the hillside, the mirror clone getting grass kicked into its face.

' _The Hakurei who founded the barrier…_ ' Staring ahead as they progressed, the miko who came before moved with heightened resolve, despite the lingering aches from the preceding battle.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(2x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(eighteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

 _Reimu Hakurei,_ Shrine Maiden of Paradise

WEAPON: Gohei - Her regular gohei. Nothing fancy, but she likes it like that. Balanced and easiest for her to use.

INVENTORY:

Reimu's Outfit - Armpitless Hakurei attire. Excellent for flying. Seventy five percent holy resistance to anyone who isn't Reimu.

Hakurei Yin-yang Orbs - The Hakurei yin-yang orbs. Keeps her from getting fat when she eats sweets. Enables the use of Fantasy Heaven.

Money - For everyday living.

Talismans - Hakurei talismans. Used to seal youkai. Deals recurring holy damage, and may weaken foes.

SKILLS:

Spell Cards - Powerful danmaku and misc. spells which confer a variety of game-changing effects. Usually unable to be used more than once per fight. Part of formal spell card duels.

Danmaku - Non-elemental play bullets that deal scratch damage. However, its magic clumps up in the bodies it strikes, slowly disabling a target. Also able to confer statuses and elemental affinities, where damage bonuses are instead translated to how powerful the danmaku's stunning effect is.

Floating - Reimu can fly free. Incorporated in her Fantasy Heaven. Allows her to teleport, too.

Fantasy Heaven - The shrine maiden's innate abilities unleashed, brought to their most powerful, logical extreme. Showers the area in devastating holy magic and unleashes a seal nuke, before rendering Reimu impossible to hit and invincible for as long as she desires. Effects unique to every Hakurei miko. Requires landing seven melee attacks to execute. Due to the nature of this attack, it cannot be dispelled.

Barrier Magic - Reimu is well versed in defensive and technical Hakurei techniques, giving her a balanced fighting style that combines blunt attacks with defensive maneuvers.

Cleanse - Holy utilitarian technique. Heals one party member of all debuffs and negative statuses.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

eiki shiki fight

she's quite a _domineering_ figure when it comes down to it, although she's not particularly used to going all WATCHA GONNA DO WHEN I COME FOR YOO on people (at least not often people who can resist so aptly)

while she _was_ not necessarily giving it her all here, she was fighting with the intent to kill

part of why she also didn't want to go out was because she only intended to kill sendai and seinarubeki; killing anyone else would pretty much land her in deep shit so she _can't do that_

that said eiki makes a very strong team tank, but a tank on their own is pretty easy to just bully down to nothing; eiki sort of circumvents this by actually being able to adjust herself to fit a situation, but this doesn't mean she's necessarily practiced this skill despite her many years in the afterlife, nor did she expect to take a million damage and get her pain receivers temporarily short circuited

she won't be happy later though!

...that said, if you don't break her instantly somehow, she's literally implacable if she wants to be, but she typically allows herself to be mutilated a little in part because it allows her to make her weapon stronger, and in part because she wants to challenge their resolve. like, 'for the crimes you committed, do you _really_ want to gore me just to keep up the case and maybe get away with it'.

she's a lot more thinky than fighty, she is. she's a thinker, not a fighter!

she makes a strong team with reapers- particularly _komachi_ \- but as you can see on her own- _especially against three hakurei_ \- she's kind of overwhelmed, even with using her clone spell card

as for the clonearones!

...they're pretty much just _other sides_ of the MC party, really; a sendai who's really fantasy heaven happy, a rinnosuke who's a DEVOUR YOU WHOLE LIKE _BEAST_ instead of a debuff guy, and a buff-happy marcus who's only a pinch more serious until you challenge him to a paddle ball battle

this marcus actually hasn't really reconsidered relearning buffing so that other marcus was using hacks maybe

mirror matches are weird yo

...anyway yeah, eiki'd probably have better luck stunning everyone to oblivion with danmaku and then killing who she has to, rather than roughing it out and getting blown away by complex supers until she's dust

oh yeah the super sword snipe by kiyoko that annihilated eiki

the sword is the common long range gun tool yo

it's actually not an attack she can just pull out of her ass since it's really freakin' destructive- as _evidenced_ \- and takes a moment of focus, basically being the _king of zantetsukens_ … and other assorted instant-slash techniques

although that said she is _kind of a big deal_ and yeah - w -

oh that reminds me, the _crush your neck with my thighs_ attack was something i saw in soul calibur 2 and was like "hoh holy SHIT"

...on that note, eiki would have a lot more tricks if she was just 1v1ing a revived person and not having to dance around the living

post-revision: hello i have revised this a little- not the fighty bits quite, but i made minor adjustments to like, inter-dialogue prose that i felt were important

as always, see you next time!


	24. 5-4 - Ancient Bloodlines

The shrine door slid shut.

Within the dim shrine, its outer panels glowing with the golden light of an aging day, the three shrine maidens stepped onto the wood floor through the front door…

' _I had the guys stay outside. Just in case, and all that._ ' Sendai gave a wayward glance to the side, before focusing ahead once more. ' _This is between us and her, anyway. And...'_

The holy magic from opening the door and stepping in was like an oppressive haze, as if Sendai stepped into a room of jello or water. ' _What is this… feeling?'_

…The room's kotatsu seemed messily cast aside. The floor bared scuff marks and cuts, but the walls remained pristine, a fleeting late-day copper coat of sunlight draping the shrine in orange light.

Before the three, an armored woman sat. Her armor was silvery steel, fit with uncomfortable looking contortions and plating that seemed to visually confirm its rigidity.

She sat on a stone throne, which seemingly splintered the floorboards it was erected out of. Flower insignias were carved on the square armrests.

...The great boxes on her back that held the now-minimized banners propped her forward against the back of the seat. This rocky, ancient seat seemed to be extended forward just for this reason.

Her steel helmet hid most of her face, barring her mouth.

"I've returned, mother." Seinarubeki gave her a polite bow. "...I seem to have come across my daughter, and… _her_ daughter. Please excuse their manner of dress. Times have-"

"That is enough."

 _Click._ Kiyoko Hakurei detached the helmet. Resting it on her metal lap, she gazed up at the three, her eyes hard.

Her long hair was tucked into her armor, it seemed; bangs not a dissimilar cut from Sendai's.

' _...She's surprisingly young, for being my grandma._ ' Sendai scanned the pale features of the stoic woman...

Immediately, she snapped her examining near-glare to Sendai and Reimu's clothes. "...Hmm."

...After a moment, she held out an armored hand, spreading it. "We have much to talk about, and little time… however, this does not mean we cannot spend this time getting to know one another, if only briefly." Stoic, the great Hakurei ran her gaze over them all again. "So much to do, and so little time…"

 _Fwish._ The helmet vanished from her lap, only a swipe of black-blue hinting that it was a magical effect and not spontaneous vaporization. "Even so… take your time. Don't be afraid. What are your names?"

' _...I probably have to use my real name here._ '

...Sendai swallowed. "Tsukiko."

' _The holy energy emanating from her… this is insane._ '

"Reimu." Reimu looked more focused now, but not worried.

' _She's taking this rather well…_ '

...Raising her head up, the armored shrine maiden seemed to contemplate these names. "...Tsukiko Hakurei. Reimu Hakurei. You've both done well, in such a trying, traumatic time."

' _Hmm?_ '

...Capitalizing on the silence, she continued. "As I'm sure you're well aware, this war is not yet over. Darkness has swept the land. The light of the Hakurei has flickered… but with this blessing, shines strong; stronger than it has for decades."

 _Thunk._

The shrine door shut behind everyone, but no one looked in its direction.

"...Now, step forward." The Hakurei requested. "Can you do it?"

' _What kind of question's that?_ '

Reimu and Sendai stepped forward. Reimu elected to go a few steps further for funsies.

"Power sleeps within both of you." The seated shrine maiden observed.

...Holding up a hand, she faced her single, metal palm to the party. "Show me this power."

…

Bringing up her gohei, Reimu ran straight up to the one-armed warrior, and began swinging-

 _Ti~ng- ti~ng, ti~ng!_ Her three hit combo met the miko's palm with each swing, failing to move the Hakurei at all.

Leaping back, Reimu drew three ofuda-

 _Tick- tick- tick- tick- tick- tick!_ Upon throwing them, she sent out a stream of danmaku ofuda instead.

There was no visible change on the armored Hakurei's end, the danmaku pattering against her harmlessly.

...Raising a brow, Reimu summoned four yin-yang orbs around herself. "Here…!"

 _Woo- woosh!_ Two rushed forward, while Reimu ran after them-

 _Ti- Ti~ng!_ They struck the Hakurei's palm, neutralized easily.

Reimu appeared over her-

 _Ti~ng!_ Despite her sandal meeting the Hakurei's head, she was deflected anyway, as if her sandal came down against a solid, slippery surface. "Woa~h…!?"

 _Ti- ti~ng!_ The other two orbs struck, neutralized upon impact with the palm, almost as if they'd gravitated to hit it instead of the seated miko.

...While Reimu drifted back, Sendai marched up, cracking her knuckles. ' _Let's see her try hand-to-hand with only one hand…_ '

Moving up to her, Sendai jabbed-

 _Ti~ng!_ It was halted by the armored palm, naturally.

 _Fwoom._ While her first fist was still in her grandmother's palm, Sendai channeled darkness into her other arm, going for a gut punch-

 _Ti~ng!_ Upon impact with the armor, it was deflected unnaturally, the miko's fist sliding off. ' _What…?_ '

...Stepping back at the Hakurei's stoic dismissal of the attack, Sendai drew a holy molotov from her sleeves. She lobbed it forward-

 _Crack!_ It shattered-

 _Ti- ti- ti~ng!_ The flames were deflected out of existence, seemingly never touching the shrine maiden as she sat there.

 _Ti~ng!_ Immediately, Sendai followed up with a dark kick, which met the side of the Hakurei's head, yet still accomplished little aside from leaving herself off balance. ' _Woah…_ '

...As Sendai stepped back, the armored shrine maiden nodded. "I see. You are both still very immature."

Then, she focused her gaze on Sendai in particular. "...Tsukiko."

Righting herself from her series of foiled attacks, Sendai tilted her head.

"...You are changed." The Hakurei spoke of her abilities. "The power of darkness. Invincible courage, and terrible destruction. You've had a very troubled upbringing indeed, to give your power form in this manner."

"...What do you mean?" Unsure whether to be complimented or offended, Sendai questioned this cryptic mention.

"Hakurei do not wield darkness." The Hakurei elucidated. "We harness it, control it, and work with it- but to wield it is… unintended. Unrecommended, and self-destructive."

...Her gaze turned to her daughter, Seinarubeki. "Why have you allowed her to be so careless?"

"I was deceased." Seinarubeki hung her head. "It was through my error that, I hadn't educated her before my departure. Every error of theirs you find is my fault. I accept full responsibility."

…

The armored Hakurei closed her eyes. "You indeed have very much to learn, Tsukiko. It is thankful we are in a position so advantageous."

' _You both didn't do much better than me when it came to the whole 'dying' thing._ ' Sendai doubted her own skills were as dismal as implied. '... _All this training, all this practice, couldn't have been some screw-up. You don't know what I've been through._ '

...Then, the armored miko turned her head towards Reimu. "Stop using danmaku. Fighting is not a game."

"What." Reimu wouldn't have this at all. "...Really, now. What are you-"

"Even as a distraction, there are more deadly and viable techniques." The miko spoke, her posture and face still. "You disrespect me with the mere notion that you have to hold back."

"Fights happen with danmaku now." Propping her arms on her hips, Reimu laid down the law. "...I've worked to minimize deadly combat. So far-"

"Elaborate." The miko sat up. "Define deadly combat. Between who?"

...Reimu exhaled. "Between everyone. Humans, youkai, and other beings. Disputes are settled _peacefully._ "

...The Hakurei blinked once.

' _Huh. So she does blink._ '

"...Do you not vanquish youkai, then?" Her brows furrowed for the first time since Sendai'd met her.

Huffing, the youngest shrine maiden made her case. "No- well, yes, but only when I _have to_. Look- they're _not_ all bad people. I know things were crazier back when you gu-"

 _Slap!_

Reimu stumbled to the side. Only a moment later, she registered the hit. "Wh- ah…"

" _Hey!"_ Sendai yelled, adrenaline flaring. The slap had been instant, a movement so fast Sendai'd only felt a whip of wind and glimpsed a flash of silver.

Darting up to her daughter's side, Sendai caught a glimpse of the thin, red bruise across her cheek.

Looking back-

 _Fwish._ The blade the great miko wielded dissipated into nothing. She rested her single arm on the left armrest once more. ' _She hit her with the blade's flat!?_ '

"What the hell!?" Sendai marched up to the armored miko. "...Look. I thought it was crazy talk, too. And, well, I'm _still_ a little skeptical. But, it's more than clea-"

 _Slap!_

Quicker than Sendai could read, her head was tossed aside by a blow, cold steel meeting her cheek. "Eah…!"

"Mother…!" Seinarubeki stepped up, next, movements jittery and expression low. "Please. They don't know what they're saying- just- if you can, hear them ou-"

 _Slap!_

...She wasn't caught by surprise by this blow, her head simply tilting in the direction struck. "-out…"

 _Fwish._ Again, the armored shrine maiden dispelled her blade.

"Alright, really!?" Reimu was now angry. "I'm trying to talk it out, here!"

"...Grandmother." Sendai tried to reason again, as well. "I simply wish to share my observations with you. Are you that unreasonable?"

Taken aback by this statement, Senarubeki slouched... "Oh, _no_. You _idiots_ …"

…

"...Within these borders, this lineage has wrought one hundred years of justice." Glaring ahead, the armored miko's stoic expression began to shift into a frown.

...Reimu opened her mouth to speak-

" _This barrier_ was created… not to keep the youkai from terrorizing the outside." Kiyoko Hakurei spoke of the barrier she'd created. "It was to trap them in here _with us._ No more would they blemish the world with human blood. No more would they ruin, scream, or trample. No more tricks, no more heartless, thoughtless, _horrible_ destruction. No more."

...Sendai looked over at her daughter, who seemed to be waiting to get a word in.

"By our hands, this land shall be protected." The Hakurei glared into Reimu's own displeased expression. "We're duty-bound to heed our clan's call."

She held her metal gauntlet up. "It has been our duty to banish youkai, to their dark and dismal fates. And once again, the time has come for war."

 _Fwish_.

The standard katana Kiyoko used was summoned into her grasp once more. "From deep within the confines of their keeps, we swipe our blades and send them back to sleep. By our hands, this land's immortals will fall."

"I get it."

Sendai's voice was projected. Also projected was the shrine, into silence.

"...We _understand._ " She took a few steps closer. "...Well. We might never know what you went through, in its entirety, or… majority. But that-"

 _FWOOSH- SHI~NG!_

' _Woah!_ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

FINAL STAGE - Ancient Bloodlines

 _Thu- thud, thud!_

The three Hakurei tumbled outside, having rolled through the paper and wood walls. A mighty force had unleashed from the miko within the shrine itself.

"Nngh…!" Seinarubeki instantly corrected herself, standing upright. "No!"

"Agh…" Rolling into the air, Reimu stopped her momentum. "Wha- _really_ …!?"

...Sendai was the last to get up, flipping back upright after rolling against the floor. "That's great. I guess we're _fighting_ , then…"

Eyes wide, Seinarubeki got in their way. "No, we mustn't! If we go apologize, perhaps she'll-"

"Hell no." Sendai didn't like that plan. "We're gonna duke it out. I expect to at least be given the respect to _talk with her_ without being 'disciplined'."

...Nursing her new cuts and bruises from being flung outside, Reimu floated ahead idly. "Chances are, she speaks this language better, anyway."

...Glancing back, Sendai saw Rinnosuke and Marcus at the cusp of the hillside, just behind the party. ' _I should probably tell them to just roll down the hill and get the hell out of here._ '

Staring ahead, the three Hakurei saw a huge, cylindrical barrier around the shrine's structure itself; it had grown from the interior, and was the force which launched the party outside. Violent wisps of holy energy danced up the sides, the flawless cylinder shimmering with a gradient of cyan and gold.

Inside, on her throne, Kiyoko waved her arm-

 _Fwish._ Her sword vanished-

 _KLING!_

The sword rematerialized on the front of the barrier cylinder, facing the party.

 _Fwoosh._ A yin-yang emblem generated on the barrier's surface around it…

…

"Hakurei God…" Closing her eyes, Seinarubeki twirled her gohei around, floating above her daughter and granddaughter. "Grant me this blessing. _Miracle Heal!_ "

A wisp of holy energy formed above her-

 _Di- ding, ding! Ding, ding!_ Darting around like an annoying fairy, the wisp made circles in the air over everyone, some variant of magical, white dust sprinkling down-

 _Fwoa- fwoa- fwoa~sh!_ Healing energy ran up the three miko's forms. Sendai felt her own cuts and bruises from the launch dissipate nearly instantly. ' _Healing magic…_ '

Silently, from past the barrier, faintly luminescent copies of the katana that took precedence as the barrier's focal point began to generate, slowly blooming outward and homing towards the three.

Kneeling down and landing, Seinarubeki began casting to protect her descendants. "Protection!"

' _Holy shit…_ ' Sendai stared at the wave of slowly flowing katanas, as they gradually progressed towards them.

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Drifting forward, Reimu moved to protect her grandmother by blocking the wave of blades.

 _Shi- shi- shing!_ Gold magic traveled up the three girl's forms, filling them with solid power again, as the result of a buff cast by Seinarubeki.

"The yin-yang…!" Seinarubeki yelled out. "Strike it!"

As soon as she says this, the original katana begins shifting about on the barrier's surface, the yin-yang emblem being carried along with it.

...Watching the wave of blades near, Sendai runs to the right, only for most of them to snap towards her new position, their arrival an inevitability. ' _They home…!_ '

"Hup!" She jumped, and they followed.

...At the apex of her jump, she flipped back to avoid being clipped by them.

 _Woosh!_ Uppercutting into the air, she saw an opportunity to clear them vertically-

Near the upper levels of the barrier, quicker, linear katanas shot out, with slightly faster velocity, in a messy spread to intercept Sendai as she rose. ' _Ah, shit. If only I had a way to-..._ '

...As she descended, nearing both the lower katanas and watching the linear katanas, she gazed ahead, and planted her sandals on nothing.

Her form flickered out. The blades continued into where she used to be, convening and rotating around awkwardly, as they'd met their destination. They had nowhere new to travel.

...Once Sendai's form flickered back in, she kicked towards the ground and spoke under her breath. "Alright…"

' _I can't believe I almost forgot that!_ ' She chastised herself. ' _After this, I really need time to practice and train, seriously._ '

...As she neared the ground, a wall of forward-facing blades generated, moving forward to collapse into her. ' _Not sure if these are lethal. Let's not find out._ '

"Ngh…" Landing hard, she stumbled forward awkwardly-

Then, her form flickered out. Once again, the blades converged on nothing. This time, they also dissipated.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Reimu's ofuda took down the other volley of blades that her mother'd dodged, these ones having turned their attention to her and Seinarubeki next, necessitating their demise.

Once her form flickered back in, Sendai took towards the yin-yang emblem as it passed her in an attempt to elude her-

 _CLANG!_ Her black fist met the blade's metal, and the barrier shimmered, a shockwave of black coursing through the gold. ' _No wonder it's so fast. It sure feels like a weak point!'_

 _Shi~ng!_ After she landed that blow, she felt power well up in her arms. ' _Mom's supporting me, too!_ '

...Almost lazily, a series of katanas flowed out from the barrier wall again, these ones largely unaimed, appearing simply along the space between Sendai and the emblem.

...Dashing past them once they'd completely dissipated against the floor, Sendai was receptive. ' _Too easy. Watch there be a surprise right when I get to the-_ '

As she neared the emblem, a stream of blades rushed from behind it as it began to slide along again-

Her form was forced to flicker out, the miko flash-stepping out of the way of the moderately hasty surge of blades.

...Once she's finished and returned to reality, Sendai saw the barrier's weak point now higher in the air. ' _Good time as any for a nasty surprise…_ ' Reaching into her pockets, Sendai drew a yin-yang orb-

 _Cla- cla- clang!_ All of a sudden, Reimu appeared up at the emblem's elevation, smacking it back and forth with her gohei. "There…!"

 _Cla- cla- clang!_ Seinarubeki hovered nearby, her great gohei spinning into the emblem and striking it repeatedly as it drifted away.

' _It seems like attacks that happen near the emblem phase through the barrier, allowing them to really connect. For some reason, I feel like this weak point's intentional..._ '

...Glancing back, Sendai saw Marcus and Rinnosuke had gotten off the hillside. ' _Okay, good. I don't have to-_ '

 _Shi- shink!_

"Fah…!" Sliding to the side, Sendai looked down to see two blades enter her, the magic aura around them fading as they did so. ' _Damn it!_ '

 _Fwish_. They dissipated, leaving her with clean, open wounds. ' _Ow- ow-_ '

" _Heal!_ " Seinarubeki was over her, casting her palm down as she glided overhead-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Sendai felt her wounds recover. ' _I really wish I knew healing magic._ '

...Reimu easily drifted through a maelstrom of sluggish homing katanas above, pestering the emblem and forcing it to move downward.

Casting aside the yin-yang and abandoning her projectile surprise strategy, Sendai began to dart forward-

 _Bam- bam- bam!_ Her legs began to bring hell to the grass below her, as she charged towards the barrier at full speed. ' _Let's end this right now!_ '

As she got to the barrier-

 _Ting- ting- ting- ting!_ By crouching and leaping against the broad of it, she began to run up it, her steps inflicting no damage to it itself. Her steps still imprinted shockwaves along its surface. ' _Come here…!_ '

...Homing katanas appeared along the wayside of the barrier before her, homing towards her-

 _Fwap- fwap- fwap!_ She flung ofuda wildly to dispatch them, seeing how it'd worked for Reimu earlier. ' _I can't believe this actually works…!_ '

As she ascended with all the power invested in her legs as she could, she grabbed the blade of one of the homing katanas-

' _Fuck- bad idea…!_ ' Gritting her teeth, she rotated it around with both hands, so the hilt would drift into her. With one hand firmly on the resisting blade for necessary leverage, she grabbed the hilt with her free hand, and let go of the blade, the hand she used for the first step now bloody.

Frowning through the blooming pain of her serrated fingers, Sendai felt her momentum begin to slip in all of the distraction, her heart jumping at the sudden sensation of gravity. ' _Ah…!_ '

The emblem slid down near her. As she fell, she lunged the stolen katana back with both arms-

' _Ah…!?_ ' To her surprise, it jerked her back into the air, the katana's natural homing velocity pulling her up when combined with her powerful tug.

" _Release!"_ Channeling magic into the katana she claimed, Sendai's dark magic flared up it as she jabbed it into the yin-yang sigil-

 _ **FWAAA~SH**_

Once the blade was submerged in the holy barrier, everything faded to white. ' _Ah…!'_

…

Thud. She felt herself hit the pavement of the walkway outside the shrine, hard. Her everything suddenly yelled at her, her vision briefly unfocusing from vaguely light tap of her head's back against a stone tile, or perhaps a really well-placed rock. ' _Hah. Ow..._ '

"Heal." Her mother cast another heal from nearby-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Sendai felt the limbs she'd landed on cease being numb, and her head stopped aching.

As she stood, the dark-favoring miko saw inside the shrine's interior…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Kiyoko Hakurei_ ====

Kiyoko Hakurei stood tall, her shoulders broad, despite only having a single arm to work with. In her left arm, she held the katana she'd used to power the barrier, twirling it around now and again idly, eager to fight. Once again, her helmet was equipped.

Sendai exhaled, adopting an offensive posture. ' _...It's a shame I have so many holy item crashes. For this fight, at least. To think it took three of us to counter that last technique..._ '

Flipping more ofuda out, Reimu glared ahead, two yin-yangs orbiting her. "That was lame, aside from the part where it exploded after getting stabbed."

"...That wasn't even _her_ warm up." Entire body tense, Seinarubeki landed next to her daughter… "If anything, that was a test of our competence and skills."

...The three readied themselves as Kiyoko stepped out of the Hakurei shrine, approaching them almost leisurely.

She stopped once she got off the porch, standing still on the stone walkway.

…

 _Ti- ti- ti- ti- tick!_ Reimu unleashed a stream of danmaku ofuda to bait her-

 _Fwa~m!_ The warrior's armor lighting up a bright white and gold, she snapped towards Reimu like a meteor, twirling through the air like a spiralling bullet. ' _That speed…!_ '

In the next moment, Reimu was gone-

 _Fwoosh!_ Sendai only looked away for one second, only to realize at the last moment that Kiyoko had thrown herself on a dime a second time, at _her._ ' _Ah-_ '

 _Bam!_ Instead of evading, Sendai guarded against the tackle, her mother's buffs allowing her to stumble back from the end of the armor's impact; as opposed to being launched like a ragdoll. ' _Alright! Now-_ '

 _SLAP!_ The broad of the Hakurei's katana met Sendai's stomach, the great Hakurei having transitioned from her spiralling tackle to upright swinging with impossible fluidity and speed.

The blow sent Sendai skidding to her side. ' _Woah-_ '

 _WHAM!_ A holy-powered thrust brushed past the miko's torso and allow Kiyoko to almost punch Sendai's ribs with the weapon's guard. ' _Agh-_ '

 _FWASH!_ Almost instantly, the miko followed up with an upward stroke of her blade-

"Nnh!" Sendai flew back into the air, thrown by the attack. ' _Okay…! At least she won't cut me-_ '

 _Clack!_ Reimu's sandal came down on the back of the armored figure's head. "Hey! Pick on-"

 _WHAM!_ Raising her blade and pivoting around with enough ferocity to leave the wind whipping, the shrine maiden brought the broad of her katana down on Reimu from above.

"Ghua~!" This left Reimu to rebound off the ground, drifting into the air-

Kiyoko let go of her katana, the blade falling to the wayside as she grabs onto Reimu's ankle.

' _Shit…!_ ' Sendai rushed towards the scene-

 _Woosh!_

Her form flickered out as Kiyoko whirled around, tossing Reimu at her. "Woa~h!" As such, Reimu soared off into the distance safely, if disoriented from doing a ten-eighty from the toss...

...A moment later, Sendai flickered back in. ' _She's gonna-_ '

 _WHAM! "Gnhuh…"_

A holy kick met the side of Sendai's head.

In the next moment, she was on the ground, vision blurry before she'd noticed. ' _Fuck… this- this can't-_ '

" _Heal!_ " Seinarubeki thrust her great gohei into the air-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Sendai felt her stamina recover. ' _Al- alright-_ '

 _Woosh!_ She felt herself tossed involuntarily, with no clues as to how. ' _Shit. I can't let my guard down. She's really good at staying aggressive..._ '

...Rolling to a stop after she'd soared far enough to drop, Sendai stood up, ignoring the dull stinging sensation of her limbs from the landing-

 _WHAM!_ " _Hnkh!"_ She was sent forward onto her stomach, Kiyoko barreling into her from behind. ' _Ow! Why!? There's two other targets, you know!_ '

Thud. Sendai face planted… "Ngh."

 _Fwoo~sh!_ As she recovered, climbing onto her limbs, Kiyoko took off to engage someone else…

 _Clack!_ Seinarubeki guarded against the flat of her mother's katana. "Look! Please stop this! We-"

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Ofuda poured out from the hole in the miko's armor reserved for her missing arm, sending her daughter stumbling back from the force of their rapid collisions. "Aeh…!"

" _Dream Sign!"_ Reimu tried to play danmaku. " _Fantasy Seal!"_

The seven, rainbow-colored orbs began to revolve around her body, lighting up with great holy energy…

Sendai was up again-

 _Fwa~m!_ Snapping into a holy-accented tackle rush, Kiyoko barreled towards her to keep her down-

 _Bam!_ "Hup!" A black shockwave echoed through the autumn leave below, as Sendai leapt over her. ' _At least-_ '

 _WHAM!_ Reversing for her second charge, the great shrine maiden plowed into Sendai's back from behind. ' _Oh, shit!_ '

The upward method in which the Hakurei warrior plowed into the miko made them arc through the air. This trajectory's destination was still ultimately towards the ground, the barrier master's force pushing Sendai like a cannonball-

" _Vol Fulger!"_ Sendai drew her flintlock, item crashing for a way out of an otherwise inevitable crush-

 _Fwa- zap, zap, zap, zap!_

The bright, cyan electrical orb materialized around her, the magic's force slowing their momentum-

 _Woosh_. The attack made Kiyoko cancel her relentless tackle, flipping back and away from Sendai. Electricity crackled on the brim of her armor, but little more.

 _Fwam- bam- boom- bam- fwam- bam- boom!_

Every one of Reimu's orbs landed on her great grandmother, the air around each impact rippling as the light itself was distorted by the saturation of danmaku energy…

...Stepping out of the lights as they faded, the armor of the miko crackled with their danmaku-based energy, but only for a brief moment.

"Hnh." Letting out a monotone grunt, she drove her blade back, as if ready to thrust-

 _Chio~m!_ Upon thrusting, a white laser stretched out towards Reimu-

She rolled out of the way. "Ah! You-"

 _Chio~m!_ "Nnh..." She rolled out of the way of a second one, as Kiyoko thrust again-

Then, the armored miko swept a leg out, as if to bring down someone right before her-

 _Fwoosh!_ A torso-high barrier of holy, uneven and flushed with a holy gale, rushed forward from her like a tidal wave.

Reimu tried to dodge horizontally, which was a mistake. "Oof!" The barrier launched her further away, connecting with two thirds of her…

' _This is my chance!_ ' Sendai had recovered from getting juggled horrendously, running at the armored miko to put the pressure on her...

 _Bam- bam- bam- bam!_ Her sandals punished the earth below her, the stone walkway cracking under her might-

 _SHINK!_

...Kiyoko's katana pierced the miko's abdomen, from the side. She accomplished this from a simple transition from standing into a backward thrust. ' _I-... but she wasn't near-_ '

 _Shink_. He drew her blade out, cleaving Sendai's side open-

 _BAM!_ -before kicking her away.

"Uuh- nnh…" ' _No…!_ ' The miko rolled against the ground in an attempt to recover, when the pain blossomed through her. ' _Fuck!_ '

" _Heal!_ " Seinarubeki was over her daughter almost immediately-

 _Di- ding!_ As the magic worked on the sprawled out Sendai-

 _WHAM_. Kiyoko punched her own daughter in the face with the hilt of her sword. "Hngh!" The blunt blow sent the supporting miko floating back, one eye shut…

' _Okay..._ ' Standing up again, Sendai charged her body with dark magic. ' _Let's get some hits in. Or, at least, not get fucking stabbed again._ '

...She stared at her grandmother, who turned to her as soon as she stood, the dark-wielding miko's stomach gashes healing-

 _Swish_. Sliding forward, Kiyoko's slash came wide-

 _Shink!_ ' _Surprise!_ ' Tanking the hit to her side, Sendai thrust a dark arm forward-

 _Clank!_

Kiyoko's head flinched back from the punch to the face, even if minimal damage was done-

" _Binding Border!"_ Reimu was behind them, thrusting her arms out-

 _Fwish._ Two huge barriers were created on either side of Reimu, encapsulating the three women.

 _Shink_. Kiyoko brought her blade back, pulling it from Sendai's side-

 _WHAM_. Promptly, she kicked the unarmored miko away-

 _WHAM!_ Thrusting herself forward, Kiyoko followed up with another kick to her granddaughter.

"Kaugh…" Coughing up blood, Sendai stumbled back at almost running speed-

 _WHAM!_

 _Thud!_ Sendai rolled to a stop on the floor, a sudden holy roundhouse kick sending her sprawling. ' _It- it hurts..._ '

" _Heal!_ " Seinarubeki was pretty much carrying the fight, at this point.

 _Di- di~ng!_ Sendai felt her depleted body heal, blood pooling in her mouth while her parts healed. ' _Fuck me. Grandma, holy crap…_ '

Reimu drifted up in the midst of her binding barrier, as if prompting her three times predecessor to come at her.

Knowing this technical skill's properties, Kiyoko-

 _Fwa~m!_ -performed a spiralling dash out of its radius, freeing her vertical movement.

"All we can do is pressure her!" Seinarubeki called out with advice. "Take her attacks, but don't slow down!"

' _So you're saying I have to get stabbed a million times to have a shot at winning._ ' Sendai huffed. ' _Fights where you have to rely on healers are fights that you normally shouldn't win..._ '

Snapping her gaze towards her daughter-

 _fwish._ Kiyoko slid along an invisible line, black streaks left in her wake as she snaps next to the shrine maiden-

 _Shink!_

Her sword entered her daughter's abdomen.

"Kh- he- heal…" Eyes wide and mouth ajar, Seinarubeki raised her great gohei-

 _Fwam!_ A translucent, holy yin-yang shot from the arm hole of the armored miko like a cannon ball-

 _BOOM!_ It exploded into energy, sending her daughter flying from her blade. ' _Holy shit! That's your daughter, damn it!_ '

Invigorated by this mistreatment, Sendai threw herself into overdrive and rushed up to her-

Snidely, Sendai grabbed the handle of Kiyoko's katana. ' _Hah-_ '

So, Kiyoko simply let go of it-

 _WHAM!_ A holy, white shockwave echoed into the air after she hit Sendai in the face, punishing the attempted disarm.

Blood exploded from the miko's nose. ' _Aa~h!_ '

While she was distracted, Kiyoko stole the katana back with a metal-clad hand-

 _CLONK!_ -and whacked Sendai in the forehead with the hilt.

Thud. Sendai fell back onto the ground from the resulting disorientation and force, splaying out on her back. ' _Oh- oh my god…_ '

"He- heal!" Ready to cast again, Seinarubeki began casting more healing magic-

Di- di~ng! Sendai felt her nose-

 _Snap!_ -crack back into place, her eyes narrowing to resist watering up. ' _Fuu~ck!_ '

 _Cla- clang!_ Reimu brushed the back of the armored miko's helmet with her gohei, with a spinning horizontal strike-

 _Shink!_ Her blade now pierced Reimu's abdomen this time. " _Aa~gh!_ "

' _No!_ ' Sendai's adrenaline shot up. ' _Reimu!_ '

 _Woosh!_ Practically bouncing off the floor, Sendai threw herself ahead wildly-

 _Boom!_ -transitioning into a flying kick as she ravished the stone below with a crouch and a leap-

 _BOOM!_

Her black sandal met the neon white boot of the armored predecessor.

... _KABOOM!_

An explosion flared out from where their heels touched.

"Gu- uguh…" Reimu flopped against the ground nearby, a trail of blood splashing out of her and staining her path crimson.

" _Heal."_ Kiyoko thrust her katana up-

 _Di- di- di~ng!_ Reimu's form glowed with holy light for a moment, as did the great miko's katana.

...Sendai leapt out of her new seated position, standing again. ' _Reimu…! Stupid old bitch!_ '

Hardly even acknowledging how the blast pushed both parties back, or the mercy of the armored miko, Sendai-

 _Boom!_ -bolted ahead once more, stone chunks kicking up in her wake as she descended upon the armored miko. ' _This bitch…!_ '

As she neared-

Her form flickered out-

 _Woosh_. Kiyoko's leg met air.

...After a moment, Sendai re-materialized behind her-

 _WHAM!_ Light flared as the miko's armored boot met Sendai's spine. "Guah…!"

 _Wha- wha- wham!_

Glass orbs from Seinarubeki pattered against the armor, sliding off, but still evoking jitters from the miko-

 _Shi- shi- shing!_ The next three glass orbs were cleaved clean in half by the blade of the Hakurei.

Reimu was finally up again, her eyes teary from the pain she'd endured. "Div- Divine Spirit! Fantasy Seal, Blink!"

Then, she'd vanished.

Pivoting around, Sendai charged towards the miko, maximizing a yin-yang orb from her sleeves as she did so. " _Hey!_ Bitch!"

The Hakurei warrior whirled around to face her instantly-

 _BAM!_ Sendai punched the orb towards her, with dark energy and the reinforcement from her mother's magic-

 _CLANG!_ It was deflected off the predecessor's blade-

 _Clang!_

Sliding by, Reimu delivered a gohei strike to the side of Kiyoko's armored head.

 _Woo- woosh, woosh!_ The armored miko unleashed a greedy three swing, combo after Reimu, but before long the shrine maiden had glided off and seemingly dissipated off the edge of the battlefield.

 _BAM!_ Sendai slammed another orb towards the armored warrior.

 _CLANG!_ Once again, it was deflected-

 _Wham!_ "Aah…!" Reimu was sent spiraling as she twirled by from behind again, having taken an elbow to the gut from the warrior miko this time.

 _BAM!_ Leaping into the air after she punched another orb at the miko, Sendai readied for a mighty downward kick. _'If this doesn't land, I'm gonna be pissed._ '

 _CLANG!_ The third yin-yang was deflected, and the armored miko looked up at Sendai.

 _Cla~ng._ Ignoring Reimu's passing blow to her face, the armored warrior crouched down-

 _BOOM!_ She flew towards Sendai-

Ka-cla~ng! A metal wing flourished from the back of the miko's armor, flaring to life with holy energy. ' _What!?_ '

 _Woosh!_ Sendai kicked downward early, so as to not encounter the now-winged miko.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Wide, great slashes of the blade's flat kicked up air over Sendai as she fell. ' _Holy crap._ '

 _Thud!_ Sendai rolled against the floor to break her fall-

 _BOOM!_

' _Woah…!_ ' Sendai was sent rolling even further by a holy shockwave that roared out from the great miko as she touched down, her wing collapsing back into the back of her armor, between her banner packs and the actual metal.

 _Click._

The red and white, flower-accented banner raised into the air, its flag unfurling and the colors becoming known to the world. Its shaft stretched from the worn, well-aged wood boxes on her back...

" _Loose_ your fire!" Kiyoko gave a rallying cry to her party of herself. "Annihilate our foes!"

 _Cri- fwaa~sh!_ Her katana lit up with white, holy energy, almost electric surges of white flickering across her blade.

"Hang back and use magic!" Seinarubeki practically screamed their new strategy. "Don't get hit!"

' _Easy for you to say…!_ ' Sendai stood tall again, reinforcing her offensive posture. ' _...I'm considering attacking the banner, but that would almost be too easy. I'm gonna try it anyway._ '

Upon further inspection, she could tell the lower stem of the banner seemed less than new, the wood a completely different color, as well as curiously affixed to the more consistent colors above it, rather than a simple whole piece. ' _This was repaired at some point…_ '

...Reimu slid by again, warp dashing as part of her spell card-

The armored miko whirled around, and smacked her with the flat of her almighty charged blade-

 _SMAA~SH!_ The white, holy energy flared violently bright, the electricity-esque holy nearly blinding Sendai.

" _Nhua~!"_ Reimu was sent rolling off into the air at blurring speeds, temporarily kicked out of the fight entirely as she soared off over the nearby forest canopy...

The banner preventing her from throwing herself around, the armored holy warrior simply marched towards Sendai, blade raised, as if daring her to engage.

...Sendai drew another yin-yang orb. ' _Alright. Let's just… keep a distance, I guess.'_

After she maximized it-

 _BAM!_ She sent it hurling forwards-

 _SMAA~SH!_ With a swipe of the flat of her blade-

 _CRACK!_ The yin-yang orb shattered entirely, becoming shrapnel that Sendai had to fall out of the way of. After rolling into a standing position some ways away, Sendai took a breath. ' _Wow…!_ '

 _fwish._

Snapping along the corner of Sendai's vision, the armored warrior was right next to her. ' _What-_ '

 _SMAA~SH!_

An upward stroke sent Sendai up.

" _Nghaa~h!_ " She was pretty sure she broke something.

...After having her eyes shut for a moment of throbbing terror, she opened them.

...The shrine below was still quite near. She could fit the Torii gate in the palm of her hand, though. ' _Rea-... really?_ '

" _Heal!_ "

Fortunately for her, her mother was there to catch her before she could freefall to the world below.

 _Di- di~ng!_ The healing magic took effect on Sendai-

 _Crack_. A rib snapped back into place.

Sendai shut her eyes, her body letting out a shudder as her skin revitalized. "Fu- fuck…"

...Slowly, Seinarubeki lowered her daughter back towards the ground, while she recovered from being in pain. Looking up, the miko simply saw her mother's partially worried, partially stressed expression.

' _Okay…_ ' Sendai inhaled. "I've... got a plan. You have any elemental magic…?"

"I'm saving for healing." Her mother elucidated. "That's- that's why I haven't been attacking. I can't afford to-"

 _WOOSH._ Kiyoko roared past them in the air, the wing on her armor extended.

Dropping Sendai, Seinarubeki vanished.

' _Woah- okay…!_ ' Soaring towards the ground below, the now-healed miko flailed her arms…

' _Just gotta uppercut near the bottom._ '

...As she neared the bottom-

 _Woosh!_ "Ngh…!" She thrust a dark arm into the air, breaking her fall by reducing acceleration-

 _Thud!_ Upon impact with the soil, her legs still buckled. "Ngh…"

...Reimu depressingly drifted up not too far from her, holding her side, one eye winced shut. "Mo- mom…"

' _Reimu!?_ ' Sendai almost fell over to spring to her-

 _ **BOOM!**_

The Hakurei hillside exploded, a shockwave of flame-like holy expanding, soil and grass raining down across the hilltop and nearby forest upon Kiyoko touching down.

Sendai couldn't see a thing through the rain of gravel and holy-rended grass blades. ' _Reimu!? Shit!_ '

"Heal!" Sendai heard her mother cast another healing spell, and she seemingly felt her blood pressure normalize...

' _Good grief. Anymore of this, and I'll have a heart attack. Grandma's such a bitch..._ '

Sliding her hand into her pockets, Sendai drew a mana molotov. After reeling her arm back…

" _Hydro Storm!"_ She chucked it into the air, where it vanished.

Ahead of her, Kiyoko trudged from the abyss she'd created, heavy steps slowly bringing her out of the dirt crater-

 _Kra-koo~m!_ It began raining, ambient thunder signalling its arrival.

Heavy drops pattered off the miko's armor uselessly; the attack had no immediate effect on anyone in the fight.

However, it did make Kiyoko wet.

Sendai ran towards her, before stopping early-

 _Swoosh- swoosh!_ Kiyoko let out two broad swings in the midst of the sunny rain storm, coming short of Sendai's form with her mighty, magically enhanced swings-

Lunging forward, Sendai hugged her, her flintlock out. " _Vol Fulger!"_

Almost immediately, the electricity began to crackle alive around Sendai's form-

 _Za- ZAP- ZAP! Zap!_

The orb of neon electricity made Kiyoko jitter noticeably, Sendai able to feel her movements through the armor. ' _Got you!_ ' Cyan light glared from the two, the orb of electricity violent in its onset, a soft pale glow cast across the rest of the shrine yard-

 _Thunk!_ Punching against the armor, Sendai propelled herself back.

...For the moment, Kiyoko was stunned into immobility by the electricity-

-only to be free the very next moment, her limbs briefly flailing from unneeded, unpredicted exertion, movements she made while stunned catching up to her.

' _Electrical stunning works…_ ' Sendai inhaled, stepping back, her guard up. ' _Briefly._ '

...As the great miko lumbered forward in the now muddy terrain, she held her blade ready for mighty swings again-

 _Crack!_

Her banner snapped off its stem, Seinarubeki's great gohei swiping in from the side on its own, taking it out.

 _Cri- croo_ ~ _sh_. The electricity-like, violent holy on Kiyoko's blade fizzled out. ' _There. No more getting launched into outer space just 'cause she looks at us funny._ '

"Hnh." Letting out another monotone grunt, Kiyoko swung her blade out to her side-

 _Fwish._ It vanished-

 _Clang!_ It initialized in the air beside Sendai, with the yin-yang emblem around it. Except, instead of being mounted to a barrier, it was now mobile.

Sendai stumbled back-

 _Chiu~m!_ The blade shot a laser at Sendai on its own, as Kiyoko barreled towards Sendai with her one fist raised.

Sliding out of the way of the single laser, Sendai awaited the armored miko. ' _Every limb might be more capable than mine, but I still have more…!_ '

As Kiyoko neared-

 _Fwi~sh!_

Barrier-esque surfaces began to run from the empty arm socket in her armor. After a few shimmers and glimmers from them, Sendai sighed at the result. ' _Yeah, that figures._ '

The boxy extension to the armored miko before her flexed its polygonal hand, before being raised similarly to the intact arm. It was clumsy and big, more akin to a golem's crushing paw rather than an actual arm.

' _Forget the limb advantage, then. She just made a new one out of small barriers._ '

Sendai blinked-

 _fwish._ The armored miko was gone, prompting her to throw herself forward-

 _Woosh!_ Kiyoko missed a brutal, holy enchanted forward punch with her intact arm due to Sendai's lucky dodge-

 _Woo- woosh!_ As Sendai pivoted around, she hung back from the armored miko, who unleashed two separate, charged kicks towards her-

On both legs again, as if she'd never kicked with her legs at all, Kiyoko thrust her barrier arm forward-

The arm came apart, the panels comprising it spreading around Sendai. ' _Oh, crap-_ '

Sendai flickered out-

 _Cli- cli- clink!_ Katanas generated behind each panel, before shooting through them towards where Sendai was, meeting in a ball of blades.

...Flicking back in-

Sendai immediately let herself fall over-

 _Woosh!_ Reformed, the barrier arm was flailed back in an attempt to smack her, which she'd evaded by falling over.

" _Divine Arts!"_ Reimu's voice was heard as the holy rain ceased. _"Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick!"_

While Sendai rolled around in the mud to distance herself from the great miko, Reimu slid past her.

Sliding up under the great miko's unarmed clutches, Reimu kicked up-

 _Cla- clack- cla- clack- cla- clack!_ Ascending as she kicked, the young shrine maiden's sandals pattered against her predecessor's armor, kicking again and again-

"Engh…!" Then, she was grabbed onto by the barrier arm, the blocky hand fitting her entire torso.

Standing, Sendai slammed her arm into a maximized yin-yang orb she'd drawn-

 _CLANG!_ The orb roared forward, before rebounding up at a crazy, awkward angle on impact.

This dark-reinforced blow caused Kiyoko's head to tilt back. She snapped it to Sendai in the next instant-

She lunged forward with Reimu in her grasp, sliding in a standing posture across the mud-

The armored miko's metal palm pressed against Sendai's forehead, digits clasping her head in spite of her efforts to leap back. 'Wha- ah-"

 _Fwam! Fwam! Fwam!_ Explosions of holy energy echoed out into the light around Sendai, raw pulses of holy slamming into her head. "Nn- nnh!"

' _Aaa~h!_ ' Her mind was flushed with sudden agony, with such swiftness that she'd almost forgot the scenario that lead to her being in such immediate pain.

 _Ti- ti- ti- tick!_ Even while grappled, Reimu was able to fire danmaku ofuda from her eyes. "Hgh- rrgh…!"

 _Clo~ng!_

Seinarubeki's great gohei came down upon her mother's head. "Hey, hey! Mother!"

 _Fwam- fwam- fwam!_ As the holy pulses poured into Sendai's head, she felt herself begin to be lifted off the ground-

Curling up as she was lifted, Sendai felt as if her skull was cracking, as her legs clamped around the arm that binded her. "Hgh- haa~h…!"

 _Fwam!_ She channeled darkness into her legs, kicking one towards the armored miko-

 _Clang!_ Her sandal met Kiyoko's protected face, her head tilting back a few inches.

With that strike, she freed herself, flopping back.

 _Splat_. "Nn- nnn…" Landing in the mud, Sendai's limbs refused to move. ' _Shit…_ '

" _Heal!"_ Seinarubeki casted-

 _Wham!_ -before being immediately slammed by a broad strike to her gut. "Ough!"

 _Di- di~ng!_ Sendai's energy took a moment to recuperate, as she sunk into the holy mud, her gaze uneven for the moment. ' _Alright…_ '

 _Ti- ti- ti- tick!_ Reimu was still pouring danmaku ofuda from her eyes towards the great miko.

...Kiyoko focused on the young miko she held grasped in particular. Reeling her barrier arm back-

 _Woosh!_ She tossed Reimu into the air, who spun away as she tried to stabilize herself. "Aa- aah…"

Reeling the barrier-made arm back, Kiyoko focused holy energy into it…

As it began to glow with red and gold energy, translucent talismans flowed from her arm socket, whirling around and building up around the arm's base.

Within moments, there were two layers, then four, followed by six…

As the arm grew, coated in danmaku ofuda, it became formless as it rapidly shifted, changing shape into something new…

" _Raa~rgh!"_ The clump of danmaku roared as it gained two piercing, neon yellow eyes, and a gaping maw, folded entirely from interlocked talismans.

" _Hnn~...!"_ Kiyoko's legs sunk knee deep into the mud below as she poured her power into the danmaku armament.

Sendai scrambled onto her legs, moving away from it. ' _Ho- holy shit…'_

As the head-shaped arm gained dragon-esque characteristics-

 _WOOSH!_ Kiyoko plowed forward, a streak of light behind her.

Reimu threw her arm out. " _Cautionary Barrier!_ "

The barrier flickered to life-

 _FWAA~M!_ The danmaku origami dragon head struck the barrier, exploding into a violent maelstrom of expanding talismans-

Maximizing a yin-yang orb, Sendai hid behind it, barely registering the talismans that fluttered past and hit her. ' _Danmaku over her punches any day._ '

...Splat. Reimu flopped unceremoniously into the mud, crackling with danmaku energy. Her barrier failed to save her.

...After a short delay, Seinarubeki appeared over her. " _Heal…!"_

Di- di~ng! Reimu's form lit up, as she lied in the mud on her side.

With the danmaku ofuda all gone, Kiyoko turned to Sendai-

 _Shink!_ Her blade whirled up from nowhere on its own, sinking into Sendai's side. "A- ah…"

' _This sword…!_ ' As it kept pushing against her, Sendai glared down at it, grabbing onto the hilt-

 _Fwish._ It dissipated, so Sendai couldn't utilize it-

"Ahh- nh…" Sendai was left with a open gash in her side, and internal damage. ' _You're fucking…_ '

" _He- heal…!_ " Seinarubeki's voice grew hoarse as her mana began to deplete, the support miko gliding along the edges of the battlefield so she could continue playing an almost strictly passive…

...Only stumbling briefly, Sendai looked for the sword…

It had appeared again to her left-

From behind it, a plethora of fake katanas cloned into the air, slowly homing in on Sendai-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ She tossed her ofuda at them, dissipating them-

 _WOOSH!_ Kiyoko flung herself at her, spiraling towards her-

"Hah!" Sendai briefly charged her arm, to uppercut just above the tackle-

 _Woosh!_ Kiyoko flung herself up on a dime to catch her offguard, akin to earlier in the fight-

Curling up, Sendai rolled out of the way.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Talismans nailed her like bullets from the unaccompanied, floating katana-

 _Splosh- splosh- splat!_ Landing and digging across the muddy hilltop on all fours, Sendai barreled towards the blade that shot at her, while the armored miko was still airborne-

As she neared, it shot towards her with unexpected velocity-

 _Shink!_

Sendai let it stop in her hand, piercing it. "Hnn~h…!"

Gritting her teeth, her limbs shaking, she locked her other palm around the hilt. ' _It's mine now!_ '

 _Fwi- fwish._ It began to dissipate-

Sendai channeled her darkness into it, fighting the holy magic imbued in its steel.

 _SPLAT!_

Kiyoko landed behind her. Her barrier arm glowed with violent energy, the surfaces of it shaking, barely able to contain their bottled up holy charge…

Sendai turned to her-

Kiyoko thrust the engorged barrier arm forward-

 _FWAA~M!_

As it burst, light filled the hilltop-

 _BAM!_ Sendai flew through the Hakurei Shrine. " _Ha~rgh…!"_

...As her sight faded back in, and the feeling in her limbs, she still had the sword in her clutches, black running along it, preventing it from dematerializing. ' _Mi- mine…_ ' Around her, the Hakurei Shrine was in relative shambles, the walls all banged up, and the floorboards now all uneven from the way she slid across the floor on entry.

Seinarubeki was in the shrine with her. "He-"

 _Clong!_ Roaring in with a flying kick, Kiyoko prevented her from casting the healing spell, the boot connecting with her daughter's head. " _Anh!_ "

Sendai's dark energy barely managed to keep hold on the blade-

Kiyoko grabbed the hand that was on the hilt-

 _Fwam! Fwam! Fwam!_ Sendai's progress was rapidly undone with blinding flares of holy light-

" _Fantasy Heaven!"_

 _Clang!_ Reimu slid in from behind, striking her gohei against Kiyoko's head.

One of Reimu's seven yin-yangs lit up, the orbs starting to revolve around her, their forms lucid…

Sendai subconsciously scrambled backwards, into a wall and rubble behind her, but kept her grip on the blade. Which was fairly easy, considering the blade was through one of her hands. "A- anh…"

 _WHAM!_

A boot crushed Sendai's stomach into the fractured wood beneath her. _"Gau- kaugh- kauf…!"_

 _Fwam!_ Another pulse of light burned into her hand, the feeling of it beginning to fade as the burn traveled up her arm. ' _Nnn~...!_ '

" _Heal!_ " Sendai heard her mother-

 _Crack!_ " _Evil Sealing Circle!_ " Retracting her boot, Kiyoko stomped down into the wood beside Sendai-

A pad of neon white spread out, encompassing the entire shrine's grounds…

 _Clo~ng!_ ... _Clong!_ Reimu took this moment to get good hits in, wailing on her great grandmother's helmet, serving more to light her yin-yangs than anything. She now had three of the seven colors necessary…

As Sendai's strength regained, black began to overtake the blade she clutched, her senses recuperating and body healing from the lucky cast her mother achieved-

 _Cla- clack, thunk- thunk…_

The energy of the Evil Sealing Circle below poured into the world above, fragments of wood, the muddy stones and shattered earth outside the building, all floating into the air, suspended by the magic's power.

Sendai rapidly felt her power ebb away, the blade beginning to vanish in her arms. ' _No…! Fuck no!_ '

...With this development, she felt herself being to float along with the rubble-

 _Thunk._ Elbowing a floating beam of wood, she began to roll away in the air-

Kiyoko grabbed onto her leg, with her arm of barriers-

 _Clong! Clong!_ Reimu landed two wide swings on her predecessor's helmet, five of seven yin-yangs flaring to life…

With the leverage from the anti-gravity, Sendai kicked back at Kiyoko-

 _FWAAM!_ Then, Kiyoko's arm exploded again, having charged while Sendai was feebly attempting to escape with the sword.

" _Nh!_ " Sendai only let out a little grunt, her body refusing to so much as yell after abuse like that.

...As her blurry vision came to, she found herself rolling down the Hakurei hillside, blade still clutched. At this point, she'd found time to hug it to herself. The world spun around her, the dim glow of evening setting in as the fight stretched into dusk's end.

...When she neared the bottom of the hill, she rested on her side, twitching unresponsive, although her mind was still alarmed. "N- nn…"

"What the hell's this shit…!?" She heard a voice above her.

...As Sendai weakly pushed against the ground, her body heavy-

 _Di- di~ng!_ She felt a potion's contents splash over her. "Yo- you alright, ze…!?"

...Still focusing on the blade, her dark energy rapidly overtaking it now, Sendai only gave Marisa's shoes a glance-

 _Whack!_

" _Eee~!_ " Marisa soared off into the brush, Kiyoko granting her mercy with a low-powered passing swipe of her arm.

 _Clong!_ Immediately down here, Reimu got another behind hit on Kiyoko, her sixth orb lighting up. "Alright…!"

 _Fwoa~m…_

Sendai finally painted the blade in her magic, the exterior all black as she struggled to stand before her grandmother. She began to grin.

" _Fantasy Heaven!"_ Seinarubeki drifted above the Hakurei Shrine, still atop the hill nearby-

 _FWOO- SHI~NG…!_

Just beside the two Hakurei at the hill's base, the wall of a massive barrier generated next to them. It was a simple portion of Seinarubeki's larger barrier column, which encapsulated the entire shrine ground.

 _Cli~ck._

One of Kiyoko's banners stretched to the sky again, this one black, a white yin-yang symbol painted in the middle.

"Heed my words, and know victory…" Kiyoko spoke, as the banner's stalk pulsed with energy… "Sure up your defenses, and ready for attack!"

 _Shi~ng!_ Rainbow-colored energy pulsed into her body, her armor alive with fruity colors.

 _SHI~NG!_ As Seinarubeki's barrier initialized fully, the world outside of it was seemingly replaced by a void of clouds, and a sea of sky blue.

...From her, a river of glassy yin-yang orbs rolled towards Kiyoko-

 _CLANK- CLANG- CLANK- CLANG- CLANK!_ They pattered off her armor as she stomped towards Sendai, armor flaring with technicolor energy-

 _Clo~ng!_ In the confusion, Reimu got the one hit she needed. With all seven yin-yangs lit, she began floating into the air, holding her limbs out…

Sendai ran in the opposite direction-

 _Bam, bam, bam, bam!_ Sprinting across the hillside, she moved to distance herself from her daughter's holy nuke…

Within a moment, she was on the other side of the hill. Her legs burned, and she fought hard to resist the urge to simply roll down the other end of the hill and take a nap. ' _Should be… far enou-_ '

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA-_

From over here, she could see Reimu's explosion of danmaku and holy as if it were the rising sun. Just eclipsing the edge of the blast was her mother, sending a steady stream of glassy yin-yangs into the holy disaster…

 _FWAA~SH!_

The final, blinding pulse of the holy cataclysm washed over the Hakurei hill…

Sendai exhaled, drawing a potion from her pocket. ' _...I wonder if I should group cast this. My mana's pretty alright, so..._ '

" _Evolution!_ " She tossed the potion into the air with her currently functioning hand. As it flew, she reached forward-

 _Shink!_ -and removed the black sword from her palm. "Oww~, shit…"

 _Di- di~ng!_ The potion's contents splashed over her.

...As her hand healed, she caught her breath. ' _Okay…_ ' The blade she'd pulled out only weakly jerked about, not attempting to fight her for control; or, if it was, it was too far from its wielder to do it adequately.

Beginning her march up the hillside-

 _Fwoosh!_ She saw her mother roll down towards the area of conflict, spinning around with her great gohei like a disc of light.

...Bam, bam, bam, bam! Plowing her legs against the soil, sandals to the drying mud, Sendai raced up the hill, moving past the tattered shrine…

Reaching the top and bypassing the stairs, Sendai stared down the decline ahead-

 _Cla- clang, clang!_ Reimu was free to attack as she pleased, currently intangible, drifting around Kiyoko in an attempt to be annoying.

 _CLA- CLANG!_ Kiyoko barely registered the more substantial hits from her daughter Seinarubeki, who was now engaging her directly with the power of her Fantasy Heaven, unable to be stricken herself for the momentary duration.

Ignoring the two as they wailed on her, Kiyoko slowly marched towards Sendai, head locked on her position. ' _That banner…_ '

"The banner!" Sendai yelled. "Hit it!"

...Upon her exclamation, Reimu and Seinarubeki leapt up at it-

 _Bam- bam- bam- bam!_ Plowing against the hillside with glowing, holy limbs, Kiyoko roared towards Sendai-

 _Boom!_ Sendai kicked against the ground, and leaped straight towards her, intent on the banner just above instead of her herself. "Ha~uh…!"

Kiyoko slowed as she neared-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ A wall of white, blade-like lasers were erected before Kiyoko, blinding her.

As Sendai fell-

 _Shi~ng!_ She swung with the stolen katana, and sliced something.

...Clack. The banner collapsed in half after she soared by, falling towards the ground below-

"Hup…" As she fell, Sendai channeled darkness to her legs and backflipped, killing the falling momentum, as if jumping off the air.

...Kiyoko's armor ceased to glow.

Seinarubeki shut her eyes.

...Slowly, the entire space encapsulated by the barrier began to glow blindingly white. ' _Um… oh._ '

...Sendai looked around-

 _ **BHOOM- CRAAA~CK!**_

The barrier they were encapsulated by exploded, a raw shaft of holy energy coating the entire hillside.

The attack didn't hurt Sendai, however. ' _Woah…_ ' She did feel herself become weightless in the upward holy geyser...

...As the blinding light faded, the tarnished, completely ravished hill was revealed before Sendai-

 _Whack!_ Kiyoko was there, with her only fist in Sendai's gut.

' _What!?_ ' Sendai kicked against the floor, but her legs slipped out beneath her-

Kiyoko grabbed the black blade-

 _Fwoa- fwoash!_ Healing energy from Seinarubeki's Fantasy Heaven washed over every applicable Hakurei, only excluding the intangible Reimu.

...A halo began to light up over their heads, while Sendai pulled the blade back. ' _Fucking…!_ '

 _Woosh!_ Spawning out of nowhere, Kiyoko's barrier arm whirled for Sendai's face-

She ducked out of the way, and-

 _Fwoosh!_ -thrust her legs down towards Kiyoko's.

This succeeded in freeing the blade from her arms-

 _CRACK!_ -but failed in bringing Sendai out of attacking range, the armored boot of the predecessor crushing down on Sendai's stomach, which was vulnerable from her crouching position. " _Augh…!_ " ' _Fu~ck…!'_

 _Clang!_ Reimu hit the armored miko in the head again. "Leave Mom alone!"

...Slowly, Kiyoko faced the youngest Hakurei, almost on a delay.

 _Think_. Reimu hit her in the face with a jab of her gohei. "Yeah, that's right. Can't screw with me now, huh? How's it feel not being all powerful?"

...Stepping off of Sendai-

 _Thunk_. -and lightly punting her back with her heel, Kiyoko faced the youngest Hakurei.

Sendai rolled down the rest of the brim of the Hakurei hill. "Nnh…"

 _Think_. Reimu tried to jab her gohei into Kiyoko's exposed chin, but the Hakurei dipped her head in time for the piece of metal above it to eat the attack.

" _Fantasy Heaven!"_ Kiyoko held her one arm out, arching back-

Silently, her form vanished.

...Reimu blinked-

 _WHAM!_

Then, she cringed, something striking her in her gut, despite her intangibility. "Ufuh-"

 _BAM- WHAM!_ She flew to the side from repeated blows that came from nowhere, before getting slammed towards the hill by a force-

 _THUD!_ She rolled across the dirt, snapping back into reality, as well as snapping into unconsciousness.

' _What…!?_ ' Sendai felt the urge to get out of the way.

 _Boom!_ Crouching, she leapt up into the air-

 _Whish- whish!_ She heard air whip beneath her, parted by mighty blows that came from nothing.

 _WHAM!_

A force struck her in the back, sending her soaring forward. ' _Ah, ff-... well, this works._ '

As she soared, Sendai drew her Eye of Truth talisman. ' _She must be invisible, or something._ '

...Upon equipping it, Sendai's eyes adjusted to the white everywhere. ' _Holy magic…_ ' She was above the shrine, but only a few person's heights above it and the Torii gate, as she ascended over the hill's rim and just before the shrine's roof.

Then, she saw the unmistakable, pitch white form of the great Hakurei snapping towards her, the absolute pitch of her form making Sendai's adrenaline pump faster.

As Kiyoko's pure white silhouette neared, Sendai caught glimmers from the sword she held.

The blade she held flickered with white beneath the black, the sword itself attempting to slip into intangibility…

' _...That's it!_ ' Drawing an ether, Sendai messily ripped the cork open with her mouth, and chugged it.

The form of the Hakurei snapped up like a streak of light, ready to ravish Sendai.

' _Mom's spent, Reimu's spent…_ ' Sendai channeled all her mana into the blade, as she rapidly descended towards the shrine grounds.

Glancing up at the halo over herself, Sendai threw caution to the wind. ' _I've got auto-life,_ we've _got auto-life, for now...'_

Black energy washed over the escaping beams of light from the flickering blade-

" _Universitas!"_ Her mana flaring wildly and beyond her own control from this item crash attempt, Sendai sloppily thrust the blade out-

 _swish_

A line of gold was drawn in the air before her, expanding wide, across the entire hillside. Missable within a blink, a shockwave of white flared out from the swing, expanding past the matter around the two.

As Kiyoko's form of light connected with Sendai's body, the rip folded open-

Amber light shone upon the hill, and the rip revealed a black void, star stuff and clouds of astral energy visible-

 _ **BOOM- BOOM- BAM- BOOM**_

Chunks of meteor rock, slicing wind, and the extremes of heat and cold flared out from this rip in space and time as it expanded, blinding white following the amber-

 _BAM- FWAM- BOOM- BAM_

The rocks exploded as they hit the hillside, and as the rip expanded-

 _ **fwwwwWWAAA-**_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

 _Fwoash._ Life.

…

' _ouch_ '

Pain flourished across Sendai's body. It wasn't as bad as being seared to bone alive, but it was a close second.

…

She opened her eyes, vision blurry.

' _Where…_ ' The pain soothed rapidly.

...Sendai sat up.

Before her, Kiyoko sat in a kneeling position, her helmet off, armor seared black, her halo still above her head.

Reimu sat on a rock next to her, caked in dirt and mud, her black and white outfit torn to shreds, leaving most of her exposed. She didn't have the auto-revive halo above her head any longer…

Seinarubeki was nearby, also nearly naked, dirty, and depleted. "He- heal…"

 _Di- di~ng_. Sendai felt herself recover even more aptly. "Ah…"

' _What the hell happened…_ ' Furrowing her brows, Sendai searched her mind for the last few moments. ' _...Did I- oh, right, huge explosion._ '

...She looked around. To their left was a smouldering, dirty mound, and to the right of them was forestry.

"...I see now the strength of your resolve." Kiyoko spoke, now that all three of her descendants were aware. "...You two were more capable than anticipated." She panned her head towards Reimu, then back at Sendai…

"Perhaps I was mistaken, in judging you so harshly." Kiyoko reflected. "...It is interesting. Your strength is only a fraction of my own, and yet, in the face of certain defeat, you were determined to fight."

' _It only took…_ ' Sendai looked up at the starry sky. ' _All day. It only took hitting you all day for you to realize this. You… stupid fucking bitch._ '

…

Seinarubeki flopped onto her rear, exhausted. "Ah- well… I'm glad this ended well. I need to rest… for awhile."

...Reimu yawned.

"So~..." Sendai began to stand. ' _Oh, woah. So… stiff._ ' "...Wha- what I'd give… for a _hot spring._ "

' _We're gonna go find one, right now. I don't care why or how._ '

"Oh, yeah!" Reimu sprang up, suddenly revitalized. "Those should still be standing! I guess we can sleep there… maybe. Ah- by the way… we got a hot spring."

' _What…?_ ' Sendai stared at the huge, smouldering pile of dirt to her left. ' _Oh. That's the hill. Shit._ '

...Reimu stepped up to Kiyoko. "It's up to _you_ to replace the shrine. This was all your fault."

Kiyoko let out a brisk chuckle. "Ahah. I… suppose."

' _Yeah, you suppose. You nearly killed us probably forty different times in that last fight._ ' ...On consideration of this, Sendai recalled the moment where she healed Reimu immediately after stabbing her. ' _What a fucked up way of teaching discipline…'_

Sendai cracked her neck-

 _Krik- crack._ "Wo~w…"

' _Hot springs, now._ '

/ / / / Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode / / / /

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(2x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Reimu Hakurei,_ Shrine Maiden of Paradise

WEAPON: Gohei - Her regular gohei. Nothing fancy, but she likes it like that. Balanced and easiest for her to use.

INVENTORY:

Reimu's Outfit - Armpitless Hakurei attire. Excellent for flying. Seventy five percent holy resistance to anyone who isn't Reimu.

Hakurei Yin-yang Orbs - The Hakurei yin-yang orbs. Keeps her from getting fat when she eats sweets. Enables the use of Fantasy Heaven.

Money - For everyday living.

Talismans - Hakurei talismans. Used to seal youkai. Deals recurring holy damage, and may weaken foes.

SKILLS:

Spell Cards - Powerful danmaku and misc. spells which confer a variety of game-changing effects. Usually unable to be used more than once per fight. Part of formal spell card duels.

Danmaku - Non-elemental play bullets that deal scratch damage. However, its magic clumps up in the bodies it strikes, slowly disabling a target. Also able to confer statuses and elemental affinities, where damage bonuses are instead translated to how powerful the danmaku's stunning effect is.

Floating - Reimu can fly free. Incorporated in her Fantasy Heaven. Allows her to teleport, too.

Fantasy Heaven - The shrine maiden's innate abilities unleashed, brought to their most powerful, logical extreme. Showers the area in devastating holy magic and unleashes a seal nuke, before rendering Reimu impossible to hit and invincible for as long as she desires. Effects unique to every Hakurei miko. Requires landing seven melee attacks to execute. Due to the nature of this attack, it cannot be dispelled.

Barrier Magic - Reimu is well versed in defensive and technical Hakurei techniques, giving her a balanced fighting style that combines blunt attacks with defensive maneuvers.

Cleanse - Holy utilitarian technique. Heals one party member of all debuffs and negative statuses.

==o==

 _Seinarubeki Hakurei,_ Second Generation Shrine Maiden of Paradise

WEAPON: Great Gohei - A well-balanced, heavily reinforced gohei fit for both offense and defense. Works as a polearm and a casting focus.

INVENTORY:

Retro Shrine Maiden Outfit - Holds similar properties to Reimu's. More traditional, since flying was less of a conventional concept at the time, nor a constant practice.

SKILLS:

Holy Proficiency - Seinarubeki is seventy five percent resistant to holy magic by default.

Protect - Reinforces party members and self for up to seventy percent of incoming damage. Fades over time.

Temper - Reinforces a single party, allowing their attacks to deal seventy percent more damage. Fades over time. If they're capable of critical hits, they're given constant criticals for a short duration.

Spirit Syphoning Field - Large field that syphons the magical capabilities of foes, and converts their mana into aggressive yin-yang orbs, forcing them to rely on physical attacks. Dispellable only by destruction of the orbs. Does not work on syphon-immune foes.

Barrier Magic - Like Reimu, Seinarubeki is proficient in many barrier arts.

Floating - Like most other Hakurei maidens, she can fly as she pleases.

Heal - Unidentified healing magic that works through the power of mana run through faith, rather than just raw mana. Heals one ally to about full health.

Miracle Heal - Costly healing magic that provides intense, instant holy healing to five or more party members. Requires everyone to stay in an approximate area, though.

Mother Gaia - Earth magic. Using the direct power of the Hakurei god, a massive instance of earth magic crushes all enemies to the ground. Drugs all foes, and makes them tired. Blesses all allies, rendering them immune to status effects.

Fantasy Heaven - Seals the entire battlefield within a great barrier, to deny the mobility of enemy forces. Grants her brief invulnerability to engage enemies with both magic and physical attacks, and ends with the barrier shattering, dealing massive holy damage to youkai and healing all humans. Severely weakens youkai. Casts auto-life on all humans.

Other Magic - As a more magely sort of Hakurei, she has a plethora of other skills that haven't been seen yet.

==o==

 _Kiyoko Hakurei_ , Founder of the Fantasmal Barrier

WEAPON: Hakurei Blade - An unremarkable, economic katana, made insanely durable with incredibly holy and dark imbuement. Balanced and easy to use.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Universitas - Messy holy and dark attack that tears a rip into reality, exposing a small area to the harshness of the universe. Targets everybody. May instantly kill the party. Only available when Kiyoko's Fantasy Heaven is active.

INVENTORY:

Hakurei Daimyo's Armor - Incredible armor forged by a journey all across the land. Fifty percent resistant to all elements and status effects.

Fire Banner - A tall, red and white banner, with a flower insignia in the midst. Grants self and allies constant critical hits.

Iron Banner - Black and white banner. Renders self and allies relatively immune to common elements, and fifty percent resistant to damage in general.

Faith Banner - Red and black banner. Heals allies and self for damage inflicted upon foes. Increases speed of self and allies drastically.

SKILLS:

Dodge Tackle - A spiralling tackle that can be executed twice in rapid succession, achieved by channeling holy energy all through the body.

Achievement Barrier - Shrouds the user with an immense barrier, breakable only by an obvious weak point created by the weapon used to make it.

Phantom Blade - Control one's own sword with magic. Allows the sword to cast spells and attack independently of the user.

Blade Surge - Summon a flurry of copied katanas to barrage opponents. Usually more of a distraction. Works with more than blades, technically…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Release - Basic stabbing attack which allows Sendai to break Achievement Barrier.

Holy Power - Kiyoko can augment her limbs with holy energy akin to Sendai. Allows damage reduction, damage amplification, and enhanced physical abilities. Holy damage heals Kiyoko.

Dark Proficiency - Kiyoko has trained herself to use darkness as a utility. Grants an inherent fifty percent darkness resistance.

Balanced Soul - Agility is enhanced by the even utilization of light and dark in Kiyoko's body. Instant death immunity.

Anti-Glide - Tapping into dark energy allows Kiyoko to jitter unexpectedly towards enemies, providing for immediate flanking and surprise attacks.

Barrier Arm - With her barrier mastery, Kiyoko can create an awkward arm from barriers.

Holy Nuke - Charging the arm with holy energy, Kiyoko can fire an all-encompassing holy blast. Slightly heals all allies and removes debuffs. Weakens foes. Can be charged up to be more powerful…

Danmaku Dragon - A product of Kiyoko's rudimentary danmaku knowledge, as the practice was originally a Hakurei training tradition. Massive holy damage, which splashes to a wide area after the shape explodes. Breaks barriers.

Machinegun Talismans - Through her arm socket, Kiyoko can magically fire talismans at bullet speeds. Holy damage. Seals and syphons youkai.

Yin-Yang Cannon - Also with her arm socket, Kiyoko can fire exploding yin-yang orbs. Weaker, more spammable variant of Holy Nuke.

Sword Beam - A thrusting attack with a katana when health is high may result in a slow holy laser.

Evil Sealing Circle - Huge holy pad which seals and syphons youkai, and ebbs holy into the entire radius. May appear to remove gravity by propelling loose objects and debris off the ground.

Barrier Mastery - Kiyoko knows a lot about barriers.

More Skills - Also, she has a lot of skills.

Fantasy Heaven - She vanishes completely, drifting away from reality and using raw faith to damage opponents. Deals strictly holy magical damage in this state. Immune to all forms of interaction, except by others utilizing Hakurei techniques to shift planes, or by objects connected to her. Optionally ends by calling on the Hakurei barrier to unleash a final attack on opponents...

Floating - She could float, if she wanted to.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE

kiyoko fight / first gensokyian hakurei fight

and boy was it

i feel like my clarity of what's happening in these scenes has improved a lot

there was a whole lot of thresholds in this fight to keep the ACTION TENSE, from when Kiyoko went from just hitting the girls with the flat of her blade to just STABBING THEM OUTRIGHT

and then ramping up to holy explosions

...and then there was that time she finally got irritated with reimu using danmaku so she made a DANMAKU DRAGON HEAD and SMASHED HER WITH IT

that and this is a _really unprecedented scenario_ so the outcome was less clear than it might have been- especially portraying Kiyoko as _really powerful_ here

although yeah yo healing magic

my excuse for allowing the party to have healing magic is to make their opponents really stupid powerful so that they get fucking gored by them a lot

another thing i've realized that makes a lot of these touhou fights fun is that every touhou is just REALLY UNIQUE in terms of what they bring to the table- both in terms of danmaku and literal attack interpretations, and this series very much showcases how someone can better exemplify the character's powers in literature

...like not to toot my own horn but hoh

i say this but this fight showcased three OCs; and if i played my cards right nobody instantly got anal about them being OCs because they actually fit into the setting and aren't some alien freakin' ambominations

kiyoko was a good excuse to go all out with cool shit because like

she's _the_ hakurei, she put the- she put the ONI IN OLD HELL, and convinced the tengu to STOP PATRONIZING THEM. THAT ALONE should set some kind of crazy precedent for what the youkai of that era were, and what she was capable of

seinarubeki by comparison isn't terribly powerful, mostly because she focuses on making _other people_ OP

reimu really got the short end of the stick in this fight…! whereas normally reimu's super powerful because she's got range, and holy skills and danmaku, Kiyoko was pretty much holy immune _and_ all but immune to danmaku, and reimu's no super tankbuster with her melee attacks, so even with all her warpdash mania she was just kinda fucked

sendai on the other hand got her ass raped by the holy things but has the advantage of being burly so she can take constant abuse; and she hits stuff hard

...to that guy who wanted less god fights _well i'm sorry son but that's how the plot rolled_

if it's any consolation sendai's gonna take some time to RELAX and perhaps TRAIN after that bout, because _holy shit_

even with gratuitous buffs the party got thrown around like ragdolls . w .

...it might not be very clear what happened at the end, but i'll clarify it perhaps next chapter but also here: seinarubeki's fantasy heaven gives everyone auto-revive, _WHATEVER SENDAI DID_ killed everyone except for Kiyoko

and how it hit kiyoko yeah that's getting explained later _in the hot spring_

oh yeah marisa showed up

after getting hit once she probably didn't want any part of it

but she was fluffy and that's what mattered the most

also the shrine's gone: the real final boss is _where is everyone gonna sleep tonight dude_

also don't worry the hakurei won't always be shoved into every end-chapter summary herein; they're just here so i can fulfill my _sick urge_ to write skill and item descriptions, and because they'll technically be party members between this chapter and the next

it'd be way too OP for kiyoko to actually run around fighting people, even if there's a few people that'd be an _even_ if still unfair match XD

but we'll see where the plot takes us yo

post edit notice: don't worry about marcus and kourin's summaries being temporarily _absconded_ for the moment, it's just to free clutter and they only appeared for like _two lines_ this chapter anyway

as always, see you all next time!


	25. INT - Ancient Afternoons

_Spla~sh._

Cicadas chirped in the evening, while the Hakurei settled themselves into the fenced-in hot spring…

' _I'm sure the guys found a place to crash._ ' The hot water soaked into the miko's depleted muscles instantly. "A- ah, ah…"

...Splish. On a rock at the spring's edge. Reimu dipped her legs in, unwilling to just drop in as her mother did.

The emanating warmth of the water hit Sendai's senses like a wall, leaving an impression every initial moment, as she adjusted. ' _Oh my god. I had no idea… that I was this..._ ' She searched for the word she was looking for, before dismissing the thought.

 _Splash._ Her mother dipped into the water gracefully by comparison- "Oo- ooh, ah…" Despite her practiced grace, the soothing warmth hit her harder than she expected.

…Loud, slapping steps were audible from behind the girls, while they relaxed.

...Exiting the dressing house behind the hot spring, Kiyoko glared up at the dim, almost atmospheric white lights around the fencing. They were holy in nature; composed of glowing stones sat inside of tilted canisters.

Their light was just enough to bathe the spring in gray, sterile light, which made the water appear lucid and clear.

"Why are these lights so dim?" Still glaring the nearest canister down, she posed a question.

...After a moment, Reimu decided to answer her. "I mean. They don't _have_ to be bright. We don't need to let everybody in ten miles know we're taking a bath."

...Holding up her arm, Kiyoko channeled her mana-

-and suddenly, the rocky hotspring was as bright as daylight. ' _Ah, woah..._ ' Blinking, Sendai had to readjust her eyes to the glaring light difference…

"Be proud of your power." Lowering her arm, finished with channeling, Kiyoko made a declaration. "We need not hide in the dark. This is our land."

Reimu rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the light. "Geez. If it works for you…"

Finished with her momentary distraction, the great miko proceeded towards the water-

 _Spla~sh!_ She leapt into it, reaching the midst of it, creating a large wave in her wake…

 _Splash._ It washed past Sendai's face, the warmth making contact with her head. Immediately, she dipped deeper into the water, so the cold evening air wouldn't reclaim her newly soaked features. "Wo- woah…"

" _Eeh!_ Hey…!" Reimu, by contrast, shielded herself with her arms. "Really~..."

...After a moment, Kiyoko resurfaced, facing about everyone.

Seinarubeki wiped water from her face… "For some reason, I do not recall this hot spring in particular."

"'Cause it was made a few months ago." Slipping her legs into the water fully, Reimu slowly adjusted… "Long story short, some things happened underground, and this happened."

This caught Sendai's attention-

"Underground?" -as well as Kiyoko's. "What happened underground?" The miko's gaze was immediately stern and firm.

...Reimu stared into her serious expression blandly. " _Long story short_ … a lot of energy collected underground, and it heated a big water pocket up, and it shot up to the surface. Now it's here… and it's warm."

With that, she dipped her waist in. "Ho- hot…"

"What caused this energy?" Kiyoko was dead set on obtaining a concrete answer she was happy with.

...While the girls bickered, Sendai ran her gaze across their forms.

' _Reimu looks really soft. Mom's about as fair as I remember her being. And, grandma over here..._ '

Kiyoko's form made Sendai reconsider the upper limit of a human's capability to maximize their physical prowess. ' _She's ripped. Like..._ ' Glancing down at her own vaguely scarred muscles, she looks over the great miko's form again. ' _If I didn't know better, I'd compare her to an oni._ '

...Then, she paid attention to the miko's right shoulder- the only part of her right arm that exists. ' _Also, oni can regrow limbs, so… mmm. I'd like to know how she could've possibly lost it with that much power._ '

The last place Sendai bothered to compare was chests. Particularly, because Kiyoko's was of particular note. ' _No reason they wouldn't be big, I guess. I feel like they'd get in the way, but that's what my leotard is for, when it comes to my own. Considering her power, and that weird armor of hers, I don't think she cares.'_

...While her mind was on the topic, she surveyed her mother's bosom. ' _I remember her being bigger, for some reason. They're actually pretty modest. Reimu's are pretty cute, too.'_

"...So." Speaking of Kiyoko, her face was still stern. "...A _mountain goddess_ … that I've never heard before, fed the soul of the _sun god Yatagarasu_ … to an arbitrary hell raven, to rekindle Hell, and… create this 'nuclear fusion reactor'?"

' _Wait, what the hell are we talking about…_ '

"...And all of _that_ created this hot spring." Kiyoko finished. "Not only that, but there was effectively no change for an event so theoretically catastrophic and monumentous. Aside from _this_ hot spring."

...Reimu was now submerged up to her neck. "Well. Yeah. But there's that whole nuclear reactor thing."

Kiyoko gave a single nod at this. "Forgive me, for I am skeptical that such a powerful generator of power would not have been used by now, if it existed."

"But… it is?" Reimu began to grin from how derailed the discussion got… "It's used to help the kappa power their stuff, and for that god to power their shrine."

"Kappa…?" For a moment there, it almost seemed Kiyoko was going to smirk. "I would think it far more fitting in the hands of the tengu, or oni… or anybody else. That doesn't make sense."

"It's basically just a way for the shrine to be popular." Leaning against the rock she was near, Reimu let out a sigh… "...Like. I don't know what you think someone'd use constant electricity _for_ , but it's just being used to power lights and so the kappa can blow each other up easier."

"...Faith gathering, then." Kiyoko blinks, as if reaching an epiphany. "This god. What are her plans?"

Shaking her arms as she raised them into the air, Reimu was fed up. "When'd the hot spring become a war room…!? Can't we just relax, after beating each other's brains out?"

"Every moment we're unaware, we are vulnerable." Focusing on the youngest Hakurei, Kiyoko begins to wind herself up… "It is direly complacent to assume-"

"Mother…" After soaking in wet silence for long enough, Seinarubeki spoke up. "I don't think the minutes we spend bathing will hurt. Heaven knows how these two would have survived as long as they did if everything was out to get them."

…

Closing her eyes, Kiyoko sinks until her nose is in the water.

' _...Huh._ ' Focusing on her mother, Sendai smirks. ' _She actually defused her._ '

…

"Now that I think about it…" Staring up into the air, Reimu banters idly. "I can probably just yell at them to help build the shrine again, along with a few other people. Villagers just don't cut it."

"Hmm…?" The way she proposed this idea gave Seinarubeki questions. "Yell at who? The kappa?"

"Those gods, the kappa sure, some other random people. Suika would probably be handy to-"

"I'd nearly _forgotten…_ " Thrusting her head back out of the water's cusp, Kiyoko raises an objection. "That _oni._ She was banished to Hell, along with her brethren, back in my reign. _What_ _business_ has she up here, now? Her fellow harbingers of ruin aren't with her, so surely it's some manner of political…" Then, she frowned. "Oni don't play politics. Hmm. Why then-"

"You think too mu~ch…" Reimu grabbed her head, shaking it… "She just _wanders around_. That's just… what she _does._ "

"What has she requested of you?" Kiyoko demanded, voice raising. "Have you given into-"

" _Beer._ _Booze_. Sake. A place to sleep, sometimes." With that, Reimu begins to wade towards her… "She's alright. A little unruly, but-"

"Oni can only be trusted to fight and drink." Rising in the water slightly, Kiyoko made another broad declaration. "To invite them into your home- as a _Hakurei maiden_ of all things- is…"

"Lazy~?" Reaching her predecessor in the water, Reimu gave her a flat expression. "Stupid? Careless?"

...Narrowing her eyes, Kiyoko turned her head skeptically. "Above those demerits. Yet, you seem to wear such sloth with a badge of honor."

"Probably because I really don't care." Drifting back in the water lazily, Reimu made a small wake with her arms, using her floating powers to swim instead of her arms. "I know youkai can be dangerous, and I know it's not good to initially trust them. That doesn't mean they're forever evil, or something so stupid."

…

Therefore, Kiyoko prepared to launch a tirade. "Our land is great and worth fighting for. To-"

"I agree with the second half." ...As an afterthought, the young miko began splashing water around to accent her point.

…

"If it makes you feel any better, the land's alright too." Reimu added lazily. "It's not the greatest thing ever… but I prefer it to the outside."

Eyebrows raised, Kiyoko simply scans the gaze of the other Hakurei maidens…

' _I'm too busy loving this water to care that my family's a bunch of hardasses…_ ' Adjusting herself slightly, Sendai felt the warmth renew itself, comforting heat flowing into her. ' _Wo~w. I don't know how grandma keeps a stone face in this..._ '

' _Speaking of, she looks kinda young to be my grandma. At this point, Mom looks kinda young to be my mom. Dying early must be a chronic thing, or something… or grandma got a better deal on the revival. She's still missing an arm, so not good enough, apparently._ '

"...I _do_ wonder what has become of the outside, in my absence." Miraculously dropping her previous subject, Kiyoko lets her gaze pan down to the water in thought.

"From what I've heard…" Sendai decides to dispense what she learned…

...The other girls all focus on her.

"There's a _lot_ of humans." Focusing herself, the miko recollected Eirin's summary. "I believe seven billion total, right now."

"Seven _billion_ …" Kiyoko's eyes lit up, slightly. "Do you know the youkai total?"

"Really low, or none." ...Slowly, Sendai let her legs float out from under herself…

...At that information, Kiyoko legitimately smiles openly. "Excellent news. We were not _entirely_ conned, then. Who informed you of this?"

"Someone who knows the outside." Sendai kept questionable terms to a minimum. ' _If I say it's some lunar doctor, she'd probably flip out. If_ I _can hardly believe it..._ '

"What were their methods, for the remaining youkai?" Kiyoko wondered aloud. "...Or do you not know? Considering their scope, unless Yakumo was truly benevolent enough to grant us the heads of the world's ringleaders by pitting them against us, this cleansing would only be a step in the collective process. Has the nation finally sighted the value of our studies and practice?"

...At this line of questioning, Sendai let herself sink into the warm water, a little. ' _Hmm. I believe Eirin said something like…_ '

"It seems like… from what _I_ was told, it was less of a fighting situation, and more of a…" The miko searched for how to best describe it. "Because of technology and communication, fear of youkai sort of… stopped."

...Kiyoko blinked. "Stopped?"

"Stopped. So youkai stopped existing." Inhaling, Sendai took in the steamy hot spring air…

"But, how…" Kiyoko looked away, only for a moment.

 _SPLA~SH!_

' _Oh, woah!_ ' Sendai watched a geyser of water erupt next to her.

...As the warm liquid rained down, Kiyoko exhaled her epiphany. " _Westerners."_

...It took some moments for the bright light of the hot spring grounds to return after the surge of power and interfering water splashes dimmed it. ' _That was actually kind of pretty. The way the water sparkled and contrasted with how dark the sky is..._ '

On the other hand, the hot spring was a few feet shorter, for a moment. It was taking time, but more liquid slowly bubbled up from underground. As such, Sendai was left on a warm rock, that was quickly becoming a cold rock. ' _...The cold air's not so bad, either._ '

Reimu was hiding under a barrier, so she wouldn't get smacked by the raining globs, or pulled by the tidal effect her predecessor created. "Ea- ah…! And you say _oni_ are bad…!"

 _Ploop._ Quickly, she darted from the barrier as it dispelled, and into the lowered water.

...Once she reacclimated to the temperature, she glared up at the big miko. "What's this about westerners, now…!? It better justify nearly exploding the hot spring!"

...Kiyoko's knees were in the water, the warrior maiden remaining in the air above it through flight capability rather than swimming ability; as one would hope. "It is through _their_ meddling that the nation began to lose its identity. And, it is through their insatiable, _demented_ thirst for self-involvement, thrusting themselves into more intricate matters… and, global communications were likely ratified. Simply because they were so _blindly_ persistent, ignorant of everything."

The logical conclusion was for her to face Sendai and ask her more questions. "What do you infer slayed the youkai, then? Generations of artful faith, strategy, and martial mastery, or a million ignorant, malleable _pawns_ who so simply _forgot_ what youkai were?"

...Sendai challenged herself to answer the question without caring about the cold. "...From what I last heard, the outside has made a habit of killing _one another_ , now."

Kiyoko wasn't particularly phased. "...That should be an obvious outcome. If Japan was divided so, I highly doubt the lack of youkai would spread peace and rainbows amongst nations far and wide. I'm sure those economic _drones_ from the west have a part in it. Tradition, honor, and strength being replaced by mercantilism, deception, and _bureaucracy."_

...The water had risen to nearly normal levels again. As the water slowly crept up Sendai's form, beginning with her legs, before reaching her chest, she involuntarily exhaled. ' _Woa~h… hello again._ '

…

"So what's that have to do with blowing up my hot spring?" Reimu floated by the predecessor with folded arms.

"You're fortunate my last attempt at discipline was moments ago." Kiyoko faces her blankly. "I would not merit you with half of your statements otherwise."

"It's a good thing we got all the fighting out of the way, then." Grinning at her, Reimu leans back in the water… "Which reminds me. If you get into a fight soon- which, you _are_ , no doubt- use danmaku."

"It's almost as if every other sentence from you is an attempt on my patience." Kiyoko was now properly submerged again, once the water corrected itself. "You don't even seem to be doing it intentionally."

Floating along on the water, Reimu began kicking her legs gently, forming an impossible-without-cheating swim... "Your patience is asking for it, then."

This train of conversation began to remind Sendai of what lead up to this period of rest. ' _...That was some fight. Kinda funny that we just hopped in and immediately started talking politics and hot spring history instead._ '

"You know…" Speaking up, Sendai decided to engage in some actual conversation. "What kind of training do you do?"

...Kiyoko faced her, after no one else responded to the question. "...Are you inquiring from me?"

The verbose question provoked Sendai to tease her with a straight face. "No, I'm asking you a question. What kinda training did you do to get so strong?"

Reflecting, the great miko stared down at the water for a moment. Once she was ready, she looked back up at Sendai again. "...I don't train. I spar, and I fight. Once I was educated on the basics of my duty, I learned everything on my own through the heat of battle and guided experimentation. My role in the clan was very clear since my maturity."

"Oh, yeah." Coming to a halt in the water, Reimu spoke up now that the thought occurred to her. "How'd you _hit me_ during Fantasy Heaven? That shouldn't be possible."

...Kiyoko gave a blunt response. "Our god's power- the power of floating- works the same for all Hakurei. Some hold greater mastery of the power than others. While Tsukiko has all the floating ability of the common male Hakurei warrior, you are quite adept."

' _I'm pretty sure she just insulted me… but for some reason, I don't really care._ ' The hot spring made anger difficult…

"...So they, like, go to the same place?" Reimu guessed, before contesting the explanation. "But, since it's floating, it doesn't make sense that we can be interacted with."

"All I had to do was float up and catch you." ...Turning to Sendai, the great Hakurei scanned her form. "On that note, I'm sure you're curious as to how you struck _me_ , when I was so far abstracted from the world."

Shifting against the rocks in the lucid water, the miko gave a half-guess. "...It _was_ a pretty big attack."

"My blade is designed to float with me." Kiyoko explained. "...Your commandeering of it lead to a fortunate viability in countering me. I'd say it's my single greatest weakness, and it would speak a volume of your battlesense to utilize it yourself. That is, if you hadn't done it out of sheer desperation, after trying so many other options."

Sendai smirked at her. "Well, you didn't count on it, did you?"

"I counted on you trying to combat me with your new armament." Kiyoko revealed. "...I did not count on you combining holy and dark to such a degree, to splice apart reality near us and nearly kill yourself. It was a show of power that took me aback."

...At this point, Sendai wasn't sure whether or not this was going to end in a complement or an insult, so she just sort of sunk into the water. "...That's good, right?"

Huffing, Kiyoko closed her eyes. She once again seemed to float in the water, rather than exist independent of it. "...Let me restate the part where you nearly killed not only yourself, but your mother and daughter. Or, in fact, _would have_ , were it not for your mother's Fantasy Heaven fortifying your spirits against immediate death."

"How about the part where you stabbed us." Sendai retorted plainly. ' _It's not like I knew that ability'd blow us up, either. I wouldn't have had to use it if you weren't the bitchiest person ever._ '

"To test your resolve, and discipline you for your gross disobedience." Kiyoko retorted equally plainly. "Carelessness and ignorance jeopardizes the clan. It is only through the efforts and exemplification of your knowledge that I consider you and your daughter redeemable, despite your demeanors. Feel accomplished, but not proud, for you have a lot to improve upon."

' _Nah, I feel pretty proud. Aside from that exploding part._ ' Unwilling to keep the implacable woman's rant going, Sendai let her gaze travel to the shifting shades of the clear spring water. ' _Should help with blade pain, too, even if I won't always have a healer up my ass like I did here.'_

...In the steamy silence, Reimu grinned. "Talk about culture shock, huh."

...Kiyoko gazed at her, but didn't comment.

" _Woa~h!_ "

 _Snap!_

In the next moment, a woman clad in a white dress shirt and a black skirt appeared over the hot spring. Her small crow wings were flapping in her wake, as she snapped a photo. "Am I seeing _quadruple!?_ So the four shrine maidens thing was-"

 _SPLASH!_

...Kiyoko was now in the air, arm extended towards where the crow tengu was.

"Woah." Grinning widely, the youkai girl held up her camera. "Y'know, you're sorta fast for a-"

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ The woman slid to the side, Kiyoko's ofuda shooting past her like bullets, striking the fence behind her-

 _Bam!_ She hit a square, barrier-esque surface in the air. "Whah-"

...As she looked around, a barrier box was formed all around her, trapping her in. Taking one glance towards the spring, her eyes widened. "Oh, shit…"

As she reeled her knee back to start bashing one of the barriers-

 _SPLASH!_ Kiyoko was above her, water pouring out of the hot spring in her wake, splashing out the side, and some of it following her out…

 _CRA- WHAM- CRACK!_ Stomping through her own barriers, Kiyoko's foot connected with the crow tengu's torso-

 _BOOM!_ They landed hard beside the spring, a dust cloud splashing out from the violent landing.

"Hey, hey!" Reimu flew out after them, in her naked glory. "Hold it hold it _hold it!"_

...A moment later, Kiyoko stomped out of the dust, holding the tengu up by the collar. "Who sent you?"

"A- aha- awah…" Still recovering from the powerful slam, the tengu rolled her head about…

" _Hey!_ " ...Reimu drifted up beside them.

...Kiyoko gave her the most dour frown. "If this is your friend…"

"She's not really." ...Looking over at the tengu, Reimu propped her arms on her hips. "Still… what were you planning on doing to her?"

"I'm killing it." Kiyoko announced. "The tengu know their place. Scouts like these are foolish."

"Wha- _wha~t!?_ " The tengu girl snapped back to life at that. "Who even brought _you_ back…!? Why're _you_ _back!?_ "

...At that, Kiyoko tried to bring the tengu close-

 _WHAM!_ She smacked Kiyoko's head, making it rotate-

Jerking the crow girl to the side, Kiyoko tried to flip her around with a thrust and tug of her one arm, to smash her headfirst into the nearest surface-

 _Spla~sh!_ -which, happened to be the hot spring.

Following up, the mighty Hakurei brought her foot up and thrust it down-

 _Spla~sh!_ -not quite counting on the hot spring being there, falling in after the tengu.

" _He~y!_ " Expression flaring, Reimu dove in, her gohei obtained from parts unknown-

 _Splash._

…

From here, Sendai watched the vague tussle of colors beneath the water's surface, accompanied by the generation of uneven waves, the hot spring's contents rocking. ' _That happened._ '

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

INTERMISSION 5 - Ancient Afternoons

...Within the accompanying bathhouse to the spring, Aya Shameimaru laid on the floor, soaked, clothes ripped, hat missing, and covered in soggy talismans. "Wha- why~..."

Wearing the dilapidated rags of her edgy outfit, Sendai decided to don a towel along with them… ' _I'm going to need another outfit. Kourin has that rabbit's suit on him, but..._ '

Somewhere, dripping water was audible within the dimly lit bathhouse. Despite the shade, the central lane between the two clothes-holding shelves was immensely bright, a single orb of light flooding the room with clean light similar to the canisters outside.

...Idly, Sendai stared up at the soft orb. ' _It sure isn't sunlight._ '

 _Fwish._

Near her, Kiyoko summoned clothes onto herself with a flash of light. She a classic shrine maiden outfit, although there was a capped, almost armored opening past her right shoulder, where there was no arm. The metal crest bore a resemblance to her suit from earlier, bearing the flower insignia found in the Hakurei tombs, on her banners, and on her stone throne.

For a miko's outfit, however, it bore flashy black trims and red regalia. Her sleeve was long and fitted with gold, copper-esque bands of cloth.

...On her left arm, her single sleeve ended with the red interlaced ribbon at the cuff, akin to everyone else's, even if the sleeve wasn't detached.

' _That actually minimizes her breasts really well._ ' Sendai suddenly wondered where her immense bosom from before went. ' _I wonder how tightly she binds them. Probably tight enough to make an air current from them unraveling..._ '

...Reimu had on a spare outfit she'd had in the back of the bathhouse. "...Do you two have spare outfits?" She looked over her grandmother and mother respectively…

Seinarubeki was still in a towel. "It's extremely unlikely."

"Nope." Sendai stared down at her towel and rags…

' _We definitely need replacements._ _Unless Reimu has more outfits we can barely fit into…'_

...Upon glancing her mother, she reconsidered this. ' _Actually, Mom might fit Reimu's clothes okay-ish. I'm way too big, though.'_

…

Kiyoko locked her gaze on Aya again-

Reimu stepped up to her preemptively. "...I'm gonna take us some places so we can _get clothes_ and _sleep._ I want you to _not_ stab everyone we see, because some of them are _friendly youkai_ who will _help us._ "

...Still eying the captured tengu, Kiyoko uttered her response. "I will act according to my instincts."

"Not if they include stabbing people." Reimu waved her hand at her. "In fact, get rid of the stabbing people thing entirely, unless it's like, _actually_ necessary."

...Kiyoko finally looked at her. "...You've contradicted yourself."

Reimu slouched.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The four- plus Aya- progressed into the depths of the Forest of Magic undisturbed. Sendai lugged the incapable tengu along with her, bridal style…

Already naturally dim, the forest was ironically illuminated by the ambient magic particles, as usual; combined with the slowly shedding foliage of lesser trees and brush, the actual, towering magic trunks were immune from the change of seasons.

Now that they were moving, Sendai saw a yin-yang symbol printed onto the back of Kiyoko's kimono. ' _That thing's everywhere…_ '

...Aya grinned up at Sendai, within the miko's arms. "Hey there, momma…"

' _Just woke up, and she's already pushing her luck…_ '

"You say we should look out for _change…_ " For the first time since they'd encountered the fourth shrine maiden, Seinarubeki engaged herself into the conversation proper. "If things had changed, surely youkai wouldn't be terrified of approaching us. The Hakurei are their… _friends_ now, aren't they?"

"Just 'cause I'm friends with a few doesn't mean the rest don't get the _stick_." Raising her gohei for emphasis, Reimu focused her eyes as she stared into the shade ahead, floating ahead of the marching women. "Still, I don't kill anyone… often. I don't think anyone's killed me yet."

"...Is that so." Seinarubeki's expression was jaded…

...For some reason, Reimu cringed at that combination of words. "...That's tempting fate, isn't it."

...The incontextual statement confused the older miko. "What is? ...Hmm. I'm not trying to threaten you, if that's what you mean."

"Is that so~?"

Reimu facepalmed. "...Not quite."

Before the four Hakurei, Rumia floated out, her arms outstretched. "...Wo~w! You're all really magical!"

Kiyoko turned to Reimu, as if requesting permission to homicide-

Then, she took pause, focusing on Rumia again. "... _Her."_

"...So _bright._ " Like a moth to flame, Rumia hungrily approached the maidens-

 _Wham!_ Someone whirled from the brush, slamming into the youkai and sending her spinning off into the evening.

"Beep bee~p! Get _outta_ tha' way!" After her impact, Marisa jerked her broom to the side. Her momentum resulted in her spinning around in a wide circle for some time after the initial impact of her broom's tip against Rumia… "Woa~h…!"

...Once she was slow enough, Marisa was able to stop on a dime. "Hehe~y." ...Then, she looked over at the Hakurei. "So wha' was with the punch ta the face earlier, ze!?"

"You interfered." Kiyoko judged. "You deserved more, but I hadn't time to spare you."

...And so, Marisa was left on the awkward fence between countering her boast with a boast of her own, or leaving well enough alone and not riling up the warrior.

Smirking, Marisa shifted herself to let her legs dangle from her broom… "Yeah, well yer lucky I didn' jus' jump on in. I know how ta get down 'n' dirty!"

"Fight me." Kiyoko began to march forward-

"For freaking…!" Reimu rushed out to get between the two of them. "We're going to go get _clothes_ and _sleep._ Not break Marisa's bones, as tempting as she makes it sound."

"Aw, c'mon Reimu…" Marisa scratched her head through her hat. "I wanna see how she does one on one."

"You can get pummeled later." Dismissing her friend's death wish, Reimu continues to drift ahead. "We're going to Alice's, to get _clothes._ "

...At that, Marisa grinned. "Yeah. Half 'a you're naked fer some reason. What gets me is why only _half_ 'a you are naked…"

"Magic." Giving the easy answer, Reimu keeps moving forward…

"Oo~h." Marisa snorts…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

' _Oh, right. Whoops._ '

Sendai stared down into the moat of lances around Alice's house, from a few days ago when she and the puppeteer fought. Marisa hadn't followed them, after a little more reasoning from Reimu. ' _She'll probably catch us in the morning. She doesn't live far off._ '

"This looks welcoming." Seinarubeki frowned at the spiky abyss.

"Blame mom." Spreading her limbs, Reimu lazily drifted across the pit…

...Kiyoko raised her hand-

 _Shi~ng!_ A bridge composed of a single barrier formed, allowing her and the other Hakurei to tread across without excess exertion.

Within moments, all three women were on the other side, staring down at the doll magician's porch.

... _Cla- cla- clack-_

 _Crack!_ They'd all jumped over the first few steps, onto the upper deck. Kiyoko's landing broke the porch.

"Are you guys mental…" Reimu gave them a dry stare…

' _I have no idea if she'd hold a grudge or not._ ' Sendai justified the porch destruction. ' _The dollmaker, that is._ '

 _Crea~k…_

A tired, pajama-clad Alice swung the door open, rubbing one eye. "What's…"

...Slowly, she took a more lazy posture, staring out at the miko enjamble, hostage tengu included.

"...Whah." Idly, she moved to pinch herself…

"Hey, Alice." Reimu floated down before her predecessors, landing between them and Alice. "We, um, need some favors."

"Who're those other two…?" Looking past the shrine maiden, Alice furrowed her brows. "...And, really, now's not a good time." Additionally, once she sighted Aya, she just blinked a few times.

"Too bad." Propping her arms on her hips, Reimu insisted. "You can make the things in the morning, if you have to. We're staying tonight."

"For- why…?" Backing up, the puppeteer looked tired for obvious reasons. "Don't you have that box on a hill for a reason?"

"It exploded." Summarizing her plight, Reimu stepped inside, into the dark house. "Thank you very mu~ch."

"...That's Marisa's excuse." Watching Reimu walk further into the house, Alice simply let the miko brush past her. Closing her eyes, she slowly searched for something to lean on with her limbs...

…

Finished with her brief dozing, she turned to the three elder Hakurei. "A- ah. Well, don't just stand there. Guest room's on the left, and I'd _prefer_ if you didn't touch anything out in the main room here."

"Magi." Kiyoko spoke in solid monotone. "Do not test us. We are wise to your wiles, and to engage us, even within your own domain, means certain death. Pick your battles."

...Alice simply blinked at her. "Yeah, whatever…" Turning away, she trotted back inside. "I'm going back to sleep. Don't open my door, please… and don't let Aya run around. Treat her like a pet, or something..."

 _Click._ After her hasty retreat, Alice was obscured behind her room's door, which shut.

Once again progressing into the dim home of the puppeteer, Sendai readied to equip her talisman to see-

 _Fwash._ With a raise of Kiyoko's arm, the room's lighting became static.

" _Aa~h…!"_ Perhaps more than only that room's lighting. Alice suffered in the next room, snapped into wakefulness.

Sendai wasn't terribly put off by the dolls this time around. ' _I'm ninety percent certain she's not gonna do anything. She seems to know Reimu, so they should be cool enough for this to not end in disaster._ '

The wood floor reverberated slightly as Kiyoko stepped further into the home in her socks, respecting tradition even in what she perceived as enemy territory.

' _Reimu's already in the… guest room, apparently._ '

"This home is riddled with traps." Seinarubeki spoke quietly. She was still in her towel from the hot spring, with a lack of proper clothes to wear. "I don't feel safe here at all. Tsukiko-chan, what do you make of it?"

"This magician made my outfit again on request, after I beat her up and broke her dolls, and made that moat. And took her potions. She's kinda charitable." Sendai elaborated on what she knew.

"No magician is honest." With seasoned resolve, Kiyoko condemned the puppeteer. "Their discipline and knowledge is corrupted by dishonesty, greed, and ill-intent. Never believe you know a magician."

' _...Sure._ ' Sendai was skeptical of this advice...

Then, the miko noticed squirming in her arms. ' _Hey, you._ '

"Alice, huh…" Aya grinned up at Sendai. "I actually… know a few things 'bout 'er."

"...Do you." Bluntly skeptical, Sendai contemplated dropping her. "Like?"

"Hey, hey." Shaking her head, Aya clarified something. "I didn't say it was _free._ "

...At Sendai's rapidly diminishing faith in the tengu, Aya asserted herself further. "Bu- but it don't cost money! Just, information. Yen for a yen, yes?"

"... _What_ would you want to know." Frowning down at the tengu, Sendai decided to chance making a deal. As she did this, the other women finally took a glance at the exchange…

"...Remilia said something about Reimu and a doll." Aya grinned up at her, searching her form… "A- ah. Can ya get my notepad…? My arms're bound…"

' _What good will your notepad do you if your arms are bound? ...Also, I'm not sure why she was told that, but I don't think I should respond, even._ '

Aya was lugged over Sendai's shoulder. "Uh- ah…"

Navigating past the cautious women, Sendai entered the guest room with her captive, where her daughter was waiting-

 _Fwish._ From beneath one of the guest beds ahead, something whirled out while Reimu was fluffing a pillow some feet away. "Ah- hey…" She panned her gaze back to her mother and the new being...

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Kedama_ ====

Floating into the air before Sendai, a whirling mass of dust, magic and air existed.

' _What the hell is that._ ' Sendai blinked at the magical anomaly. ' _...Is it hostile?_ '

Drifting further into the air, it began to spin more violently, revolving around its initial point menacingly and with alarming speed.

' _It has to be…!_ ' Alarmed by its sudden velocity, Sendai charged her free arm with dark magic as it managed to arc towards her-

 _fwish._

...With a single frenzied punch, she'd destroyed it, dust splashing onto her barely-clad form. ' _Um…_ '

Reimu golf-clapped. "Good job."

The room was rather bland, fit with wood flooring and walls, and a beam-supported ceiling. It didn't do much to keep the elements out, but Sendai's body had adjusted to the mediocre cold well before arriving at the magi's home. ' _...Okay. I'm not sure what happened, but I won._ '

Plopping one of the plain ivory pillows down onto one of the three beds, Reimu looked over at her. "...So, here's the deal: we have three beds, and four of us."

Kiyoko entered the room behind them. "I will stand vigil. It is naive to believe-"

"You really don't have to." Reimu talked over her. "Look, Alice is-"

"You're being deceived." Confident in her knowledge, Kiyoko spoke over her in turn. "Magi-"

"You've hardly been here a day!" Reimu objected, once again interrupting her. "Ugh. Well, _I'm_ going to sleep. If you guys want to jump on the bed all night and be paranoid, go ahead."

 _Cre- creak._ With that, Reimu rolled over onto the thin, baby barf-colored blankets of the central bed of the three. "Nnh…"

…Sendai turned to her grandmother. "Do you even sleep?"

This question elicited a stony gaze. "All humans do. Do you?"

' _No._ ' Sendai was half-tempted to deny it.

Ignoring the hypothetical, Sendai lumbered towards the leftmost bed. Like Reimu's, it had thin, puke colored blankets, and a thin mattress with minimal leg room. ' _Better than nothing. It's been awhile..._ '

...Looking down at Aya in her offarm-

 _Thud._ Sendai discarded her next to the bed. "Unf."

 _Cre- creak._ The tiny bed groaned as Sendai aggressively plopped down into it. ' _These western beds were always kind of weird. Springs sort of make sense, but..._ '

...Laying back, the miko stares up at the brightly lit ceiling, the room a static, near-daylight tint.

"Hey." She spoke up about this problem. "...Can these lights, like… _not_ exist?"

...Kiyoko's head turned an inch in her direction-

-and then the room was nearly black, Sendai's mind rejoicing at the sudden dark. ' _O~h, yeah. This works..._ '

Closing her eyes, Sendai considered her day…

' _Hopefully the dying police relax, for a little while. I don't think the Yamaxanadu appreciated getting temporarily broken. Tomorrow, I should be able to get some good training in, before I do anything else about this mystery or anything else._ '

 _Cre- creak._ As someone else's bed creaks in the background, Sendai felt herself slow down…

…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

"Daughter."

Gold light poured into the guest room through the main room, the guest room proper curiously devoid of windows.

Sendai was peaceful, a thin cover splayed over her now. She'd just splayed out on the top of it without tucking herself in the previous evening, so someone must have helped her, for it to be so even. Lazy and relaxed, she barely registered being prodded and pestered…

" _Daughter._ " Her mother lightly punched her side. "You've slept long enough. Awake."

' _...I guess. Oh, shit, right..._ '

...Seinarubeki reeled her arm back-

 _Creak- creak!_ Suddenly, Sendai pulled her legs back and up, rolling onto her upper back in the bed-

 _Woosh!_ Kicking them out, she leapt out entirely, sending the blanket- and the new outfit placed onto her lap- flying.

' _Oh, yes. Full joint movement, no aches, no weird empty feeling after too much fake healing in one day…_ '

Free from the bed, she tilted her neck to the side-

 _Kri- crack!_ "O~h…" She beamed at the pleasant cracking of her morning stiffness.

"...You've discarded your clothes accidentally." Smiling at her daughter's enthusiasm, Seinarubeki moved past her to recover the clothing. "...Your daughter needs to be awoken, by the way."

"What time's'it again…?" Articulating her limbs, Sendai readied herself for her morning pushups.

"About seven." Her mother revealed. "...I figured an extra hour of slumber would be appropriate. Any more is simply lazy." From the corner of her eye, Sendai was able to see her mother in her traditional shrine maiden attire.

' _Unless it happens 'cause you're sacked. You generally wanna avoid waking up weird, though. Ma~n. That hot spring worked wonders…!_ '

Jogging over to her daughter, Sendai nudged her. "Hey, Reimu~."

"Mmrh…" Reimu was snug, curled up under her blanket, only her bow poking out from between the pillow and the cloth.

"Reimu~." Sendai kneaded her side. "Wakey wake~y. There's food."

"...Nnh." Normally, Reimu would resist, but the temptation of food was good enough reason to prioritize waking up over sleeping in. "Food…"

' _There we go._ '

Dropping to her stomach, Sendai began doing her pushups next to Reimu's bed. ' _Alri~ght. One, two, three…_ '

"...Hmm?" Her mother stepped over, looking down at her. "What are you doing?"

"Pushups." Sendai provided. ' _Seven, eight…_ ' "I'm planning on today being a training-focused day…"

...Her mother replied after consideration. "...I suppose you _would_ train, now."

...Rolling out of her bed, Reimu gets up, and rubs her eyes. Drowsily, she stumbled forward-

"Woah…!" -only to trip on her mother, landing on her.

' _Oh, hey. That's a good idea._ ' Sendai continued with her daughter on her back… ' _Twelve, thirteen, fourteen…_ '

As she did her exercise, Seinarubeki moved to retrieve her clothing for her…

' _Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five…_ '

"This is quite jarring." Her mother spoke, observing her daughter in the dim guest bedroom. "...You used to be so…"

"Tired? Lazy?" Sendai considered how she was when she was younger. ' _I was pretty fragile, for awhile._ '

"I'm not used to seeing you take yourself seriously." Walking around her daughter, Seinarubeki idly repositioned herself, to get another view of the exercise. 

' _That feels like such a long time ago. Thirty eight, thirty nine..._ '

...Shifting around, Reimu properly laid herself on her mother's back, and closed her eyes. "G'night…"

' _How._ ' Sendai felt her daughter get comfy on her back.

...Some pushups later, she gave an idle reply. "Yeah. Times changed fast…"

' _Fifty. I didn't start actually working out until a few months alone, and I didn't get a rhythm to it for awhile. Fifty five..._ '

…The morning air was relatively frigid for this time of year, but this was mostly negligible; Sendai had practiced long in the cold, and was prone to heating up during physical activity, which was almost always for her.

Her mother didn't mind, either. Her traditional shrine maiden attire was warmer than Sendai's and Reimu's combined, because the cloth actually covered most of her.

After a moment of spectating, Seinarubeki asked an observational question. "Are you trying for one hundred…?"

"Mmm." Sendai would have nodded, were she in a position to. ' _Seventy. Seventy-one..._ '

' _...Seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty. Eighty-one-_ '

Her mother spoke once more. "What are your plans, for today?"

Sendai grinned. "Gimme a moment. Still gotta think that one over."

' _Something something training. I'll iron out the details during breakfast, if the magician will make us any. Eighty-five..._ '

After some quiet moments, Sendai was about done with her morning push ups. "Ninety-five. Ninety-six. Ninety-seven…"

Alice stepped into the room, muttering under her breath. "Genuinely, if they all fell asleep in a pile or-..."

Looking over, she noticed Sendai.

"One hundred." Finishing her push-ups, Sendai did a couple more to account for any miscounting. ' _There we go._ '

...Once she was finished, she snapped into a crouching position, before springing into a stand.

"A- ah…" Reimu let out a little noise, clinging tight onto her mother's back. She was being taken along for the ride.

' _I thought your piggyback days were done.'_ ...Despite this, Sendai decided to leave her be. ' _...Where's grandma stabs-a-lot?_ '

"...Breakfast is ready." Alice reported to them. "By popular demand."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

' _Pancakes, huh…_ ' The main room was far less isolated and mysterious looking in broad daylight, with the sun shining in. ' _I'm kind of used to catching stuff and cooking it, or buying meats.'_

Sendai now had her outfit on. Getting it on took placing Reimu on the nearest bed, and once it was on, she equipped her daughter again.

Ahead of her, Kiyoko sat at a chair that seemed too small for her.

"Mm- mmrh…!" Still bound by talismans, Aya now had one around her mouth, seated near the great miko.

"You're up late." Kiyoko glared up at Sendai.

"You try fighting _twenty people_ in rapid succession over multiple days, and wake up on schedule." Sendai retorted, before gazing down at her seat ahead…

...Then, she looked to her side. "Pancakes, Reimu."

Drifting from her mother's back-

 _Thunk._ Reimu plopped down into a nearby chair. "Aa~h…"

"...I'm amazed you're still alive." Kiyoko regarded Reimu next. "You're quite blissfully unaware within this youkai's territory."

...Ignoring her-

 _Click._ Reimu shifted her gaze to the pancakes that were just laid before her by some generic, green-clad dolls. "Awa~h…"

 _Cli- click, click._ Three more plates were distributed across the table…

...As the other maidens took their seats, Kiyoko gave the food her seal of approval after a close stare. "These are poisoned."

"Wha- no they're not." Alice fluffed up at the accusation… "If I wanted you dead, I would've done it last night…!"

"...You chose to sleep instead, however." Kiyoko pointed out. "You simply chose not to bother, so opportunity arose only now. You have no reason to provide for us otherwise."

Across the table, Reimu massacres her plate. "Omf- mmh- ofmh…"

Which is to Kiyoko's disdain. " _Reimu!?_ _Cease!"_

...Only slowing down slightly, Reimu pans her gaze up towards the warrior-

" _Hi~shk."_ Reimu hissed with her mouth full, before continuing to eat.

" _Have dignity!"_ Kiyoko boomed, her voice reverberating. "Do you not know what this means?"

 _Fwap._ A single ofuda met the bridge of her nose. ...Slowly, she crossed her eyes to glare at it.

...In the meantime, Sendai looked over at Alice. "Do you have anything that _isn't_ pancakes?"

' _Seriously, this is about the fourth time I've had pancakes. It fills you and all, but it's more of a sweet or confectionary than good for you._ '

"...Truth be told, I don't need to eat." Alice explained. "I don't have much other than sweets, and easy-bake things."

' _...Oh. Guess I'll have to pick up something more filling later, then._ '

...Idly, staring at the golden rays pouring in through Alice's vaguely florally-trimmed window, Sendai poked at her pancakes, taking a few bites to stave off hunger.

Seated next to her own mother, Seinarubeki took some at first reluctant bites, before continuing to consume at a faster pace…

"...They're not poisoned, then." Kiyoko's brows were furrowed, expression stern. "I'm sure you've treated them some other way."

"You have trust issues." Alice dryly retorted. "...And, forgive me for asking, but…"

...Sendai looked over at her.

"Who _are_ all of you…?" Alice questioned her company. "Shrine maidens, yes, but…"

"Hakurei." Kiyoko refused to give anything more.

...Gaze wilting, Alice gave her a sardonic stare. "That's… kind of what I just said."

 _Gulp._ Swallowing down her pancake matter, Reimu took the nearby _mug_ of milk Alice provided for her, and began chugging. "Mgh- mgh, mgh…"

"...Listen carefully." Sendai grinned at her. "...So I'm _Reimu's_ mom."

...Alice's brows rose. "Oka~y…"

The miko pointed across the table. "That's my mom."

Seinarubeki waved. "Hello, magi. I am Seinarubeki. I am putting my trust in my daughter and granddaughter, _for now_ , to assume you aren't a threat."

"...Thanks, I guess." Grinning from the skepticism from the other half of the Hakurei, Alice readied to speak again-

"This is my mother, Kiyoko." The traditional miko gestured to the large woman beside her. "...I suppose I'm Reimu's grandmother, in this case."

"Kiyoko's also _my_ grandmother." Sendai interjected briefly-

"I am Kiyoko Hakurei." The experienced warrior spoke last. "I am the founder of the barrier. I see no reason to introduce myself to you. What I find odd is the absence of my name in your memory."

"...I'm not _that_ old." Alice countered. "Also, I immigrated here, I guess you could say. And… wouldn't you be more like a _co-founder_ of the Hakurei barrier? Considering-"

"Your statements are contradictory." The miko wouldn't have any of it. "If you've so simply immigrated, your knowledge of such a matter- if even the Hakurei clan has all but faded into history- should be limited, at best."

Working with the miko's statements, Alice explained her position. "...Yukari's pretty blunt about it. And-"

 _Crack._ The fingers of Kiyoko's left hand begin to sink into the table…

...Alice continues bluntly, jaded from the property damage. "It's not like I didn't know the Hakurei played a role. I just didn't know it was, well, _you_. Come to think of it, I actually have a lot of questions about-"

"What is Yakumo doing now?" Kiyoko shot her gaze to Alice proper.

"That's not a fair question." Turning away, Alice moved towards her back counter to grab something… "I don't really _know_ her, either. She's kinda…"

Picking up some royal red cloth, she turned to the miko again. "She's kinda everywhere. I've only met her a few times, at parties. I can't make heads or tails of her, myself."

"What kind of party?" Kiyoko asked a seemingly casual question.

"...Probably either the flower-viewing thing Reimu does, or one of that vampire's…" Alice focused for a moment. "Actually, yes, it was at Reimu's. She-"

"Enough." With that, Kiyoko was satisfied with what she learned. "...We shall utter her name at a minimum henceforth. While she always listens, we do not need to stir or goad her where we needn't."

...Slowly, plainly visible, a gap zips open behind Kiyoko.

She immediately looks in the direction of it, but doesn't tilt her head…

A gloved hand rests on the miko's shoulder.

…

 _Click._ Reimu sat her milk mug down… "He~y. Yukari~. Come on ou~t."

...Then, she second-guessed herself. "Wait. Actually, don't. It's too early to be annoyed…"

" _Yakumo._ " Kiyoko loudly monotoned the gap youkai's name.

...The hand kept on Kiyoko's shoulder, no change occuring in any way, shape, or form. Everyone sort of sat there, staring at this silent, meaningless exchange.

…

' _Well. This is more awkward than I expected it to be._ '

A voice took Sendai's gaze away from the gloved hand. "I think you see what I mean." Alice annotated her misgivings of Yukari's behavior.

...When Sendai looked back, the hand was gone.

"Toying with us…" Seinarubeki murmured as she glared at her plate.

In this moment, Kiyoko chose to close her eyes, and take a deep breath, allowing the gap youkai's teasing to roll off. "It means nothing."

 _Cra- crack._ She released her grip on the table, a hand-shaped hole surrounded with cracked wood left where she focused her ire.

She stood suddenly, her chair sliding back. "My daughters. We have work to be doing. Come." Making her apt declaration, she began to pace towards the door-

"Actually…" Sendai objected.

Kiyoko stopped, still facing the door.

"I planned to spend this day training." Sendai stated plainly.

...Kiyoko gave a single nod. "This is fine. However-"

"I gotta make some rounds to fix up my shri~ne…" Lazily, Reimu stood from her chair and stretched. "And then, I think… I'll sleep summore, or sunbathe."

...Kiyoko tilted her head, giving another single nod. "This is fine, too. However, when you are finished with what you need to do, you must return to me immediately."

"Or what?" Reimu gave a bland retort. "If you try to hit me again, I'm getting as many people as possible to just dogpile you."

Kiyoko clarified this. "I'm not giving a command. It is within our best interests that we make the best use of our time. You may waste it as you please, but you only hurt our clan in doing so. I trust your intuitions have led you both correctly until now."

The front door to Alice's abode swung open, Kiyoko proceeding outside. Seinarubeki moved behind her, giving her daughter a glance as she did so.

' _...I don't really plan on splitting off from them until we get to the shrine anyway. Once we get there, I'd like to do my own things while everyone else does theirs._ '

...Once Sendai moves to leave, Reimu gets up too. "Ah, we're going…? Thanks for the food, Alice."

"It's no problem." Alice waved at the two. "Just, uh, tell your family to relax a little. Everyone's more tense than _you_ , and that's saying something."

Smiling, Reimu stood, sliding her chair in. "I'm trying…"

...With that, Sendai stepped out the front door. ' _This magi was a lot more personable than I expected, honestly. Maybe there's some justification behind Reimu being so carefree..._ '

…

"Mmrph!" Aya began to hop at lightspeed after Reimu as she stepped after her mother-

 _Woosh!_ Dolls whirled from the shelves to grab her, and drag her back in. "No~ you don't. I have a favor to ask you…"

"Mrhmhmhm~!" Aya laughed pitifully, the vibrations muffled by the seal taped over her mouth.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

The four stepped out of the Forest of Magic, the dim blues and blacks of the sky within it instantly transitioning to a blindingly blue sky, the sun shimmering overhead, casting the marching Hakurei in white, pure light.

' _So bright…_ ' It took Sendai a moment for her eyes to readjust.

...The fresh, windy grassland they were paraded across lead to the Hakurei path and hill, which were not too far in the distance.

"...Such is why darkness is a tool, not to be confused with weaponizable magic." Kiyoko was lecturing along the way, but Sendai was only half-listening, past a given point. "In review, darkness festers and is fostered under emotion. Holy comes from external faith transfused through internal power. While most would need to practice and pray, our faith and blood is strong enough to circumvent this; evidently even for generations."

"I should clarify something…" Seinarubeki added onto her mother's words. "Darkness is grown and powered by emotions. Light, conversely, is only utilized through them; something that can only be honed with experience and practice, given our humanity. One is creation through internal, and the other is use through internal. This is important given the natural qualities of each element."

"You know what…" Reimu begins to speak up.

"Yes, Reimu?" Kiyoko faces her calmly as they step onto the Hakurei path. "What is it?"

She slouched. "I don't really think I care…"

...Kiyoko exhaled.

"Is there anything, like…" Sendai finally objected to the slow mental prodding. "I want something I might be able to immediately use. Not to say I'm disinterested in all of this; I still have a lot to learn, but…"

…

After a moment's consideration, Kiyoko gives a nod. "I suppose…"

They had arrived at the base of the stone steps to the Hakurei Shrine. Noises of clanking and banging could be heard emitted from the top of the hill, projected towards the bottom, posing a curiosity to the maidens…

' _Also, the stairs…_ ' Sendai's gaze ran over the fixed stairs. ' _These were not whole. I thought the whole hill got ransacked, too. Yet, the grass looks… really, really green._ '

"Since you have proficient- perhaps too much so- dark aptitude…" Kiyoko focused her attention on Sendai for the time being, despite these numerous oddities. "I will teach you the foundations of a strong evasive skill. I have noticed your… _less than competent_ attempts at teleportation."

...Sendai blinked. "I can... teleport?"

"That maneuver where you slide through lucid soul-bound entities." Adjusting her posture, Kiyoko seemed to stiffen her one arm. "I want you to try it now."

' _Slide through…_ ' Sendai thought she knew what her grandmother was talking about.

... _Fwish._ In her arms, Kiyoko summoned a regular gohei. "I will come at you with this gohei. Avoid my attacks."

' _Wait, what…_ ' Sendai grinned at the bluntness of the scenario.

...Purposefully wasteful and telegraphed, Kiyoko jogged towards Sendai, gohei raised for a mighty overhead swing with her one arm.

 _Woo~sh._ As she slowly brought it down-

 _Thwack._ Sendai guarded against it easily.

Kiyoko stared at the arms which blocked the gohei. "...My direction was to _avoid._ "

...Holding her arm out, Kiyoko closed her eyes-

 _Shi- shi~ng!_ Barriers erected around Sendai from both sides. Gohei appeared around the defending miko from all angles, in a sphere shape, ready to crunch her. ' _Ah…_ '

They snapped to encroach upon her-

Sendai's form flickered out, the miko gliding through matter towards the other side of Kiyoko.

Cla- cla- clack. The phantom gohei all collapsed together into the messy ball.

...After a still moment, Sendai reappeared behind Kiyoko, and all the things the latter had summoned were gone.

Quietly, Kiyoko leisurely turned towards Sendai, who stared at her expectantly…

"Such is your ability to float." Slowly lowering her arm, the miko's gaze met Sendai's. "Stifled and deficient. It even leaves you open when you return."

' _For a skill I learned when I was about to die, I guess that's kind of expected. I never knew a way to train it, even after using it a lot._ '

"...While that will be remedied in time, I believe this will help you make better use of your evasive skill." With that, Kiyoko-

 _fwish._ Slipped around behind Sendai, the moment she'd glanced away at a nearby shimmering tree. ' _Ah…_ '

...Turning around, tracing the almost invisible lines of black that indicated the miko's path, Sendai saw her behind herself.

"In truth, this ability is not dissimilar from floating, and works off of the same family of concepts. However, it works with leylines; a contrast to the free float we Hakurei are blessed with." Holding up her hand, Kiyoko let it freely burn with dark black energy, a clash of unholy light and smoky shade leaking from her palm and digits. "Even so, it is an effective tool."

 _fwish._ In the next moment, she slid back gratuitously, her form suddenly near the trees in the background-

 _fwish._ Sendai had to look around this time, sighting Kiyoko behind Reimu.

...Reimu turned, seeing her after a moment. "Oh, hey."

"It is important to note that you cannot pass _through_ something or someone, with this ability." Kiyoko closed her eyes-

 _fwish._ The lines of black in her wake appeared just aside Reimu, causing the younger shrine maiden's clothes and ribbon to billow. "Woah…"

"Allow the dark into your sense of sight." Kiyoko instructed her granddaughter, appearing before her again.

' _...Well, that sure is some speed._ ' Now Sendai's attention had been grabbed, by this display of abrupt relocation.

...Drawing her Eye of Truth talisman, she equipped it, slapping it onto her shoulder. The world around them was bleached white with ambient holy magic…

"More than that." Kiyoko was not satisfied. "You've merely tinted your lenses, like this. You must adjust your sense of sight. Not for the knowledge of where the lines are, but for the body to _know_ where they are."

...Considering this, Sendai tried to channel her darkness further into her head, removing the Eye of Truth talisman as she did so. Even with the talisman off, as she redirected the dark magic inside herself, the world changed to a myriad of different colors; the deeper the dark particles went, the more fractalized the world became in her eyes.

Quickly, once it was deep enough, she felt something weird in her chest, as she stared into a void of rainbow-colored crystals, as if she had her face against a picture of a stained glass mirror. ' _What the hell…_ '

She tried to move her arms and legs, feeling them far away from herself. Panning her head-

' _Bad idea, bad idea…_ ' The world of colors whirled around as she did so. By default, it was jerky since no one can keep their head laser-point still at all times, but to move her head outright caused a dizzying whirlwind of adjusting colors. It was like a kaleidoscope had been matted to her eyes, and no matter where she looked, the world was one void of color, far yet, in some strange way, close.

' _...For some reason, I feel so… far away. My limbs feel slow._ '

...Channeling the darkness deeper, she began to narrow her eyes, a shifting feeling from her sockets causing her unease-

Shutting them, the darkness forcibly expelled itself away, and Sendai saw nothing.

...Opening her eyes, she saw Kiyoko before herself again.

"...That seems like the first time you've done that." She commented on Sendai's experiment.

"...I typically keep my dark stuff _away_ from my brain. Because, you know…" Sendai wouldn't admit it outright, but she was skittish of fooling around with her mind. "Did I do anything while I was like that?"

"You had a mini-seizure in place." Reimu chipped in with some description. "You looked like you wanted to dance."

' _Oh._ '

"You'll have to draw it deeper." Kiyoko stated. "If you know holy, you can guide it. You're simply channeling it through the visionary pathways, and allowing your senses to adjust to the discrepancies it evokes with immediate reality."

...At that, Sendai took a moment to look around, before trying again.

The colors of magic filled her vision as her magic pierced the surface level of her sockets. Going deeper, her vision fractalized again, quickly shifting into indecipherable garble and colors. The further and further the magic darkness went, the more fractalized and crazy her vision got; the shards growing more shattered and smaller, smaller, and smaller.

Her eyes began to wince again. Once the flat crystals she saw were nothing but speckled gravel, they began to become undefined colors…

' _I'll have to jab it in, or my eyes will shut again._ ' Sendai felt this instinctually…

...Taking a breath, she drew it deeper-

Sudden, searing pain kicked her senses back. ' _Shit! Ow- aagh…!_ ' Something about it reminded her of the shattering of glass, even without noise.

Reeling, she stepped backward-

In her eyes, she saw nothing but black, for a moment. As she writhed in place in pain, clenching her fists and articulating her fingers, her vision slowly made sense of some things…

Lines, illustrated in a blue-white hue, like stars against a black sky. Dents of white mess like someone tossed a rock against a screen or a windshield, which slowly joined to one another with indescribably small lines. Like the fractals, they first drew grand squares and polygons of outlined black, before filling in and becoming a gravel of disjointed negative space. And then-

Her vision was white, the lines all filling in, her pain reduced to throbbing and mind finally returning. ' _...That… was a mistake, maybe. Fuck..._ '

...The white faded, color creeping in. Then, she saw Kiyoko before her.

"...There we go." She gave Sendai one of her typical, single nods of acknowledgement. "You've looked into the dark."

"More like got kicked in the teeth by it…" Sendai felt at her head, a lasting ache making her hiss. "Damn."

' _Thought I fucked up my eyes for a moment there._ '

"That's an apt comparison, yes." Kiyoko sympathized, seemingly. "Now that you've seen it…"

While Sendai nursed her forehead, Kiyoko drew her arm back in a moment, charging her punch long enough for Sendai to register what was happening. ' _What- oh shit-_ '

 _fwish._

 _Woosh!_ ...Kiyoko's fist blew past Sendai's face, catching her hair instead of her head.

"Ah…" Sendai stared ahead, as she slightly slid…

Then, she stumbled, the one foot slide nearly sending her sprawling over herself. "Woah…"

...Stepping back, Kiyoko commented on this. "More intuitive than your faux-teleport, is it not?"

"...Once I get used to it, maybe." Finding her balance, Sendai righted herself. "That's… huh."

...Stepping to the side, she thrust herself to the side, with no spectacular result.

"Execution requires the primal fear of being struck." Kiyoko elucidated, as she turned towards the steps. "For your expertise. There are other methods, though their methods of apprehension are less… instinctual, and less spectacular."

"I see…" As the ache of the stunt she pulled faded away, Sendai nodded. "Thank you."

...With that, Kiyoko took towards the stairs-

 _Clang!_ A hollow metal sound echoed from the top of the hill. " _Yeohoho~w!_ "

' _Alright, what's going on up there…_ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

At the top of the hill, the four Hakurei stared ahead at the sunny shrine grounds…

A red-haired cat girl clad in a black dress was ahead, rubbing her head. A large, dented bucket lied next to her. "Watch where ya toss yer _shit!_ Ngh... _"_

"Sorry~." Aunn scratched her cheek. "Tossing buckets moves them around faster…"

"An' hittin' people makes 'em mad faster!" Grinning, the black-clad cat began to look around…

Behind her, one of the shrine's walls was being raised by a large Suika. "A'right, ea~sy dosh it…"

The opposite wall gradually drifted back into place, a short blonde girl in a googly-eyed straw hat holding up both arms.

...Sendai looked over at Kiyoko.

Kiyoko's brows were promptly furrowed. "...What is…"

The black-clad cat walked up to them. "Woah! I didn' know ya had family, Reimu!"

"Apparently." Reimu grinned at her. "This saves me the trouble of rounding up help, I guess."

"Pfthaha~! Didja _see_ that blast!?" The cat girl beamed at her. "...Or were ya in it!?"

"I may have been in it." Reimu confessed. "It was her fault." She promptly pointed to the three Hakurei beside herself.

...Looking over at the three, the cat girl grinned widely. "Wo~w. They yer folks, 're somethin'?"

"Who're _you?"_ Sendai felt inclined to ask, as her predecessors stared on in baffled wonderment.

...She gave the miko a catty smile. "Call me Orin! I'mma undertaker!"

Once the two walls were up in the background, Suika ever so gently lowered a triangular, shingled roof, holding on with all fingers. "A'right, shtea~dy…"

"Why is _this oni…_ " Kiyoko's stare had slowly become jaded, "rebuilding the shrine?"

"Oh, right." Reimu glanced over at her predecessors. "People help rebuild it, and stuff."

"There is an _mountain goddess_ here." Darting her gaze around, Kiyoko further observed the company… "None of the parties arbitrarily aiding you make any sense. And-"

"Hey…"

Looking to the left, the shrine maidens saw a barefoot woman walk up, clad in patched-up clothes. Her blue skirt and plain beige shirt were patched and held together with what looked like talismans. Sendai was able to recognize the characters on them. ' _...Debt papers, and eviction notices?_ '

"Another god…" Kiyoko's brows were raised.

"Oh, there you are." Reimu greeted the other goddess on the scene. "Keep a few yards away from the construction and you'll be fine."

"I figured…" The navy-haired goddess stared over at the reconstruction. "This wouldn't be the first time somewhere I stayed blew up…"

"Oka~y!"

...Looking to the right, the shrine maidens saw a blue-haired woman in a peach-adorned sunhat run onto the scene, holding a sink. "I got the si~nk!"

...The low murmur of buzzing slowly became audible. Then, a small cloud of bees came over the hillside, zipping after the woman.

"Someone help me keep the sink!" Beaming, the woman ran off, holding the damaged sink over her head, as the bees roared after her.

"A… celestial." Kiyoko looked genuinely lost. "What is this."

...After running some distance, the woman whirled around-

 _Woosh!_ She swung the sink through the bees once they caught up to her. "...I can't place this sink with these things annoying me!"

Thoroughly confused and disarmed by this series of events, Kiyoko turned to her great granddaughter for information. "I don't know what's going on. Explain this to me."

"People are rebuilding the shrine." Reimu put it in simplest terms.

...Unappeased, Kiyoko restated the situation, both in confirmation and disbelief. "You have _multiple goddesses_ here, an oni I banished over a century ago, a celestial and miscellanious species normally hostile to humans, let alone the Hakurei shrine maidens. All… _rebuilding the shrine._ "

...The blue-haired girl placed her hands into her empty skirt pockets. "To be fair, I normally live here…"

Aunn stepped up to them, and beamed upon arrival. "I have located Shintoism!"

Orin cracked her knuckles, proceeding away from the four. "I'mma go eradicate those _bees…_ "

...Upon recognizing Aunn, Kiyoko blinked, suddenly pulled from her escalating hysteria. "...Of all the things to have survived of the clan's architecture. _This statue_ in particular."

"...Oh, _wow!"_ Registering the miko's words, Aunn bounded up to her. "It's you! You're alive!"

"It's… been long enough for you to turn into a youkai." Kiyoko stared at the ex-statue in rare baffled wonder. "...Today is drastically stranger, now."

Seinarubeki finally spoke up, after a long period of silence. "This… this was one of the statues I'd taken when the old shrine was sealed." Stepping up to Aunn, the maiden held out a hand to pet her. "I see you've retained the temporary form you'd taken when I made use of your stored magic. It's great to see you doing well."

"Uwoa~h…!" Aunn slouched at the affection. "S'you, too~...! Wo~w…!"

' _I'm not sure why random gods and youkai are helping Reimu rebuild her shrine, but at this point I'm more inclined to roll with it. This is weirdly happy-crappy compared to my relationship with youkai on this hill..._ '

...Orin moved past the party, now pushing a wheelbarrow. "I got bee corpses…!"

 _Clang._ "Sink pla~ced. Suwako, magic it." With that, the blunette celestial strolled up to the shrine maidens… "Oh, what's this? Reimu, you have a family!?"

"I'm gonna be getting that greeting a lot…" Expression dry, Reimu stepped up to the celestial. "Tenshi, what're you doing here?"

This question seems to catch Tenshi slightly off-guard. "...Well, I kinda got _dragged_ down here by Iku, and now she's gone. I went to find Shion, and then the shrine exploded. So now I'm fixing it, I guess."

...Reimu accepted this order of events. "That sounds about right."

...The idle sounds of construction continued, as the main shrine room seemed to be done. The grounds and structure appeared nearly identical to before, doubtlessly thanks to the mountain god who was currently lackadasically surveying the kitchen's grounds.

"I'm still gonna have to buy clothes and some of my furnishings, though…" Reimu was still vaguely displeased. "At least I won't have to run around to get people."

"Under normal circumstances, this many non-humans would mean a raid on the clan… or a small skirmish, discounting non-combatants such as gods or celestials." Even now, Kiyoko really couldn't believe what she was observing. "Yet, they're rebuilding it for seemingly… no reason."

Her words caused Tenshi to stare at her. "...Who're you, Reimu's mom?"

...Kiyoko gave her another rare expression, this one a dry stare. "Great grandmom."

"O~h." ...After looking away for a moment, Tenshi refocused on her. "So where were you, all this time? I always thought Reimu didn't have a family…"

After a moment of consideration, Kiyoko answered her. "Dead."

"Oh." Tenshi nodded, accepting this with a fair expression. "...Wait, I don't think that's how dying's supposed to work. You can't just come back."

"I did." Kiyoko replied bluntly.

"...Huh." Bringing a hand to her chin, Tenshi became determined to figure out the cause. "How?"

"...I _believe_ it to be an act of our god." Kiyoko decided. "Officially, I seek to find out."

"So you don't know." Tenshi turned away from her. "Wo~w."

...Despite the conversation being finished, Kiyoko continued to stare at the celestial, vexed.

Sendai looked over at her mother, who was still talking with the shrine dog…

"So I've been defending this place!" Aunn was still excited. "It's a lot of fun!"

"I'm glad to hear that." Seinarubeki gave her a warm smile… "Tsukiko-chan. Have you met Aunn yet?"

Stepping up to them, Sendai grinned. "I met her in passing a few days ago. I had no idea who she was."

Eager, Aunn stepped up to Sendai, beaming. "I knew who you were!"

...Sendai propped an arm to her hip. "For how long?"

...Aunn leaned towards her, speaking quieter. "Remember that time you tried to set up a water barrel trap, but then you fell in, and rolled down the hill naked?"

…

"That was… that was _thirty years ago._ " Mouth slightly ajar, Sendai expressed her amazement. "I only _barely_ remember that."

' _...I think I was seventeen or so. People kept trying to burn the shrine, so I was trying to make water bombs to put out their torches when they marched up the hill, and one thing led to another. That was scary, because if someone saw me, that would've been one hell of a mess._ '

"I'm… morbidly interested." Seinarubeki was fascinated by the scenario presented… "Naked? Water barrel trap…?"

...After a beat, Sendai smiled at her. "Ah. Well, basically… it was this water barrel that had a like, pressure bomb cooked on the inside of it, and it'd set off if hit hard enough, or, y'know, lit on fire. It was a little weird to set up, because like… you had to adjust the barrel-frame fixture for the bomb on the bottom, and since it was filled with water… I kinda had to like, dunk and work on it. It fucking sucked."

"...Why _naked._ " Seinarubeki asked her remaining question.

"...It was a long few days." Sendai recalled her more stressful times. "Basically, some motherfuckers had the idea to burn the shrine down for a few days. I forget when I lost my kimono. Clothes were kinda hard to come by…"

…

' _Maybe I shouldn't have transitioned into-_ '

"I'm sorry, Tsukiko-chan." Her mother sighed. "...I'm proud of you."

' _A-... ah._ ' It'd been a long time since Sendai received this kind of affection.

…

"I'm proud of you, too!" Aunn yelped out her appreciation.

' _I'm not sure what that means, coming from you._ ' Sendai smiled at the shrine dog… ' _Still, I'm glad you segued out of that moment, kinda…'_

...In this moment, Sendai looked around for her own daughter.

Nearby, Reimu was watching the progress of the shrine with a vaguely examining stare.

...Stalking up to her, Sendai addressed her. "So…"

...After a moment of still looking ahead, Reimu turned to her. "Hmm…?"

"Do you know all these people who're rebuilding the shrine…?" Sendai wondered.

"Yeah, pretty much." Nodding, Reimu looked ahead again. "...They just kinda feel like it, I guess."

In this moment, the small blond girl with her googly-eyed straw hat lumbered up to them, a donation box bigger than her hefted over her head effortlessly. "Hey ho~, hey ho~. It's off to work I go~!"

"Why're you rebuilding the shrine for Reimu?" Sendai questioned the small girl.

 _Thunk._ She brought the donation box down on a patch of grass, which had devolved into dirt specifically so the girl could place the box in it nicely. Then, she smiled up at Sendai. "Why aren't you?"

"You seem to be nearly done already," Sendai countered, "and that doesn't answer my question…"

The girl crouched down-

' _Woah…_ ' -before performing a 'short' leap, gaining more height than Sendai is tall, landing within the same second.

"I dunno." She decided finally. "Reimu brought us sweets the last time she stopped by!"

"My candy fell out of my pockets and you all took it." Reimu corrected from the sidelines. "...I _guess_ this makes up for it, though."

' _The amount of holy coming from this little frog girl…_ ' Sendai stared at the frog-esque goddess curiously… then-

 _Woo~sh!_

A woman clad in red and crimson, with purple, short but flowing hair appeared before the shrine maidens in a gust of wind. "Aa~h. You… four?"

" _Yasaka…_ " Kiyoko stepped up past the other shrine maidens, curious. "...How did you even get in here?"

Kanako blinked. "...You know my name?"

"I've heard tales." Explaining herself, Kiyoko stepped around her curiously, examining the goddess. "You're a wind and weather god. This land shouldn't be any of your business… unless you've truly grown desperate. Or..." The great miko seemed to uncharacteristically relax, taking note of the surplus of unexpected- and to her, unexplained- company.

Then, she found her resolve again. "So, that was you. What do you plan to do with this 'nuclear reactor' I've heard of?"

...After a contemplative moment, Kanako furrowed her brows-

"She's got'cha all figured out!" The mountain goddess did a short leap next to her.

"Oh, _knock it off."_ Kanako swatted her arm meaninglessly at her cohort. "As it turns out, the outside hasn't a need for _gods_ any longer."

...Kiyoko took this well. " _What!?"_

Sendai snapped into attentiveness from her volume. ' _Oh, boy._ '

...The sound of steps from the steps could only mean one thing: people were using the steps immediately behind the miko party.

Turning around, Sendai saw two women progress up the steps. ' _Why did the shrine exploding attract so many non-combatants…? If this happened when I was around, I would've had to haul ass before the horde arrived. Or, later in my life, just fight the horde._ '

Once the two women reached the top of the steps, the one in the dark-colored dress spoke. "It seems there were a few more faces than the article depicted…"

"Greetings, maidens of Hakurei." The other woman wore purple earmuffs, and a long cape. "We've come to check up on you."

...Kiyoko seemed to ignore them outright for the moment, leaving the confrontations up to Sendai. "Who're you, even?" ' _And what crack do you all keep crawling out of?_ '

Gracing the miko with a courteous bow, the fluffy-haired woman introduced herself. "I am Toyosatomimi no Miko. I've come to see what the commotion was about… and if the rumors were true."

...Sendai really wasn't sure how to interpret _this_ much of an influx of visitors in such short time. "Good for you." The formalities instantly turned her off, though. ' _Not into these pompous aristocrat types._ '

"Really…" Reimu wasn't particularly enthused, herself. "Why're you two here? Don't you have brochures to make, or something?"

Miko snorted at her demeanor. "I know you don't want us here right now, but we've come to lend a hand. That, and… _investigate_ this situation." She more specifically gestured to Sendai, and the warrior behind her…

...Looking back-

Sendai saw Kiyoko brush past her, stepping up to the vocal woman. " _Prince Shotoku_."

The non-Hakurei affiliated miko looked up at her. "...Hello there. And you might be-"

"One hundred years… changes _this_ much." Closing her eyes, taking in the surreality of her situation, Kiyoko inhaled…

...Upon exhale, she focused on the prince again. "I know of the sealing of your mausoleum. By all accounts, you failed. And… now you're a _woman._ "

"...I'm here now, aren't I?" Miko gave her an uneven, cheeky smile. "You speak as if you knew well of me, but I know nothing of you. I don't mean to be rude, but… it would be nice if-"

"Kiyoko Hakurei." The miko didn't feel like giving a grander explanation than that. "Our clan's matters are unimportant to you, Shotoku. Sully your faith elsewhere."

"Ah." Miko's expression slowly shifted into a more cynical one… "Well. I mean no harm. I've done nothing to evoke your ire."

"You've done something to evoke my ire." Kiyoko instantly contested her words. "However, I do not care. Leave."

...These words said, Kiyoko began surveying the shrine grounds again, running her gaze over Yasaka, the small mountain god, then the essentially finished shrine proper. The giant Suika was now nowhere to be seen, now that the large construction had been finished.

' _...Yeah, I'm just as confused as you are. Just a little less so, but..._ '

"Now, now…" The black-clad woman gave her attempt at consoling the big miko, her expression patient. "...I don't-"

Kiyoko already began walking off, foregoing her words. "...Oh." The black-clad woman smiled awkwardly…

...Sendai looked over at her daughter. "Who're these clowns…?"

Reimu had her arms on her hips. "Clowns." She apparently didn't feel like saying more…

' _Ah, good. Why are they here..._ '

"We're busy, so leave." Waving off the two women, Reimu moved towards the shrine. "This place is already stupid crowded as it is right now."

"She's right, you know…" 'Goddess Yasaka' drifted before Sendai and the two newcomers… "I~ was here fi~rst. But, if you two are curious, I've got jobs for _you…_ "

"No thank you…" Both women replied instantly, unappealed by Kanako's teasing demeanor.

"...I _suppose_ I'll leave." Miko decided. "...You may do as you may, Hijiri, but I doubt you will ease their stubbornness. Perhaps we will return on a less busy day."

"Perhaps…" After a moment's contemplation, Byakuren smiled at this compromise. "That sounds fine."

' _Yeah, get out of here._ '

As the two women turned to leave, Sendai stared them down. ' _Random chummy youkai are okay, but you two carry yourselves too middle-groundedly to not be suspicious._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Inside the shrine, Kiyoko rested upon her decrepit stone throne, which was once again erected from nowhere, piercing the floorboards.

Reimu stared at the bare floor longingly. "...I'm gonna need a new kotatsu."

A plethora of uninvited guests who worked on the construction were conversing amongst one another in the background, the room faintly illuminated by the warm glow of the midday sun.

"Get off my ta~il!"

"You slid it there…! Okay-"

"Stupid dog! Ya made me look bad!"

"...Well, good-"

"Ooga booga booga!"

"Aa~h, I'll _find ya_ a new kotatsu!" Louder than the room's murmur around her, Suika boasted to Reimu, smiling up at her from the floor.

"...The last time you tried that, you couldn't bring me one in one piece." Reimu shot down her good intentions. "No."

Ignoring the commotion in the background, Sendai focused on the wind god Kanako, who sat on the air before Kiyoko.

Retaining formal, reserved posture, Seinarubeki also contributed to the conversation, positioned next to her own mother. "I don't recall you being here when _I_ was here…"

"We moved here recently." Sitting in the air with her legs crossed, Kanako allotted information to them. "...The outside has grown cold to faith. Gensokyo was nearby, so we decided to move our venture here."

"...So I've heard." Kiyoko accepted this information. "So you have sought refuge in here. How pitiable."

...Kanako's brow twitched at that. "Pitiable? I _suppose._ Who are you to declare such? We still obtain far more faith than this _box on a hill_ , I'm sure. Some mortal hasn't the capacity to gauge a god's fulfillment."

"You went from the potential to render nations at your whim, to delaying the inevitable within this temporary refuge." Kiyoko talked down to the god before her.

...Kanako's face didn't change. "Delaying the inevitable? What do you mean?"

"Once youkaikind has been eradicated, there will be need for it no more." Kiyoko announced.

...These words had a palpable, immediate effect on the room's atmosphere, those present giving the warrior maiden a variety of looks and stares.

"You plan to what, now?" Kanako smiled at her, amused. "Really?"

Not feeling the need, Kiyoko didn't restate herself.

...Resisting the urge to sigh, Sendai shifted slightly, taking in the resulting staredown. ' _This was going to happen. Let's hope the shrine doesn't explode again._ '

Hopping up from out of Sendai's vision, Suwako got near the scene. "Eradication's a strong word!"

"Well…" Leaning forward, Kanako considered her options… "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong. Shrine maiden- your youkai thing, I mean. Not whatever-" Her sandal met Suwako's cheek, a leg whirling from her folded sitting position in an instant. " _-she's_ going on about…"

"Owie~." The blow simply made Suwako tilt lazily… "I'm being eradicated…!"

...Kiyoko's gaze was equally as stoic as Kanako's.

At the miko's non-response, Kanako continued. "You see… youkai are one of our primary producers of faith on the mountain. I can't simply allow you to go around eradicating our followers."

' _Youkai can believe in gods?_ ' Sendai was caught off-guard by this idea.

"Youkai holding faith…" Kiyoko's lips curled, for almost a moment. "Considering your well of power, this must be true. I'd never seen such practice personally, even if a few sects were rumored to have materials relating to dark gods, or some other such nonsense."

Kanako's eyes lit up. "Oh, right, that. It's been awhile since I've seen the relics of that social scene. Rest assured, I hold the same ambitions as any well-meaning god strives to."

"...Phrasing it like that speaks to the opposite." Kiyoko furrowed her brows.

"It's what I thought you wanted to hear." Relaxing, Kanako drifted back slightly… "As long as my actions hold merit, you needn't unnecessarily trouble yourself."

"Well put." Kiyoko cast out a slow wave of her arm. "Leave."

...Kanako blinked. "Ah…?"

"We have business." Kiyoko declared her reasoning. "Tell me where your shrine is. I will visit it later."

...At that, Kanako paused, carefully considering how to most tactfully reply to this. "...Fufu. Well-"

"We're top 'a the mountain!" Suwako did a short leap next to her fellow goddess. "Y'can't miss us! Just below the peak!"

...Slowly, Kanako rotated to face her peer. "...You- I am gonna-" She lunged for her-

"That sounds most accessible." Seinarubeki chipped in again. "...A shrine atop _Youkai Mountain_."

Kiyoko genuinely snorted. "...I look forward to visiting it. I have fond memories of the mountain."

…

"Suwako, make me a kotatsu." Swooping in out of nowhere, Reimu interfered while Kanako stretched Suwako's cheeks.

"Wuwhawu?" Suwako was unable to speak, because cheeks.

...Kanako reluctantly retracted her hands-

"Kotatsu~?" Suwako repeated herself.

"...Yes." Reimu anticipated nothing productive, bracing herself.

"Kotatsu _fu!_ " Bringing both her arms back… Suwako grandiosly thrust them forwards-

 _Fwam._ A danmaku kotatsu was generated before her. It glowed pale brown, translucent and hostile looking.

...As it sat on the ground, Reimu was tempted to approach it. "Really…"

…

After weighing her options, she moved to touch it-

 _Fwam._ The entire table, blanket and all dissipated, launching Reimu into a small backflip in place…

 _Thud._ She landed on her stomach. "Oof…"

' _Wha- hey._ ' Objecting to this sequence of events, Sendai stepped up-

"Ah…" Shion bumped into her. "Excuse me…"

' _Where'd you even come from…_ ' Sendai never noticed the navy-haired goddess get so close. Brushing past her-

' _Oh- ah! Woah!_ ' Slipping on the new wood floor, Sendai flipped forward with almost pre-determined grace-

 _Thud._ She faceplanted the floor, the rest of her body flopping down a moment later, leaving her on her stomach. ' _...First time that's happened. What the fuck._ '

"Tsukiko-chan…" Her mother stepped up to her. "Are you alright?"

' _What do you think._ ' Sendai grinned despite her situation. ' _Manage to survive fighting grandma, get hurt falling onto a wood floor after trying to walk._ '

"Yeah…" Pushing against the ground, Sendai got up-

"Ah…" Her mother _almost_ fell on her, drifting into the air at the last second. "Something is amiss."

' _No shit._ '

...Clapping her hands together, Kanako drifted for the exit. "As _becoming_ as this whole meeting has been, I believe we'll be going…"

"I look forward to our next meeting." Kiyoko gave her a parting. "...Perhaps I will visit my old friends, the tengu, as well."

"...You do that." With that, Kanako hurried her float. "Come come, Suwako. We're done here."

...Then, she turned. " _Suwako._ "

"Hehehe~!" Orin flailed her tails around, Suwako leaping through them like a game of jump rope.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

' _It's so late in the day._ ' Sendai stared out the shrine's open door. ' _We spent a lot of the early afternoon getting acquainted with all these random faces. On the upside, the shrine's back, so it all worked out… I think._ '

The sun was still well around noon, but it was noticeably further than it was before. Orin and the goddesses took off some time ago, but there was still a myriad of faces on the shrine's grounds…

 _WHAM!_

Tenshi slapped Suika, causing the oni to spin in place. Once her momentum slowed, Suika cut it off, and quickly wound up a punch...

 _WHAM!_ "Ngh…!" Tenshi spun around on her heel, sliding backwards…

Shion was nearby, sitting against a wall, her arms on her knees.

 _WHAM!_ ...While the invincible people hit one another in the room's midst, the misfortune goddess pulled out a small, dull blue cat doll plushie from seemingly nowhere. She glanced around, almost as if to make sure no one was paying attention to her.

Sendai tried to look away preemptively, but found herself almost forced to gaze longer. Shion's eyes met hers, and the goddess seemed to clam up.

' _...She sure does a good job of being misfortune._ ' Finally able to look away, Sendai shrugged off the event.

Kiyoko was boredly staring at the two strong people hitting each other. "...Hmm."

Romping into the main room, Reimu moved for the front door. "I'm gonna go out and get my stuff, and set up things so I can get more stuff soon. See… you all later, I guess."

"Stay safe." Sendai gave her a nod as she moved past her.

...Looking back, Reimu grinned, before heading outside.

' _...That's probably ironic coming from any of us, isn't it._ '

…

' _Since mom's in the kitchen getting it sorted…_ ' Sendai's gaze panned to the seated Kiyoko.

If Kiyoko noticed being stared at, she didn't acknowledge it in any way.

"...I thought we had business, and all that." Approaching her, she decided to pick her brain a little. "What happened to that?"

...Kiyoko slowly rotated her head to look at her. "We do. However, it is clear that we all have unfinished business, and preparations that deserve attention. Come see me again, when you feel you are truly ready. Do not take too long."

' _...For some reason, that sounds really resolute. That might just be how she talks._ '

"I think I'll head out then, and get on with my training." Sendai moved for the front door as well. "See ya later, granny."

...At Kiyoko's lack of response, Sendai continued out the door.

The later-noon sun shined down on the shrine's front. A gentle breeze blew through Sendai's thick royal red apron, making it sway slightly.

' _Let's go see where the guys ran off to. They need some training as much as I do._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(2x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

sendai's social anxiety fight

or maybe hot springs fight

but anyway

a long chapter discussing some metaconcepts and things! and also inter-gensokyo politics

markedly different than what we've seen up to this point but it comes with the territory of these people from far different times of gensokyo

each generation of hakurei maiden is basically a sliding scale of seriousness

oh yeah i just remembered that one guy go "why there no males" again but that's basically just because, well, in this timeline there's only four slots including current maiden, barrier founder and the two inbetween; one is sendai, one is reimu, and while a guy could've founded the barrier i like the whole "OOH YEAH BADASS SHRINE MAIDENS" trope this's got going on

...not to say that there weren't males when it was a clan or before the barrier though, but four is a kind of small generational sample size - w -

also now sendai gets some well-deserved preparation and grinding- i mean training for the next big series of encounters dude

this may or may not be an excuse to fight misc touhous who'd never be part of an arc otherwise

filler? well most of these fights and arcs are technically "in the way" of the basic plot at hand but probably not since _she really does need a moment to do her thing_

also this is a good moment for the party to actually focus on getting stronger, and we all know _some of 'em need it_

i tried to focus a little more on some environmental descriptions here and there

i notice whenever i make stories i can have long bouts of dialogue but that's pretty much _the point_ in these longer, wider-scoped works

for more directioned works / organic conversations or scenarios back and forth exchanges, i dunno, i just always see 'em done a bit DIFFERENT and with less SCALE

or maybe i'm just too familiar with my own writing XD

although with the length conversations can sometimes impromptu extend to it's hard to keep a fully meaningful descriptive funk without sometimes being taken out of my elements and accounting for potential inconsistencies

but that's alright, we have revisions for a reason

kiyoko versus diplomacy: the big battle

my intent to take this chapter places just kinda kept going on and on and now it's like 13 k words almost

although sendai did get that dark swooshy dodge i wanted her to have - w - one of her first post-arc abilities that makes that concrete of a difference

and now for her to improve her *basics* among other fun new skills to spice up your life, my life, and numerous other unrelated lives to hers

oh yeah i wanted to break format with the x bloodlines and x afternoons thing but ancient afternoons sounded good so hoh

also removed an ether sendai shouldn't have had at the end of last chapter; not sure why i remembered that _only now_

as always, see you all next time!


	26. 6-1 - Smoke on the Water

_Di- di~ng!_

The shop bell of the Kourindou chimed, the miko who came before brushing her way inside. In the midday light, her eyes adjusted to the dim store interior, even with the sun's golden rays splaying across nearby shelves, and the counter ahead.

Tracing the lines of vibrant light, she saw Marcus and Rinnosuke there, as well as Marisa…

"See?" Smiling, Marisa gestured to the miko. "I toldja she's alive!"

"We never thought she was dead." Behind the counter once again, Rinnosuke was crouched down, inspecting his things…

Approaching the counter, the miko ran her gaze over the grinning Kirisames, then the shopkeeper, as he inspected beneath his counter… "You guys find a place t'sleep last night?"

Marcus snorted, turning away from a pile of junk near the room's rear. "Ah, yeah. Marisa stuck 'round here for awhile, too. She got beat up just fer flyin' _near_ your fight…!"

"...Yeah. It was a hell of a fight." Sendai continued to stare down at Rinnosuke. Below the counter, he was thumbing through some papers, his brows furrowed…

' _Good to be back with the guys. They're gonna need a lot of attention… because, if there's anything the past few days have told me, it's that these guys aren't really all that combat-ready. They can sling potions well, and they're getting more skills, but… hmm. I don't know if I should make them practice motions, or just… keep shoving us into fights for the raw experience. That sounds kinda stupid, but that's how I learned. I guess-_ '

"Yeah, I'll say!" Marisa was instantly next to her, causing the miko's thoughts to stop for a moment. "You blew up the whole damn shrine, ze~!"

...Looking back over at Rinnosuke, Sendai rose a brow. "What're you doing?"

He didn't reply, either too engrossed in the paper he was examining, or having simply not realized the call was directed at him.

"Aah. What'cha readin', Kourin?" Marisa leaned onto the counter, and reposed the question for the miko.

...Looking up, he stood before the girls, setting the papers down. "Oh. Just… angry letters, from the shinigami and Eiki. They're sort of… _tilted_ about that whole 'resisting arrest' situation."

' _Letters.'_ Sendai felt the urge to smile at the mundanity. ' _Because trying to crush us and instant kill us wasn't good enough.'_

"Eiki can stick it in a pipe and smoke it." Despite not knowing the context of the situation, Marisa was quick to disparage the authorities. "Actually, the heck's she want with you, Kourin…!? How bad didja screw up!?"

Snorting, Rinnosuke shook his head. "Well. It's not necessarily _me-_ "

"Don't bullshit me, ze." Marisa repositioned her arms on the counter. "I won't rat 'cha out, seriously. I bet all ya did was slap Komachi's ass."

...Rinnosuke just gave her a level stare.

...Suddenly beaming, Marisa gave him an exaggerated shrug. "I mean, hey, it's- it's real slappable! I'm not gonna lie!"

Deciding to spare Rinnosuke a precarious explanation, Sendai turned to the witch next to her. "You know I'm supposed to be _dead_ , right?"

…

Marisa's smile became a different degree of mirthful. "Y'know, suddenly it all makes sense! I'd like ta know why they're bein' mailed _here_ and not the shrine, though…"

...Rinnosuke furrowed his brows. "The shrine gets mail?"

' _Not as far as I can remember._ ' Shaking her head resolutely, Sendai moved towards the door. "Don't think so. Also- you guys all set here?"

' _I'll hold over until we stop by the village and pick up some good meats. I've still got my money- somehow- so it shouldn't take long. But, while I'm here..._ '

"Mmhm…" Marcus leaned against a largely unused section of the counter, which was more left than most of Rinnosuke's desk. "I passed the time by watchin' your shrine explode, an' fooling with these future machines…" He held up a toaster he'd claimed from a nearby shelf for reference. "I still haven't managed to make _this thing_ work. Y'see, I put thunder into the wire part, but the last one I did that with just blew up!"

' _Future machines, huh.'_

"You still owe me for that." Rinnosuke objected from the sidelines, behind the counter still. "We may be friends, but who knows when I'll get another one of those furnaces. I'd like to protect the ones I _do_ have."

"Y'know, they need _stable voltage_ ta work, dad." Marisa stared at her father sardonically. "Y'know what- lemme see it-"

Uncomfortable with _anything_ Marisa had planned, Rinnosuke rounded the counter to save the toaster. "Look, just put it down…"

"Kourin, do you have any _food?"_ Sendai questioned the shopkeeper bluntly, interrupting his rescue mission. "All I had this morning was pancakes. I need real food."

' _I don't remember doing much with the pancakes either. I could use a snack at this point...'_

...Pausing mid-way around the counter, he looked over at her, before blinking. "Ah. Hmm." ...Then, he focused harder. "Well, I usually order meats from a couple select vendors nearby. If the village doesn't let me in, some nearby youkai are usually kind when it comes to animal hunts, during the day."

' _That's great, but…'_ "Things I could eat _right now._ " Sendai propped her right arm on her hip. "I don't want to spend the rest of the afternoon hunting down shady food dealers in forests. Who even _sells food_ in the forests?"

Rinnosuke stands idle, before formulating a response. "...Well, there's a few people. There's some lamprey stands, and a few traveling big meat sellers. There's a few people at the lake who sell fish."

"Are they fishermen?" That sentence jogged Sendai's memory, so she asked an experimental question...

' _I used to know a small band of village fishermen. I wonder if anyone does anything like that now, or if they're still alive._ '

"...I wouldn't quite say that." Rinnosuke decided. "Otherwise, all I have are longer-lasting goods. I don't typically keep meat in here, because of the geography. Sometimes dried meat, but not right now."

' _...Hmm._ ' Sendai shrugged, indifferent. "Well, I'm planning on heading to the lake for the later part of today, so perhaps we could see about those… fish."

 _Za- Boom!_

Sendai snapped into a defensive posture, after something exploded. ' _Ah. What-..._ '

Marcus and Marisa stood facing one another, their hair blown back slightly, the latter's hat gently gliding off.

 _Cla- cla, clack._ Toaster parts fell from Marcus's hands...

" _Hey!"_ Breaking from the counter side and snapping towards the two mages, Rinnosuke's expression flared. " _What_ did I say!?"

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 6 - Training Tour

STAGE 1 - Smoke on the Water

...Nearing the edge of the Hakurei Path, the party began to near the Misty Lake once more. In the late noon's sun, the three proceeded steadily. The remaining autumn leaves on nearby trees shimmered with the soft breeze that swept across the land, the day itself brisk but not unpleasant.

Marisa had wished them luck and parted ways, off to do her own things, or perhaps see to Kiyoko for the sake of annoying her. ' _That's not my problem, though.'_

...Sendai's gaze hung on the area she'd remembered Eirin's craft landing on. ' _...So I died somewhere over there, huh. I guess that's an alright spot to spontaneously flip over and die._ '

"So!" Marcus clapped his hands together, before looking over at Sendai. "...Wha' was all that 'bout the shrine blowin' up?"

"My family lineage revived too." Sendai put it perhaps too bluntly. "...By which I mean, grandma wasn't the happiest to see us."

' _Now that I'm thinking about it, the whole 'figure out why I revived' thing sort of got derailed. I assume grandma's got some kind of plan for that, as well as mom. If they don't, I'll see about it, because really… it's really something we should be thinking about._ '

She looked up at the lake. ' _But, for now, I practice. And, before that, buy fish, somehow._ '

They'd reached the shore, the water practically glowing from the sun's rays.

...Panning her gaze to Rinnosuke, she questions him casually. "So, where's the fish person?"

Reaching into his backpack, he continued towards the water even as the other two stopped. "Hold on. I've got to get their attention…"

From within his bag, he drew a cyan box. On the front face of it, there was a big, blurry graphic of a beige fish with cartoony, glassy eyes.

Reaching into the box, he drew some clumps of nougat-colored food, and chucked them into the lake.

...They softly landed along the water before him. Sendai and Marcus stared at him as he tossed one more handful of clumps.

"...If we're going fishing, I'm going to be _so_ disappointed." Sendai gave him a dry stare…

"No, no- it's not that." Rinnosuke waved a hand at her. "Look, just wait."

"They gonna leap out at us, 're somethin'...!?" Marcus grinned into the water. "Oo~h!" He turned to Sendai, excited. "Maybe you could leap in and _grab 'em!"_

...Her expression in return was jaded. ' _In this weather… actually, that wouldn't be terrible. That'll really only work if I see a good big one, though. I'm not catching the tiny ones worth a shot in hell. He might make it sound like a silly idea, but… I've done it before. Heck, I only did it a few days before I spontaneously died. Let's see...'_

…

After some moments, fish of all shapes and sizes came to snack on the food, as it rested on the water's surface.

A particularly tubby fish neared the shore, devouring one of the larger clumps before the small ones could peck at it.

' _Oh, woah._ ' Sendai locked her gaze onto the big fish. '... _That might not be a bad idea after all._ _Marcus has fire magic, so we could just cook it up right here, too.'_

"Hrrm…" Shielding his eyes with a hand, Rinnosuke stared out onto the lake. "It might take a few moments."

...After taking a few steps forward-

"Hup!" With dark-charged legs, Sendai leapt past Rinnosuke-

 _Spla~sh!_ Landing into the shallows, Sendai thrust her arms as she sank-

 _Splash- Spla~sh!_ The water's surface roared with noise as she threw further herself down into the water, her stomach and dark-enchanted legs brushing the bottom of the shallows near the shore.

' _Got it…!'_ Though this action caused all of the fish to zip away in confusion and fear, the tubby one she sought she'd pounced directly towards. Though her initial leap was short, the fish had taken a moment to double back and reconsider where it was going, leaving it prey to her grasp.

' _Holy cra~p._ ' Diving into the water after not touching it for awhile was always a shock to her system.

...Curling up into a ball with the slippery fish firmly held, her hand dark and black from the mana being used to keep a crushing hold on it, she let her legs and the action of compacting rotate her.

 _Spla~sh._ Standing up in the shallows, she held up her catch. "Woo~! Got o~ne!"

' _First try, too. Given, it_ was _a big one, for the shallows. Must've been because it's so cold.'_

...Rinnosuke stood there with raised brows, mouth ajar.

"Pfft- hehehe~!" Marcus giggled, nodding at the result. "I kinda forgot ya _did things_ like this! I mean… s'not like anyone else really cares to!"

Sloshing out of the cold water, Sendai gave them a grin as she used her free hand to part her hair from her eyes. "Yeah, well, I don't think many people can handle the _cold!_ "

' _I'd nearly forgotten just how cold the water is. We should start that fire soon. It doesn't seem cold enough to chill me, but right now I'm not sure…'_

...Rinnosuke slowly turned to her. "That… wasn't _quite_ what I had in mind, but I guess… that works."

...Sendai looked over at the squirming fish in her hand. It was aggressively attempting to escape, but she'd already made sure her grip would hold by just about crushing its tail with her hand. ' _Not really big, but not pitifully tiny, either. A few more should do._ '

After looking around, she huffed. "We don't have a bucket. Kourin, what were you going to do with the bought fish without a bucket?"

"...Marcus would've been able to make them float, because they'd be dead." Rinnosuke reasoned, before staring back out at the water. "Because, you know. We were going to _buy them_ , not _hunt them_."

"Buy them from what, the lake?" Sendai still hadn't seen a fish dealer. Then, she looked at her new fish. "...So what'm I going to do with this fish?"

 _Clo~ng._ Marcus plopped down a bucket from somewhere. "I've got a bucket!"

' _Not going to ask where he found that._ ' Sendai kneeled before the crude-looking tin bucket, which Marcus was filling with water.

 _Ploop._ She deposited the fish. "There we go. Should keep it fresh, until we massacre it."

' _I was planning on practicing sprinting across the shallows today as it was. This should be a good warm up…_ '

Sendai turned back to the lake-

A woman in a green kimono rested in the water behind Rinnosuke, as he gazed at the bucket. The blue-haired woman stared up at him expectantly, and Sendai could see small fins around where her ears should be.

' _Ah- that's…!_ ' Upon initially seeing someone that close to him, Sendai tensed up. She then relaxed, seeing the lower half of her body. ' _...A mermaid. Usually pretty docile. What's it want from us?_ '

...Once Rinnosuke turned around, he was face to face with the mermaid. After taking a step back from the water, he smiled. "There you are."

"..." After a quiet moment, she spoke. "I have the fish, if you have the food…" Staring down at the box, she smiled greedily… and then recomposed herself. "Also- who're they…?" Apprehensively, she gestured to Sendai and Marcus. "...One of them looks like _Reimu."_

"Just some friends." Rinnosuke waved their presence off. "You have the fish, right?"

 _Ploop._ A large bubble emerged from behind her, carrying the corpses of three extremely large fish. "These died down below just recently. They're mostly untouched, so they should be good to prepare."

...Sendai stepped up to them, gazing up at the swirling bubble of dead fish. "How long've they been dead exactly?"

...The mermaid focused. "A few hours. Big fish are more common than you'd think, down below."

' _Is this lake really that deep?_ ' Sendai was somewhat skeptical… "Huh."

...After a moment, she levitated the fish over towards the shore-

 _Spla~sh!_ The water bubble popped, and the dead fish plopped onto the dirt bank before the lake.

Rinnosuke handed over the entire box of fish food. "There you go. I have a whole box this time, so I shouldn't need to pay in yen, right?"

"Three thousand yen per…" The mermaid shook her head.

"What…?" Rinnosuke jerked his head back. "That box cost me three hundred. How about two thousand two hundred?"

"Three thousand." Immediately, she began snacking on the food within the box, chewing on the nougat-esque, powdery chunks with a satisfied expression… "It's bad for the ecosystem to just remove fish, you know."

"You said they were common…" Shaking his head, Rinnosuke slightly held his arms out. "We had a deal."

' _Those are pretty big fish for just three thousand…_ ' Sendai examined the huge fish that were some feet away from her. ' _They're each almost as long as I am tall.'_

"Three thousand." The mermaid refused to change her offer. "You can't get bigger fish, here in Gensokyo. Well, actually…" Trailing off, she stopped herself from elaborating.

...Sendai stepped up to her-

 _Splish- splash._ Her sandals trudged through the mud and water as she neared the mermaid. "How about we _spar_ for this load? For the payment. You can keep your… food." Sendai stared at the fish food uncertainly.

"Spar…?" The mermaid blinked in further apprehension. "Um…"

Objecting to this idea, Rinnosuke folded his arms. "I… don't _really_ think that's necessary. But-"

"I'll go _easy._ " Trying to placate everyone's concerns, Sendai negotiated terms… "I just wanna get used to fighting in the water a little again. Mostly because, it should serve to keep me thinking on my feet more, and I can practice how I use my limbs. I'll be fighting in the water, of course."

...The mermaid was still uncertain. "I don't _know…_ "

' _She's really shy. But...'_

"I mean, really, if you're _that_ weak, you can just swing your tail around and make currents or something." Sendai decided for her. "I don't think that'd be sparring at that point, but-"

"Well- I'm not _weak._ " Becoming defensive, the mermaid refocused on Sendai, her gaze lighting up. "I just don't like fighting. But I'm not bad at it."

"You could _say that…_ " Sendai grinned to convey her mocking uncertainty. "But, you know… I guess it's not your fault if you're too weak to do that sort of thing."

"Really…" Sighing, the skittish mermaid looked down at her fish food, then up at Sendai. "Alright, fine. If you really want me to half-drown you that badly, follow me."

...Raising the fish food above her head, she cast it forward-

 _Thunk._ Rinnosuke caught it somewhat easily. "Ah…"

"Hold on to that." She gave him a nod. "Follow me, human." Gesturing for the miko to follow-

 _Splash- Splaa~sh!_ A crescent of water was flung into the air in the mermaid's wake, as she flipped back into the water and darted off with fluid, bullet-esque speed into the lake's center.

...Taking a few steps back, Sendai readied to plunge into the lake.

"You _know…_ " Exasperated, Rinnosuke slowly turned to her. "This… actually, no. Good luck, I guess." Giving up on convincing her to do otherwise, he gave her a wave.

Grinning at his change of heart, Sendai gave him a nod. "Thanks." Then, she bolted forward-

 _Bam!_ Kicking into the ground beneath her, she sent herself soaring up-

 _Woosh!_ Kicking forward with a leg cloaked in black, she flung herself towards the lake's center.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Wakasagihime_ ====

 _Splaa~sh- fwuu~sh…_

With a full breath in her mouth, Eye of Truth talisman equipped, Sendai descended into the midst of the Misty Lake, the bright daylight surface quickly giving way to an aquamarine midst, with only half the brightness of the daytime outside.

In here, with a glance up, Sendai could see the shimmering surface of the lake, the sun's light meeting the water and creating a bright, shifting and web-like ceiling.

' _So blue…_ ' Putting her breath-holding skills to the test, Sendai lucidly floated not too far from the surface, channeling dark energy into her limbs. ' _Where's that mermaid…?'_ She allowed herself to rise in the water…

' _Holding my breath's going to be… an experiment. As long as I don't panic, this'll work.'_

As she scanned the lower, black depths of the lake below, she sighted numerous shifting fish, submerged chunks of ice, and a number of magical signatures emanating from the shady abyss below.

' _Ice…? Is it really that cold?'_

The most vibrant source of magic- or perhaps closest one- emerged from the darkness. A pair of blue, luminescent eyes greeted the miko.

" _You really followed me down here…?"_ The mermaid's voice flowed all around Sendai, while the miko idly let herself drift up and higher. " _Wow. I didn't think you'd get this far so quick."_

Sendai couldn't say anything in return, holding her breath. ' _Not sure if that voice thing's the water, or...'_

" _I guess we'll get started, then. How many cards?"_ The mermaid looked up at Sendai questioningly…

...Sendai furrowed her brows, and pointed at her full cheeks. ' _Really. Danmaku. A mermaid… knows danmaku. Who even taught her. Did Reimu? If so, why? And, how?'_

" _Oh, right! Uhm, for now…"_ The mermaid cast her hand forward-

A bubble formed around Sendai's head, momentarily. The liquid around her face immediately displaced itself, leaving her head ironically dry.

"...Hua~h." After a moment, she inhaled the air within. "...I… see." From within the bubble, the watery edge between the lake and her small air pocket was shaky and uneven, flowing violently as if a small gravity rift were made around her. The water around her was reduced to a dark, blue blur.

" _This is just temporary, I think. Maybe."_ The mermaid considered what to do with the advantage she gave. " _For now, so we can talk."_

...Sendai allowed herself to drift freely, now that air wasn't an issue. "We're not playing danmaku. Well, I'm not, anyway. I mean, sparring. _Actual_ fighting. You can use danmaku, if you really want to, but I'm going to be trying to punch you."

...After blinking twice, the mermaid rose her brows. " _Wha-... really? Okay. If it works for you. If I win, you have to pay the three thousand yen instead. If you win, you keep the fish for free… minus that box of food."_

"Sounds good. Loser's whoever gets knocked out. No walking on land, so if one of us runs around on the soil, we lose." Sendai defined her side of the terms. "...No cheeky ideas about becoming a land-maid and raining hell."

' _This whole situation's weird._ '

" _Wha- okay…"_ Shaking the notion off, the mermaid clenched her fists. " _Hold your breath, human. I'm gonna remove your bubble. Oh- and..."_

...Giving a soft smile, the mermaid's clothing and hair fluffed up in the water. " _My name is Wakasagihime. It's nice to meet you."_

Sendai inhaled, and held her breath. ' _No use in saying mine, 'cause she's gonna-'_

 _Pop!_ The bubble collapsed, and instantly all the water crashed into Sendai's face. Exhaling lightly through her nose, she instantly-

 _fwush!_ -kicked her legs and threw her arms down, to propel herself up.

As she neared the surface, she pulled her arms back up easily, scrunching back up into a ball before-

 _fwush!_ -thrusting herself even further up-

 _Spla~sh!_ "Hwa~h!"Surfacing, she allowed herself to coast across the water's surface for a moment, inhaling, before returning to the water.

 _Spla- uush._ Back under the waves-

' _Ah- woah…_ ' Sendai defocused for a moment, as she was tugged deeper below the surface of the water. With a brief tilt up, she confirmed that she was sinking-

The mermaid's tail whipped past her face, kicking against the water just before her as she swam down with the Miko's waist in her clutches. " _Don't panic."_ She heard Wakasagihime's voice reverberate through her. " _This'll be over soon."_

' _Yeah, sure…'_ Narrowing her eyes as she was brought further down into the black beneath, Sendai bent her legs up, before moving to wrap them around the mermaid…

Once they were poised around the mermaid's shoulders, she hugged onto the mermaid's slippery tail. ' _I can't grip the tail, but…!_ '

" _Ow- ow, hey- ow!"_ Her legs began to clamp onto the mermaid's torso hard-

 _fwuu~sh._ While Wakasagihime scrambled, Sendai felt herself part from the mermaid and ascend slightly. ' _Alright! Ah- air..._ ' The maneuver did force her to use up most of her air supply already, mandating her to thrust herself back up further and further-

In the next instant, she was being pulled down again. " _You're not getting away from me!"_ This time, the mermaid was upright, pulling her down in reverse, smirking into the miko's gaze-

Sendai simply grabbed onto her throat and started choking her. ' _Hitting stuff outright- need air…'_ Unable to finish her thought, she waited for Wakasagihime to attack her hand for crushing her throat…

Wincing from the pain- albeit not from asphyxiation- the mermaid moved to claw at the hand on her throat-

 _Fwuu~sh!_ -before kicking away and out of Sendai's grasp entirely, leaving the miko to sprawl back in the water.

 _fwuu~sh._ After a clumsy backflip under the waves, Sendai curled up and unleashed again, ascending once more. ' _How deep did she take me!? C'mon…!_ '

 _fwoo~sh!_ As the water shifted, she uppercut with a dark-imbued arm, sending her roaring upward slightly faster-

 _Splaa~sh!_

"Houaa~h!" Taking in a big, greedy gulp, Sendai felt the biting, bitterly cold air above the lake's water, as she sloshed about. "Ha- aah…" Quickly composing herself, she jerked her gaze about the shimmering, blinding surface of the water, before inhaling a gulp of dry air and holding it-

 _Splash- ploop._ She felt herself get pulled under again, Wakasagihime upside down again. Her tail clipped the water's edge, creating a small splash as she tugged the miko below again.

This time, the mermaid held onto her legs outright, arms wrapped around them. " _There's not a lot you can really do. I'll stop you from drowning once you start… so- just..."_

As they descended again, the miko instead folded herself back into a sort of sitting position, akin to how one would sit with their legs beneath them. Once like this, she reached forward and grabbed two handfuls of the mermaid's soft stomach, sliding it beneath her kimono that ended at her fish-esque waist-

" _Eeahp!_ " Upon squeezing the mermaid's soft flesh, Sendai found herself thrust out into the murky depths, the mermaid spasming like an actual fish, with speed beyond a human's visual comprehension.

' _There we go!_ ' From there, the miko-

 _fwuu~sh._ -uppercut towards the surface again, to continually move for the higher ground. Or, higher water, in this case. ' _Hitting outright underwater isn't the best idea, but applying pressure's different.'_

This time, she was able to swim towards the top unimpeded-

 _Spla~sh!_ "Fwa~h." On the bright surface of the water, she took in another breath. ' _Alright. If she pulls me down again, I might just start using ofuda, because this could go on forever otherwise.'_ She allowed herself to sink a little-

 _Spla~sh!_ "Ho~h…!" Thrusting into the air with another dark uppercut, Sendai propelled herself into the air over the lake-

 _Spla- splash!_ The water beneath her rippled and erupted, the mermaid shooting out after her.

Sendai would've grinned if she weren't focused, as the mermaid flew up to grapple her again-

 _Bam!_ Her dark-accented leg met the mermaid's torso, intercepting the mermaid's own tackle. " _Fuh…!?"_ A small ring of black echoed into the air where the miko's leg met-

 _Sploa~sh!_ The blow sent Wakasagihime barreling limply into the water below, thrown by the powerful strike to her shoulder.

' _Like a fish out of water…!_ ' Taking a deep breath, the miko prepared for the plunge-

 _Spla- uuu~sh…_ Submerged again, her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim glow of the submerged world beneath the lake's surface-

Something blurry, bubbly and violent whirled towards her from the side, and she tensed herself. ' _Incoming-_ '

 _fwuam…!_ She felt herself awkwardly slammed back in the water, the mermaid's form spiralling into her head-first, meeting her stomach. The manner in which she was pushed made the water she was in recoil, and she felt herself pushed _into_ the mermaid as she drilled into the miko's gut with her head.

" _Fua- ah…"_ Letting out her breath, Sendai instantly shut her mouth. ' _Back up, back up…!_ '

 _fwuu~sh!_ Thrusting up with a fluid motion, ignoring the mermaid's proximity-

 _Spla~sh!_ -she found herself near the water's surface. "Ha- kaugh- kauf- hua~h…"

Emerging silently just some meters away from the miko, the mermaid held out an arm beneath the water. "Balloonaga!"

Sendai thrashed her arms back and began to pull away in the still tides of the lake-

 _BWOMP._ Between the mermaid and the miko, a huge, salmon-colored water balloon generated, sparkling with iridescent, misty drops of water as it drifted…

' _It- it's actually pretty damn cold above the water…'_ Sendai stared up at the huge, shack-sized balloon with curious apprehension. ' _Also…'_

With her talisman equipped, Sendai noted a huge energy signature coming from the giant, four person tall water balloon. ' _Let's… not touch that.'_

...As she floated further back, the water balloon slowly coasted across the water towards her.

' _I'm not gonna let this lure me under, though…_ '

 _Shploa~sh!_ "Ha~h!" Uppercutting out of the even waves of the Misty Lake, the shrine maiden took to the air, ascending just over the giant water balloon-

 _Woosh!_ She kicked away from it, soaring over it-

 _KAPOP!_ The huge water balloon exploded into a huge, violent blast of water. A plus-shaped cluster of rainbow-tinted pastel, regular person-sized water balloons echoed out from within, homing in on Sendai as she soared across the water…

 _Splash!_ Touching down in the water again, the miko shot her gaze back to the homing orbs…

 _Woo- woo- woosh_. Casting soggy ofuda from the water, she watched the slightly inaccurate talismans roar into the huge balloons-

 _KAPOP- POP! POP- POP- POP!_ Sparkling water rained down before her, each balloon shattering into a six strong cluster of smaller, still-homing water balloons. ' _What kind of attack is this…!?_ '

And then-

 _Spla- spla- splash_. Sendai shut her eyes as a huge, spinning but immobile shuriken of water materialized over her, continually providing a torrent of water to obscure her vision. ' _Ah- what…_ '

 _Splaa~sh!_ She heard the water near her erupt with shattering volume-

 _Bam!_ Upon shielding her head with her arms and flaring darkness into them-

 _fwuu~sh._ She found herself submerged from a great force that slammed into her from above.

" _Water Sign!"_ Wakasagihime called out a spell card, as the miko's momentum slowly reversed to stable levels. " _Tail Fin Slap!"_

' _Yeah, naturally…_ ' Sendai would've huffed if she weren't focusing on not drowning. ' _I need to start using danmaku, at this rate. Especially considering how useful it seems to be as a crowd-clearer.'_

Slowly, the mermaid began to spin around, holding her arms above her head and together to properly swivel. Then quicker, her spin accelerated, and-

 _Woo~sh!_ -she abruptly shot to the side of Sendai like a bullet.

In doing so, torrential, huge waves of arrow-shaped, faded blue bullets roared in the wake of her tail fin, illuminating the water around the miko. Although the swings were all purely slash-based, it'd seemed the mermaid had aimed them randomly to provide the miko with a navigational challenge in the water…

" _Balloonra!"_ At the end of her swivel, Wakasagihime posed-

 _Boo- boo- boop!_ A static, plus-shaped mass of person-sized water balloons generated beneath the water's surface, acting as the mermaid's alternative to water mines.

' _...Really, danmaku's just like…_ ' As Sendai ascended for more air, stopping and going so as to avoid the expanding discs of arrow-shaped bullets, she contemplated the play projectiles...

Throwing her arm-

Ti- ti- tick. She made some monotone red rectangles slowly splash out in jagged angles from her arm's toss. ' _...That feels different, for some reason._ ' The bullets quickly fizzled out in the waves, due to the low effort put into them.

 _woo~sh!_ Wakasagihime whirled by her at bullet speed again, a violent series of blue waves splashing out in her wake. ' _Ah…'_

 _Spla~sh._ Sendai emerged on the surface. "Ow- ow…" Up here, she couldn't see the danmaku below the waves, so she began to take seemingly random stings from below…

Taking a breath, she rotated, thrusting down into the waves herself.

Below the surface, Wakasagihime blinked, darting back. She'd planned to grapple the miko at first, but now she reconsidered. Whirling around again, she began to unleash another twister of danmaku beneath the water…

' _Danmaku can be objects, so…'_ Looking at her fists, the miko refocused on the mermaid ahead indifferently. ' _That should do, for now.'_

Thrusting a black-shaded fist forward, she focused. The result was a dark, purple-tinted, jagged polygon that flew linearly out from her hand, and forward towards the mermaid.

...While Wakasagihime spun up and readied to cast again, her attempt to box the miko in with water mines progressed slowly. " _Balloo-"_

 _fwam._ The chunky polygon met her stomach, exploding into a huge, visually appealing shockwave of dark energy. For all of this spectacle, it only made the mermaid wince. " _Ah…_ "

...Throwing her fists a few more times, Sendai spammed the gradually accelerating dark fists; until she made too many to focus on, which totalled at about ten. ' _Alright, this… works. I think.'_

This time, the mermaid-

 _Woosh!_ -thrust her way around the entire wave of linear danmaku bolts, before using her tail to kick through the water towards the miko.

 _Bwomp- pop pop, pop!_ Stopping right before her, the mermaid thrust her arms forward, a cluster of big bubbles emanating from her and exploding against the miko's arms.

They only really resulted in pushing Sendai back, but she had to shut her eyes from the stinging force expelled from each. ' _Water magic's all about being annoying, isn't it?_ '

As she opened her eyes again, after coasting through the water-

" _Balloonaga!"_ Kicking even further towards the miko, Wakasagihime thrust her arms further-

 _BWOMP-KAPOP!_

The massive salmon-colored balloon was generated partially into Sendai's form this time, instantly connecting with her.

" _Faa~...!_ " It took her mind a moment to catch up with the blow, her head reeling and mouth agape in the water. ' _ah- shit shit_ '

 _Spla~sh!_ Thankfully, near the surface as she was, knockback made her re-emerge, the cold midday air snapping her back to her senses. " _Kaugh- kauh- kaugh, kau~gh!"_ Hacking up the water she took on, she half-flailed, half-waded back and away from the further magic balloons below the waves…

Before her-

 _SPLA~SH!_ Wakasagihime rocketed out of the water, spinning around-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Her previously silent twirls now audibly droned on, as she created dull blue arrows in the air above.

Vision blurry from the water coating her face, and obscured by her hair, Sendai brought an arm down-

 _Shpla~sh!_ "Ha- ah…!" -and once again uppercut into the air with a dark fist, intent on going after the mermaid, whose danmaku twirls created largely horizontal waves, rather than anything aimed.

 _Pop- pop, pop!_ As she neared the mermaid, the youkai retaliated with a surge of bubbles promptly.

 _Woosh!_ Trusting another dark arm up, Sendai grit her teeth as she plowed through the surge of stinging water. ' _C'mon…!'_

Once near the mermaid's height, Sendai saw her eyes widen. Flipping back down towards the water, as if swimming in the air, the mermaid attempted to escape-

 _Woosh!_ So the miko kicked towards the mermaid, to intercept her. ' _You made a mistake!'_

 _Wham!_ " _Enh!"_ Wakasagihime barreled towards the water at an awkward angle, after Sendai's kick met her torso.

Her momentum halted, Sendai also fell back into the lake, her plummet awkward. Taking a breath and letting out a brief exhale from her nose-

 _Spla- uuu~sh…_

...Submerged again, Sendai flipped around under the water. After a moment, she opened her eyes again-

Glaring, Wakasagihime was roaring straight at her like a bullet, zipping effortlessly forward through the blue water. ' _There we go! No more dragging shit. Riled her up-_ '

 _wham._ ' _Ow, shit.'_ Sendai guarded with her arms. The mermaid had whipped her tail around to slam her, and unlike when it happened above the water, this time it cut like a blade, leaving long incisions on the miko's arms.

 _Woosh!_ Shooting down, the mermaid got under Sendai. Curling up, the miko balled up to defend herself-

 _Wham!_ Jabbing with fingers protected by a vortex of water, Wakasagihime rammed Sendai up and out of the water-

 _Spla~sh!_ The attack sent Sendai rolling along the lake's surface, eyes shut as she rapidly transitioned between submersion and exposure…

 _SWISH!_ Zipping out of the water at a forty-five degree angle, Wakasagihime rolled in a flip in the air, before shooting back down towards Sendai like a javelin-

' _Oh- crap-'_

 _fwish._ With a brief glance of the incoming mermaid and the expectation of taking a brutal jab to the side as she tumbled slowly in the water, the shrine maiden instead shifted to the side. Her displacement was marked by lines of black.

 _Spla- splash!_ This didn't get her out of the way of the attack, however. Instead, the mermaid clumsily flopped into her, only grazing the miko's tense side, the two of them tumbling in the water together now.

 _Woosh._ Then, the mermaid had escaped in the next moment.

"Haa~..." Inhaling, correcting herself, Sendai thrust herself beneath the waves again-

 _Fwoo~sh._ Beneath the water, she glanced around at the murky blue.

Wakasagihime was heard _somewhere_ , her voice flowing through all of the water near the miko. " _Scale Sign! Great Raging Waves of the Reversed Scale!"_

Before Sendai, the mermaid lit up, aglow with a cyan, green and magenta aura.

 _Swish- Fwaa~m! Swoosh! Swish!_ Gradually increasing in ferocity, Wakasagihime spun around. Violent, vibrant slashes generated from her form as she threw her arms and tail fin, sending out fluid, methodical half-crescents of danmaku, rainbow aura and pain.

Thin lines of green, magenta and cyan arrow danmaku splayed out towards Sendai in constant, uneven waves, born from the mermaid's limbs. Unlike the previous card's danmaku, they were far more vulnerable to being weaved through, instead of having to be entirely avoided.

 _Swoo~sh!_ With a swing of her tail fin, Wakasagihime sent out a thin wave of blue arrows. Each throw of her limbs was great, the danmaku's light showing just how harshly each blow turned the tides around her, light bending as she created currents of her own with her fluid swings.

Sendai focused on wading through the scattered bullets, finding herself taking a few to the gut from the need to swim rather than simply move. ' _This really is pretty good for getting used to moving in water. These bullets don't hurt too much, but it still sucks to get hit, and there's a lot of things to dodge...'_

Then, she noticed the mermaid getting closer. ' _Might need more air soon…'_

 _Fwaa- fwaa~m!_ As the mermaid neared, it almost looked like she was throwing off vibrant, rainbow-colored water particles of her own, independent of the lake's water.

' _Let's not get too close to that, now.'_ Drifting back, Sendai spun and weaved past the unaimed, technicolor spreads. ' _How do I make those lasers that people kicked my ass with? That'd sure be great..._ '

 _swoosh._ Still drifting and dodging, Sendai threw a left hook as she retreated-

 _Swa~sh!_ An ugly, misshapen slash of shimmering, polygonal amber danmaku generated in front of her. After folding like a demented, ill-constructed tent, it dissipated entirely. ' _Not a laser.'_

 _Swish- Fwaa~m! Fwish! Swish!_ Revolving around and around, the mermaid coasted towards the miko, rocking the water around herself as she let out her small, violent danmaku maelstrom…

Nearing the water's surface-

 _Spla~sh._ "Hah- hah…"Drawing in some quick breaths, the miko threw her arms backwards, and began distancing herself from the underwater danmaku vortex…

 _SPLA- SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!_ Emerging from the water as she followed the miko, Wakasagihime continued to thrash about, her violent throws of vibrant technicolor arrows now stretching into the late day sun outside the lake.

But, Sendai could now see how dim the danmaku was when exposed to daylight, compared to the shade of the not-brine beneath.

Above the water, each of the mermaid's tosses were more akin to flailing, and the rainbow-tinted aura she threw with each rip and tear wasn't present, making each move look awkward and deliberate, telegraphed.

...As Wakasagihime neared again-

 _Spla~sh!_ Sendai threw a dark magic empowered kick forward after righting herself, roaring through the easy waves of danmaku.

Skidding across the water's surface akin to a craft, she cleaved through the lake's surface. Water spattered out of the way, and as the mermaid faced her after another slow revolution, her eyes widened-

 _Wham!_ Throwing another leg forward, Sendai smashed the mermaid's face with it, deciding to _not_ accent it with dark energy, having mercy. ' _Alright!_ _Ah…'_

As she slowed to a stop, she rolled around-

 _Splo- uuu~sh…_

Submerged again, the miko searched beneath the waves, noting that the mermaid was nowhere now…

' _That might've ended things.'_ The miko rotated around gently… ' _Or pissed her off more. Both are alright.'_

…

Sendai considered surfacing, after a moment. ' _Where is she?'_

...After a few more moments of waiting, Sendai drifted up with casual strokes.

 _Splash._ Emerging on the surface-

"Tide Sign…!" Wakasagihime was floating in the air over the lake, arms held out. "Tidal Wave of the Lake!"

...Sendai looked around for danmaku, but didn't see any. ' _Um?_ '

...

 _Slosh, slosh, slosh_. Throwing her arms out, Sendai paddled towards the water beneath the floating mermaid, intent on being ready to engage her for whatever might happen next.

She looked up as she approached, keeping tactical-

That's when she saw it. From the lake's shore where one might normally see some woods, and the top of the Scarlet Devil clock tower, there was instead a large, dark wall of water.

 _Fwuu~sh…_ The incoming tide was ominously audible from Sendai's location. She was two-thirds across the lake from it, but it was coming fast.

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Looking around, Sendai considered diving to escape it. ' _Dive, or uppercuts?_ '

As it neared-

 _FWUU~SH…!_ The massive wall of water shattered into huge, individual neon white clumps of shimmering danmaku water, blinding the miko-

 _Spla- fwuu~sh._ Now with no choice other than to dive, Sendai sought shelter from the massive rain of danmaku by thrusting down at an angle, to sneak under it…

As she tore through the water with dark-powered limbs, the liquid in her trail shimmering from her powerful pulls-

 _CRAA~SH!_ Water churned and roared behind her as the tidal danmaku walls came down. The water before her was not pulled by the artificial waves, allowing her to swim forward beneath the massive, collapsing walls of water danmaku.

 _CRAA- FWAA- CRAASH!_ The water didn't relent behind her, as if she kept passing tidal wave after tidal wave. '... _If I just keep moving forward, these waves are going to force me to the opposite shore. I… could swim that far, but the terms were not to go on land.'_

A glance up revealed she was actually passing beneath _multiple_ tidal waves, each one merely an aesthetic front that would shatter into a huge danmaku wall once approached.

...Doubling back, she gazed into the roaring, blinding clumps of white that came down into the water behind her. By the time the danmaku submerged, it engorged to huge sizes, impassable and mighty.

 _woo~sh!_ Uppercutting up, she let herself rocket up-

 _Spla~sh!_ Emerging in the small tunnel between the shattering waves of bullets and the genuine lakewater, Sendai paddled as fast as she could to keep up with the above-water collapses.

 _FWUU~SH- FWUU~SH- FWUU~SH…!_ As she progressed through the lake, she continued glancing up. ' _I'm just gonna have to break out of here and look for that mermaid…!'_

With two options-

 _Spla~sh!_ Sendai thrust herself out of the water, and into the small pocket made by the continually collapsing water tunnel. ' _I could cheat and 'teleport' through…'_

 _Woosh._ With a weaker uppercut, she kept herself coasting along in the air, gazing at the falling orbs to gauge the safest possible route. Then-

 _Woosh!_ Kicking forward with a darkening leg, Sendai threw herself towards the bright, white wall. ' _Let's go…!'_

 _FWA- FWAM!_ A few white orbs popped against her as she grazed past them, the explosions of water launching her forward. "Hye~hnh…!"

Soaring forward with what would normally be alarming speed, Sendai sighted the glowing form of the mermaid…

 _Bam- SPLASH- SPLASH- SPLASH!_ With her newfound speed, the shrine maiden let her sandals smash against the lake's surface, black shockwaves echoing out across the water as she darted across it.

 _FWUSH- FWUSH- FWUSH- FWUSH…!_ Small geysers erupted from each impact in her wake, before immediately being crushed by the tidal danmaku, which was now expanding back towards the lake to catch the miko again.

 _Woo~sh!_ Uppercutting up, Sendai continued to let herself roar forward with the great momentum from the bursts of the water magic that struck her earlier.

Gazing down at her vainly, Wakasagihime threw her arms up defensively as the miko neared at great speeds. "Ba- Balloon!"

 _Bwomp._ A single, half-person sized balloon generated before her, only covering her tail as she shielded herself with her arms.

' _Agh- great…!'_ Making an effort to dodge the balloon at the last minute-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai thrust up once more, her arms burning with throbbing, hazy pain from all the exertion in the past few seconds. ' _C'mon! Higher- shit!'_

As if slipping in the air, Sendai skid across the top of the balloon before the mermaid-

 _POP!_ It popped-

 _WHAM!_ Sendai was thrown into the mermaid's upper body so hard that her legs were swept out beneath her. ' _O~hkay!_ '

" _Ngfuh!"_ Wakasagihime let out a grunt, the miko's legs striking her upper chest and head…

...The danmaku gone, both women flopped back down into the water below.

 _Spla- spla~sh…_

...Under the water again, Sendai rotated around gingerly and looked around for the mermaid. ' _Fuck- need air real soon…_ '

Then, seeing the mermaid, she took pause.

Wakasagihime was right before her, holding two hands to her bloody nose. " _Uh- uhm… can we call this done? I'm running out of cards… and if you don't wanna pay_ that _badly…"_

...Sendai blinked while still submerged. ' _What?'_

" _I feel pretty, um... "_ Searching for words, the mermaid removed her hands from her face, letting her blood flow freely into the water. " _I'm not really good at the whole 'going on offense' thing."_

...Sendai propped her arms on her hips as she floated.

" _It's just, I don't really… 'fight' even. I rarely even play danmaku."_ The mermaid pressed her fingers together. " _So most of my skills are built around defense… and getting away."_

' _She does use a lot of knockback. That's also kind of a water thing…'_ Considering her words, Sendai stared at the string of blood flowing from her nostrils. ' _That looks weird.'_

...Wakasagihime gave the miko a dry smile. " _What's with the face…? Look- I'll bring you back to shore…"_

' _That's okay. I can just-'_

 _Fwuu~sh!_ The water's current suddenly propelled Sendai. ' _Woah- hey…'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Spla~sh!_

"Ha~h!" Inhaling as she was ejected from the water, Sendai ran backwards to a stop, coming ashore next to her party again…

' _Fresh air and dry land…!'_

 _Splash._ Wakasagihime sprang up from the water across from her. Somehow, her nose had healed up. '... _Probably youkai regeneration.'_

The day's light was now dimmer, nearing sunset, but not quite there yet. The faint blue the land now had just made Sendai feel chillier.

"I see you two... had your fun." Rinnosuke regarded the women dryly. "Will I have to pay anything?"

"...Well, no." Shifting a little, the mermaid exhaled. "She's not Reimu, but… that was still a lotta' something." Focusing on Sendai, she questioned her. "I don't think I ever asked for your name."

...Sendai shivered in the brisk air, now that the day was late, and her sheer adrenaline from fighting in gallons of liquid had worn off. "I, ah- I am the miko... who came before."

Wakasagihime's eyes widened. "...Then, are you… Reimu's mother?"

"Bingo~!" Marcus cheered in the background, walking up towards the three at the shore… "Oh, by the way…"

 _Thunk._ He dropped a burning stick onto a pile of wood between the mermaid and the miko. It was slightly trampled, Sendai having apparently ran across it.

 _Fwoom._ Promptly, a small fire was lit. ' _There we go._ ' Sendai instantly took to it, getting close...

...While she warmed up near the new fire, the mermaid spoke again. "Why'd you want to spar with me, so bad? You said something about… getting used to water? There's not a lot of that in Gensokyo."

...Sendai considered a response as she stared at the fire, then up at her. "Mmh. Well, I believe I said I wanted to get more used to… controlling my body in more foreign ways. Mostly because, I feel like I've been getting sort of complacent with my fighting strategies on the ground, and fighting in a totally new way would kind of… mix it up, I guess. Get me thinking more."

'... _In retrospect, it might've been a poor idea to fight a mermaid on her home turf, but she proved to be a pretty soft-hearted person in the end. And, not very combat-oriented in the first place. Water's still always vaguely terrifying, and that's never going to change.'_

"I see." Wakasagihime sort of idly took the miko's response…

Sendai's gaze returned to the crackling fire. In the background, the sun was now beginning to truly set, golden rays turning amber.

"Well…" Speaking up again, Wakasagihime refocused on her. "I'm not sure if you got what you wanted. I can show you some things though, if you'd like…"

' _I feel like danmaku's good enough for now, but…'_ Sendai was still curious. "What would you care to teach me? Or, feel I need?"

...This was a question Wakasagihime hadn't pondered yet. "Hmm. Um… huh."

Resisting the urge to grin at her, Sendai continued to stare into the fire. ' _That's a good sign.'_

"I could teach you balloon magic." Wakasagihime proposed, shifting at the shore uncomfortably… "Or, if not that, stuff with bubbles…"

' _...I don't think I'm going to run into a situation that justifies popping balloons and bubbles all over my enemy.'_ Sendai wasn't appealed. ' _I'm not into the whole magic thing, anyway. Danmaku's jarring enough._

' _In retrospect, I probably should've spent more time just practicing my basic movements, but, you know… that was pretty fine, too. It wasn't too different from just getting assaulted normally. I don't normally take vacations of any sort- except for when I'm injured and can't afford potions- but I still feel like this is helping me get back into practice. Ironically less intense than that bout with grandma, even with the water.'_

Slowly hobbling towards the mermaid while Sendai looked opposed to the idea, Marcus took this opportunity to learn. "Y'know- I might wanna see a thing er' two 'bout bubbles 'n' balloons…!"

...Wakasagihime sized him up as he approached. "Who're you?" She went from intimidated to mildly unimpressed quite quickly.

"Marisa's dad." Rinnosuke annotated from near the fire…

...Wakasagihime blinked owlishly. "Wh- ah, really…!?" Centering her gaze on him again, she seemed marginally more impressed. "Yo- you want to learn something from me…!?"

"I'm all 'bout them elements _now_ , sister!" Nodding and grinning, he stopped at the edge of the shore. "S'bout time this old dog learned some new tricks!"

...He panned his gaze over to Rinnosuke. "C'mon, Kourin! Y'might learn somethin'!"

"Ah- I'm not very interested in water magic." He gave Marcus a dismissive wave from the fire. "Besides… I'm kind of-"

"Get up offa' yer la~zy ass…!" Marcus beckoned him again. "You got like _one_ mildly offensive technique! Beggars can't be choosers!"

"...Alright." Reluctant about parting from the warm fire- especially for _water-based_ techniques- Rinnosuke roused himself into activity. Lumbering over to the two, he stretched his limbs… "What will I be learning, then? Balloon?"

Wakasagihime gave him a dry look. "I know a few more things than that, you know… but I guess we'll start with that."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Pop!_

Marcus stroked his chin, gazing at the water balloon as it popped over the lake. "The magic fer the balloon part's weirdly more complex than the _water_ part…"

"It _is_ kinda like… more transfusion and alchemy-based than water." Wakasagihime considered, as she reclined in the water… "It's still not real rubber at all, though."

"Oh, certainly. Some weird _water-rubber…!"_ Grinning, the mage nodded at the water where the balloon popped. "S'very interesting. Should pick up the rest of the series in my free time. Oughta give shop vandals a real run fer their money!"

' _...For some reason,'_ Seated with her head on her knees before the fire, Sendai tilted her head. ' _I feel like Marcus hasn't been taking life as seriously as he should be. I mean, he was always a goofball, but… hmm. He used to have more passion for magic. Now he's just sort of… rolling with the punches. Twenty damn years.'_

...Nearby, Rinnosuke was focusing as hard as possible with his arms held up, a misshapen, oddly unlit water balloon whirling to life before himself…

Spla- splash, splat. It fell apart pitifully, and he slouched. "I… can't do it."

...Wakasagihime stared at him almost pityingly. "Maybe you should learn something with a little more… practicality. The balloon series expects you to know water to material mineral transfusion after all, so… I don't expect you to know something like that, Morichika."

Looking back up at her, he shifted his posture uncomfortably, looking discouraged. "What do you suppose, then? If I can't cast an _entry-level_ water spell..."

"Oh, don't worry." The mermaid shook her head. "Come closer to the shore. I'll teach you some more basic water manipulation, then…"

Standing from the fire nearby, Sendai articulated her limbs. ' _Nice and toasty. Being wet in the cold's great and all, but not unless you're doing something, or submerged…'_

Next to the shore, Rinnosuke turned to the mermaid. "So…"

 _Sploop._ Holding her hand up, Wakasagihime raised a glob of water from the lake. "...Do you see how I'm doing this?"

"...Maybe." Furrowing his brows, Rinnosuke leaned forward to better examine how she was making it levitate. "Is it telekinesis?"

"No." Wakasagihime bluntly shook her head. "Water is actually near impossible for normal people to levitate, with being all… flowy. It'd be like trying to lift a person, but harder."

"...Ah." He nodded compromisingly. "So…"

"Water magic deals with the way things flow." Drifting the water glob closer, Wakasagihime explained the basics to him. "...'Cause, well… if it was levitating, you wouldn't see the water flow and swirl around a central point. I'd have total control over every particle. In this instance, I just sort of… control their current, and make it stronger than gravity given certain directions."

Rinnosuke rose his brows. "That sounds… very complicated. Not the explanation, but what might go into actually doing it."

"Oh, well, that's because it probably is." Wakasagihime agreed with him casually. "But there're some things that aren't so hard. Water's also everywhere- in the air, the ground… puddles. In _alive people._ But- we won't, um, think about how to manipulate that. That's sort of different."

Nodding along, Rinnosuke propped his arms on his hips, looking vaguely apprehensive...

"Do you know how to shoot danmaku?" The mermaid inquired, before anything else.

"...Technically." Rinnosuke awkwardly drew his pistol, pointing it out to the lake. "I fire fake bullets from this real gun."

"...That… will do." She seemed somewhat putoff by the fact Rinnosuke carried a real pistol on himself, but ignored it. "Fire any bullet."

Taking her suggestion, Rinnosuke ejected a small, red dart from his pistol after a moment of focus. It flew off into air over the lake, before becoming untraceable once it got far enough…

"...You don't have to be so _angry_ when shooting danmaku." Wakasagihime held a hand to her mouth… "I don't mean to be rude, though. It might be good for your focus if you could, um… fire a bullet with half the angry, or even none."

Nodding with vague amusement at this, Rinnosuke tried again…

...After another moment of concise focusing, he fired a less vibrant beige dart from his pistol. "How's that?"

She thought it was good enough. "Good enough, I think. Now..."

A pebble floated up, and out of the lake. "First, we'll practice with a still object. Can you get your mana to it?"

...Rinnosuke squinted at it. "Ah. Maybe. I think so…"

...Blinking in vague wonder, the mermaid gently, subtly poked his shoulder with her finger-

The stone glowed with a different hue of telekinetic energy the moment she did. "Oh! I think I did it!" He glanced over at Wakasagihime in surprise-

Her hands were to herself again. "That's great…!"

...Looking back, he saw the stone was just blue again. After a moment of focus, holding his gun hand up, it glowed with a beige offset once more. "So _that's_ how that works…!"

"Now…" With Rinnosuke properly focusing on the stone, Wakasagihime processed where to go from here. "This should be simple. Focus on the stone…"

...While Rinnosuke stares ahead at it, the mermaid channeled mana into it-

 _Bwomp…_ A bubble slowly expanded around the stone, solid and viscous looking…

 _Pop!_ The bubble popped into a glob of messy, blue water, which scattered to the lake below.

"...It seemed like you pretty much just channeled mana into it." Rinnosuke observed. "...And, you seemed to channel mana along the surface of the bubble. Did you… grab moisture to do that?"

...Eyebrows raised, the mermaid nodded. "Um, yeah. I don't know how you just… _guessed that_ , but basically. Moisture is the easiest to manipulate, and if you channel more energy into it through the air- or yourself- you should be able to generate a lot of water from seemingly nothing."

...At this, Rinnosuke focused again. Channeling mana into the far pebble, he focused both his gun and his hand…

 _Bwomp._ Slowly, a round, somewhat awkwardly offset bubble of liquid formed from the gathered ambient water, engulfing the stone.

 _Pop!_ Once he stopped focusing, the bubble popped and the stone fell.

Wakasagihime smiled. "Should work like that for danmaku, too! Except, when the air's moist, you can let the bubble expand as it moves, perhaps. Otherwise, you'll have to slow it down near what you want to soak."

...He nods at that. "I see. Thank you, um… Wakasagihime."

"...It's no problem." She gives him a nod. "...Also, where's my food?"

It took him a moment, but Rinnosuke realized what she was asking. "Oh, right here…" Reaching behind himself, he draws the opened fish food box from his backpack-

Wakasagihime steals it from his hand, and begins to accelerate into the water. "Thank yo~u! Bye!"

…

Once Rinnosuke turned back to the fire, he saw that there was now two fires, Marcus cooking one of the large fish over one, and Sendai holding the other huge fish over the other fire.

' _Took him long enough…_ ' Sendai stared at him dryly. "Hey, could you get some rocks and sticks? I'd like to not smell of fish _as much_ by the end of this…"

He snorted. "Maybe we could levitate it, instead. That might ironically be easier than finding rocks around here…"

' _If we mess it up, this thing's getting smouldered._ ' Sendai stared down at the huge fish. ' _Not like that'd be horrible. Three huge fish are probably more than we can eat, anyway...'_

...Clouds had moved out of the way of the sun, casting their clearing in faded gold. Sendai took some examining stares at her party members, before resuming her tribal-style cooking.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(2x) Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes mana to produce these effects.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(eighteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

wakasagihime fight

the "you forgot to pack your water resistances didn't you" touhou

she's a pretty fun fight even if she's not a very powerful combatant; most of her skills are self-preservation-centric, and revolve around her either cheesing the opponent or stunning them to hell and getting out of dodge

this only changes when she's underwater, where all her magic and skills get way more powerful and she's pretty much unengagable unless you're a kappa

however, when expected to go on the offense, she ends up having to surface and that does away with her offensive advantages

water magic is very knockback-centric when it doesn't just get the enemy wet, making it a good defensive option

sendai would've learned something, but she began to experiment with danmaku instead which balanced things out, and also got to swim for awhile

notably she went easy on waka 'cause a single cast of vol fulger pretty much would've _ended the fight_ because electricity + water = THE BIG CRUNCH

that and hit sendai since she's probably not really used it in a situation where she herself is totally immersed in the same body of water! normally it's stable because she can focus on it and air's not the most awesome of conductors, but when you're just in totally fresh water it's kinda~...

rinnosuke's new skill is one of the best debuffs dude, _wetting people_

although this means marcus isn't the only person in the party who can inflict wetness, which sets up for a lot of crazy elemental shenanigans involving everyone else since normally rinnosuke just kinda fumbles about anyway, so applying _the good debuff_ wouldn't be a waste of his time

more specifically, being wet makes someone take fifty percent increased thunder and ice damage, which is _pretty good,_ and also vastly increases elemental effects of said spells for obvious reasons

this is notably slower than the progression we've been following, but rest assured things'll spice up yo - w - the first fights're always a little mundane ain't they

as always, see you all next time!


	27. 6-2 - Fire in the Sky

Sendai marched along the Hakurei path in the early evening. "C'mo~n. You can't just go to sleep now."

The sun having almost entirely set, the party walked along in the cold, dim gloom of a resting day. Almost dawn-esque golden rays shimmered across the land one final time for this particular day, pairing well with the dry breeze and floaty temperature. They would be back after some messages from their sponsors, the night time stars.

"I kno~w…" Rinnosuke ate too much fish, and moved sluggishly as a result. "I'll be alright in a few…"

' _That was some good fish.'_ Sendai was satisfied by the grill-out they had… ' _I should be ready to really start training, now. I'm still a little damp, but that's okay. This is great weather.'_

'... _The only question is what we should start with. While the water exercise was a little more than I bargained for, I still have to do my strength training, running, and dark reinforcement training. That, and learn what the hell I'm going to do with this dark slide technique I got…'_

With a glance to her allies, she thought of them as well. ' _And them._ _Really, I'm not sure how to go about training them.'_

"We gonna take a look 'round the village…?" Marcus guessed, gazing ahead at the gate in the distance. "'Cause that'd be a good way ta work off a full stomach, lemme tell ya!"

"Maybe." Sendai considered. "...Actually, perhaps we should."

' _I can run around the fields later. This might lead to something easy I can beat up, and the urban environment is… okay for some purposes. I can't really do anything meaningful without attracting attention, I'm sure. It should be whatever; we can practice on wood we find, or something.'_

As she considered the village they were approaching-

 _Snap!_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - Fire in the Sky

...The camera shutter noise made Sendai whip her head around. ' _I heard that before… in the hot spring. Is-'_

 _Fwish!_ Darting out from the nearby, nearly dead fall foliage, the crow tengu Aya aimed her camera at the party-

 _Snap!_ -and took another photograph. "Hehe~! This shrine maiden incident's gonna be such a _big scoop…!"_

"...What do you want?" Adopting assertive posture, Sendai stared up at the tengu impatiently.

 _Snap!_ The tengu took another photograph as a response. Sendai blinked from the flash...

"After what you've been through, I'd think you'd be more… intimidated." She criticized the tengu as she blinked off the jarring light...

Aya made a scoff. "Well, you sure ain't _her._ I kinda wanna know where the heck _she_ came from, but I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of that, too!"

' _She's probably referring to grandma.'_

...Indifferent, Sendai gave her a wave. "Well, take your pictures and move on, then."

Suddenly, Aya was on the ground right before her. "Oh, yeah, about that interview! The one you said we'd have…!"

...Frowning, Sendai took a few small steps back. "I don't recall any such thing."

Aya was to the right of her, leaning towards the miko chumily. "That cool with you?"

"Wha- _no._ " Whipping her head to the tengu, the miko began to bring up her arms defensively… "Look-"

"Oo~h, I see!" Now on the left of the miko, Aya reached out and felt at her left arm. "How long'd it take for a human to get muscles like these…!?"

Sendai whipped her arm back, and jabbed forward with a palm to push the tengu away-

Aya was along her right again, beaming as she looked under the miko's apron at her leotard, and the muscles beneath. "Wo~w…! You _sure_ you're a shrine maiden!?"

"Are you just here to annoy me?" Brows furrowed, the miko stepped away again, sizing up the lightning fast tengu.

' _I can only barely feel the wind off her movements. It's almost like she teleports… but I know tengu are supposed to be really fast. Still, this is a little… faster, than even the tengu I've met. She doesn't even look like a warrior, either.'_

"I'm here to interview you!" Grinning widely, Aya sprang onto one leg as she drew her notepad and quill, movements quick and without strain. "Thanks for that quick look at your muscles, by the wa~y!"

"...I… didn't even give you permission." Sendai blinked, trying to keep up with the tengu's logic-

"But, you said 'look', so I did!" Aya smirked at her. "...Must be time shock, or something. Or, _revive_ shock? I'll write both down…" She began writing like the wind onto her notepad…

"Um, Aya…" Rinnosuke stepped forward, holding up a hand. "I don't think-"

Aya was up in his face, expression delighted. "Are you Reimu's dad!?"

"No." He responded aptly, with steel.

"Marisa's mom!?" Aya inquired instantly.

Rinnosuke's expression didn't change. "How."

"Did big momma sex you at any given point in your life!?" Leaning forward further, Aya looked hopeful…

"No." He knew Aya's game.

...Pouting, the crow tengu bit the tip of her quill. Then, she smirked again. "...But, don't you think she's sexy? Or is she ugly? Pick one."

"I'll pick the 'I think you're asking too many questions' option." Folding his arms, Rinnosuke refused to give her any concrete answers. "You're going to have to speak our language if you want anything."

...At his proposal, the crow tengu beamed widely. "Your _language,_ huh?"

 _Woosh!_ She was before the three, a fierce gale whipping in her wake. "You guys _su~re_ love to fight things! I don't think miss amazon shrine lady over there's even gotten a solid day's break, between the mansion, Hakugyokurou, Eientei, and recent things…"

'... _I guess. That mermaid wasn't really anything.'_ Sendai was indifferent about sloshing about in the water for an hour or so. ' _Grandma, though… ouch. But that was_ about _a day ago.'_

"So!" Striking a theatrical pose, Aya grinned over the party more maliciously. "I guess I'll rough you guys up a little, and then get that interview!"

"You're planning to fight us…?" Sendai adopted an offensive posture, glaring ahead at the repositioned tengu. "You should've just said that to begin with."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Aya Shameimaru_ ====

Cracking her knuckles, Sendai sized up the tengu ahead. From nearby trees, autumn leaves blew onto the shrine path, and the wind flowed freely through the miko's clothes...

' _She's faster than most tengu, and no doubt probably pretty strong just by the virtue of being one. I've roughed it with smarmy tengu patrols before, so this should be… a project, but easily doable.'_

"Aya- you're _not_ going to fight us." Rinnosuke instantly doubted her resolve. "We don't have time for you."

Snorting, she gave him a genuine smile. "Aww. You've got time for _Wakasagihime,_ and not little old me?"

"It's alright, Kourin." Placating him, Sendai stepped forward. "I can handle this."

...Aya gained a catty smile. "Yeah, well, that much is obvious. But I wanna interview _all~_ of you. And that means…!"

 _Woo~sh._ Twirling around in place like a hurricane, Aya kicked up wind-

 _WOO~SH…_

A powerful, broad gale swept across the path clearing…

 _Fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Sendai slid back after guarding against it with her limbs. ' _Wind magic…_ '

"Woa~h!" Rinnosuke was tipped over by the powerful breeze, landing on his back. "Ugh…!"

"Hoho~h shit…!" Holding his limbs out, Marcus allowed himself to coast into the air, rather than get bowled over by the gentle yet powerful gale. "Alright…! S'time fer ya to do yer... _stoutness exercises_ , newspaper lady!"

Adopting a defensive posture, Sendai glared ahead at the tengu. ' _I'm gonna have to wait for an opening. For now, let's just see what she'll do._ '

"Get it, no~w?" Swaying about playfully, Aya teased the three. "I'm not about duels! I wanna rough ya all up! There's more material that way!"

...Getting back onto his feet, Rinnosuke grimaced. "Re- really…!? Aya- I thought you were more civil than this!"

...Aya just pouted at him. "Hey, now. It's not like I'm gonna _cripple_ ya."

 _Shi~ng!_ Stalking up to Rinnosuke, Marcus drew the Sword of Kusanagi from the shopkeeper's backpack. "Hehaha~! This sword's used ta cut up your kindlin' rags, y'know!"

Snorting from the unexpected insult, Aya rose a brow at him. "Oh…? What kinda sword is that?"

"It'sa _magic sword."_ Marcus got really descriptive. "For _magic users._ "

 _Whi- whi- whish._ Sendai flung three ofuda with a spring of her arm, but Aya was out of the way faster than can be seen with the naked eye. ' _Hrmm. She dodged that without even focusing.'_

Finding his balance, Rinnosuke drew his pistol. "Aya, I'm… I'm being serious with you. Leave us alone!" He pointed it at the reporter.

For a moment, Aya widened her eyes, letting her mouth draw agape.

…

Then, she guffawed. "Pfft- hahaha~! You- you look so serious, saying that…! Gee~z! You really dunno how to read the mood!"

...This just caused him to become awkward. "Ah. Hrrm. But- I'm pointing a gun at you. I'm _threatening_ you."

"You couldn't threaten a yukkuri with that thing!" Aya sneered down at the pistol he held. "Oh, no, _one bullet_ , what's it gonna do? I've taken arrows with more velocity than bullets. That thing's a joke."

...Rinnosuke glanced down at his pistol, vaguely intimidated.

' _She's probably right, too._ ' Sendai scanned the tengu's form… ' _We need to start heckling her. I'm not gonna glance away, so… someone does something, hopefully. There's not enough trees around for my usual strategy, and she's a little too fast...'_

...Glaring back up at the tengu, he pointed the pistol at her again. "I'm… I'm gonna make you take that _back._ "

"Oh, geez…" Facepalming, the tengu shook her head. "Buddy~, pal. Your cute little beginner spells aren't gonna do nothin' either. Look…" She began to put away her notepad and pen, drawing a maple leaf fan smoothly in their place. "I guess I'll just _show ya_. 'Cause-"

 _Splat!_ A glob of ectoplasm flew from Rinnosuke's gun, and Aya whirled around it in every possible angle and direction, except for being directly before it. Once it was past, she was back upright, clothes whipping to keep up with her. "Hehehe~! Go o~n! Take a few more shots!"

...Swallowing, Rinnosuke aimed his gun up again.

 _Fwam!_ A mint-green, foggy muzzle flash blared from Rinnosuke's pistol-

 _Fwam!_ A similar haze of mint-green appeared around Aya, and she instantly displaced herself from it. "Hehe~y, sleep magic! It's a good thing I downed two cups of coffee 'fore I came down here!"

' _Okay, so Kourin can't actually do anything yet…'_ Sendai exhaled, still searching for an opening. ' _I should do something stupid to give them an opening, then. If he lands that ectoplasm shot when she's unaware, it should do… something, I'm expecting.'_

Gritting his teeth, Rinnosuke tried another spell.

 _Fwi~sh!_ This time, a flare fired from his pistol, filling the air with blinding light.

"Ooo~!" Aya teased the technique by preoccupying herself with it. "Pretty light…!"

 _Fwish._ Sendai's form disappeared.

...Once the light was gone, Aya was left blinking owlishly, seemingly blinded. "Wo~w. That was-"

Sendai appeared behind the tengu-

 _Fwish._ Her jab was rewarded with Aya magically displacing herself a meter out of the way of it. "Hello~!"

 _SLAP!_ Sendai stumbled back, her head thrown to the side from a slap of the tengu's fan. A moment later, she felt the sting. ' _Oh, ow. O~kay. About as stupid as I expected._ '

" _Plasma~!"_ Marcus threw his arms forth, beaming-

Aya turned to him-

 _Zap- zap!_ An orb of lilac color flourished and pulsed in her form-

 _Bam!_ Thrusting out of the way of it, Aya slammed into a tree's side. Her form was left jittering with pastel purple sparks, and she felt at herself. "Ha~h…? Really...?"

 _Boom!_ Stomping onto the ground, Sendai flung herself forward a little, her senses expecting the tengu to move somehow-

 _PAP!_ Her dark palm met the tengu's shoulder, which had moved to take the blow. The black shockwave that resulted was curved awkwardly from the momentum Aya used to graze the palm strike-

Then, she was next to Marcus. "Hehe~y-"

 _Woosh!_ He swung the wind blade near the floor, and the draft produced sent both him and Aya into the air, away from one another. "Wohohoa~h!" Amazed by the power, the mage let himself flip around as he was flung back-

Appearing right behind him, Aya stopped his momentum by catching him once he flipped upright, letting him sit atop one arm, her other on his sword. "Hi, how're ya?"

Marcus turned to her slowly. "...Oh, hey. Good." His gaze traced along her arm, to where it rested on his blade. "Yer _not_ takin' this sword."

She pouted her lips. "I'm takin' this swo~rd..."

"You're a reporter, not a- not a thief…" Reclaiming his breath, he gave her a hopeful smile. "Perhaps I can _show you_ what it does?"

"I'm not stealing. It's investigative journalism!" She gave him a teeth-exposing smile in return. "He~y. I'll give you pantyshots of anyone you wa~nt…"

...Furrowing his brows, he considered this.

While he weighed the pros and cons, Rinnosuke took aim again…

Aya faced him before he even shot-

 _Splat!_ The glob of ectoplasm flew forth from the shopkeeper's pistol-

Aya was gone, leaving Marcus alone in the air, still with his sword. "Woa~h!" He caught himself before he could fall too far, and began drifting gently down…

The shot Rinnosuke fired flew off into the air, having grazed Marcus and nothing more.

' _Her speed's insane.'_ Sendai reflected as she searched for the crow tengu again. ' _If I can catch her, I should be able to wail on her. I just need Marcus to cast another electric spell on her…'_

Once Marcus landed safely-

 _Woo~sh!_ A tiny tornado kicked up-

"Aa- _aa~h!_ " Rinnosuke took to the air, caught by it. "He- heah…!"

Aya was next to the tornado that flung him. "Hehehe~! Hmm…" Flipping out her camera, she floated back somewhat plainly. "It doesn't seem like 'Kourin' here has any good self-defense techniques…"

 _Zap- zap!_ Once again, Marcus jolted Aya with a twice-initializing lilac electrosphere-

While this happened, Sendai walked forward normally. ' _She seems to be toying with us, so… '_

"Eeh…" Aya bluntly sidestepped out of the electric spell, although the method she used to do it was notably visible and traceable. Whirling back around to Marcus, she grinned incredulously. "You _really_ wanna be doin'-"She turned to Sendai, who walked up to her. "-that?"

"Nice camera." Sendai commented on the camera idly.

...Almost taken aback, Aya smiled at her. "Oh? Wait- you recognize it?"

 _Zap- zap!_ While the tengu was distracted, Marcus created another shimmering lilac electrosphere in her form, beaming at how many cheap blows he was getting in from the sidelines.

" _Eer~gh!"_ Letting out a frustrated groan as she stumbled out of the electricity, Aya glared ahead at Marcus. "You and your _eleme~nts…!_ I am gonna~...!"

 _Di~ng!_ The camera in her hand flickered, before being exchanged magically for her maple leaf fan again-

 _WOO~SH!_ She flung her fan arm outward, a visible gale flying towards Marcus like a blade-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ As the mage focused, a magic barrier generated before himself, eating it. "Hehehe~!" He giggled back at her in turn.

Sendai glomped the tengu while she focused on the mage, able to largely due to her already close proximity-

Aya nearly escaped, but Sendai found herself clung to Aya's arm. "Gotcha!"

 _Woosh!_ Aya thrust to the side, but Sendai held on for dear life-

 _Thud._ The tengu had sidestepped so fast that the miko was thrown off her feet, skidding on her knees as she held on. "Ngh…!"

Staring down at the miko with wide eyes, Aya blinked at her. "So strong…! Wow…"

While Sendai struggled to get up, Aya hunched over a little to be more even with her as she got back up. ' _What. Why's she helping me…?_ '

Still holding onto the tengu with a vice-like grip, Sendai stood. "...I'm not letting go-"

"Chu." Aya leaned forward and pecked Sendai on the cheek-

 _Fwish!_ Then, she tried to snap away again, but the miko held on, ending up skidding to her knees again. "Hngh…!"

"Whah…?" Aya was less impressed, and more exasperated this time. "Shoulda figured that wouldn't work…"

' _Yes, you should have…_ ' Sendai was used to dirty tricks like that, at this point. ' _Now-'_

 _Zap- zap!_ Once again, Marcus zapped Aya from afar with his plasma spell, the lilac orb making Aya flinch slightly from the concentrated electricity. "Oh for _fucking…"_

Sendai jittered from the shared electricity. "Hnn- ge- geh..."

WHAM! Aya slammed Sendai off of herself with a low punch to her face. "Agah!?"

' _Fuck- wha- where'd that-'_

 _BAM!_

Accelerating across the clearing to the fleeing Marcus, Aya had navigated _around_ his form, and delivered a thrusting punch to his gut.

"Ka- kaugh…" Letting out some gasping coughs, the mage fell back onto his rear…

Aya stood over him, her form jittering with the pretty purple jolts he'd infused into her. "I was gonna play _nice_ , but it seems _some of us_ wanna play youkai hunter. Guess it'll just make this quicke~r…"

Springing back up, Sendai faced the still tengu. ' _I can't get careless again. Alright-_ '

 _WHAM!_ Sendai slid back, Aya whirling up to her and thrusting towards her stomach like she did for Marcus, except this time Sendai was able to block. ' _She's slower now! The electricity did something! I can see when she starts to-'_

Sendai saw her wind up an uppercut, and flinched to react-

 _fwish._ Sendai slid out of the way, taken by surprise by the lack of impact. ' _That's right, my new technique!'_ Her body subconsciously moved to capitalize on Aya's vulnerable form-

 _BAM!_

Except the tengu immediately followed up with an uppercut with her other arm, containing power identical to the one that missed. "Fa~nh…!" Stumbling back, Sendai began to fall over.

' _Fuck! No…!'_ As the miko fell back-

 _WOO~SH!_ A tornado erupted under her, whirling her into the air. ' _Oh- oh. Um...'_ The sensation was dizzying, but she sort of welcomed it, for the moment. '... _She's, um, way faster… than she should be.'_ The wind made the miko uncomfortable as she rode it. ' _Why is this…'_

 _Spla- splat!_

"Ah…!" Aya froze, ectoplasm splashing onto her form while she reveled in the fact she juggled the miko.

...She turned back to Rinnosuke lazily, giving him a dour face. "We~ll... I can't say you guys don't know how to fumble up enemy weaknesses." Failing to resist grinning, Aya marched towards him… "Instantly all about _slowing me down_. It's kind of a _buzzkill._ "

"You-..." Rinnosuke swallowed, then flinched at the breeze that flew into him. "You know what's really… kind of a buzzkill!?"

"Wha~t…" With a slow, dangerous stride, Aya continued towards him…

The shopkeeper's expression flared. "Getting harassed just because _you_ feel like it!"

...This didn't really make much of a difference.

 _WHAM!_ " _Ghuh…!"_ He folded to the same gut punch Marcus did, shutting his eyes…

Aya spoke into his ear. "And here you three all talked big game…"

 _Thud._ Collapsing onto his side, Rinnosuke took in the green grass beneath himself. "Uh- ugh…"

 _Bam._ Across the windy clearing, Sendai landed on her legs, which buckled even when accented with dark power. "Nnh…"

' _Time to pop a potion, everyone's dead inside.'_ Quietly, she dug through her pockets…

"Oh…? How?" Inquisitive, Aya turned back to the miko. "I thought I hit your jaw. Shoulda been a clean knockout."

' _Disoriented, sure. She didn't put enough strength into it.'_ Dark fog poured from the miko's features as she stood again, raising her potion. ' _That wind… it did something. I feel colder, now…_ '

" _Evolution!_ " She cast the potion into the air-

 _Di- di~ng!_ The liquid splashed across her form, and she saw it act on her party members in the background…

She tensed up, expecting the tengu to act. Instead, Aya held her arms out, hunched over and covered in ectoplasm, still jittering with energy.

 _Spla- splat!_ From the floor, Rinnosuke shot another glob of ectoplasm at her, and it landed. "I- I got her…!"

 _Zap- zap!_ Marcus generated yet another lilac sphere in her form, since it worked so well so far.

Wincing her eyes, Aya hugged herself. "O- oh, no. My _weaknesses…_ You found out…!"

...Sendai didn't buy this for a moment. ' _She's got something up her sleeve.'_ She began to strafe towards the tengu...

"I- I'm sorry, Aya…!" With a grimace, Rinnosuke stood back up, channeling mana into his gun again. "You asked for this!"

 _Spla- splat! Zap- zap!_ As the magic debuffed her further and further, she curled up and kneeled on the floor. "My- my speed… my pride…"

…

After a still moment, the party just kind of watched her awkwardly.

…

' _We didn't… really do it, did we?_ ' Sendai tilted her head, but retained defensive posture. "Keep defensive, guys. This isn't over."

Rinnosuke looked up at her, brows still furrowed. "No. I- I think it's-"

"Shut up. It's not over." Sendai overruled his judgment. ' _Don't let your feelings get in the way, here. This was too easy._ '

...Somewhat awkward himself, Marcus held up his blade as he stood once more, pointing it forward. " _Balloon!"_

 _Bwomp._ A person-sized, salmon-colored balloon placed itself between him and the tengu. "...There we are. Defense!"

' _I don't know about that._ ' Sendai gave the giant water balloon a vain stare.

...Sendai glanced over the still tengu-

Aya was beaming giddily at the miko, head awkwardly raised from her hunched, kneeling position. ' _Uh oh.'_

"But, I can't lose _here…"_ Aya uttered, slowly standing. "I've got a paper due tomorrow…! It… might as well be due _today,_ even!"

' _Your motivations are skewed._ ' Sendai refused to let herself be too amused by this performance. ' _Alright, what's your trick? It's the wind magic, isn't it?'_

"Wind Sign…" Aya held her jittering arms up, limbs dripping with green, oozing ectoplasm. " _Tengu Newspaper Deadline Day!"_

 _Bam!_ Sendai flicked a heel into the ground, allowing her to kick forward with her other leg, attempting to close the distance.

 _ **BOOM**_

A shockwave of air exploded outward, Aya's form vanishing, leaving only the hollow image of her grinning expression for the briefest moment.

' _Oh, shit…'_ Planting her feet firmly on the ground, Sendai looked around-

 _Woosh- woosh- woosh- WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH…!_

All around them, the air of the clearing began to swirl violently. Dust, orange, amber and black leaves kicked into the air, and the clothes of the party began to whip around…

...Marcus and Rinnosuke turned to Sendai expectantly, as the wind continued to swirl, a vortex forming around the party.

She met their stares vainly. ' _What the hell do you want me to-..._ '

An idea had found her. Running forward, past the balloon Marcus made, Sendai held out her arms. "Get over here and clump together! It's gonna get rough!"

The other two immediately did as requested, sprinting up to Sendai-

Hunching down, she wrapped her arms around their backs and grabbed onto the sides of each of them. "Hold on! And whatever you do, _don't_ let go."

She felt their arms wrap around her back in turn. "Shoulda brought my _wind hat…"_ Marcus grinned at the huge vortex that was forming around them. "Maybe a parasol! Actually, I think I-"

"If you pull out a parasol and get us fucked up, I'm breaking you." Sendai threatened him bluntly.

As the wind's volume increased, Rinnosuke commented on this exchange. "That sounds worse now that he's old… older, I-"

 _Woo~sh!_ As the wind began to pick up, Sendai had to squint her eyes, the wind irritating her vision. ' _This is gonna be-'_ They began to ascend. ' _-pretty bad…'_

" _Balloon!"_ Marcus awkwardly held out the Blade of Kusanagi with the arm he wasn't using to hold on-

 _Bwomp._ He made another balloon in the air…

Sendai ignored this, rather than having to evaluate how tactically irrelevant that probably was. As the three ascended into the air, she began to look around-

 _BOOM!_ Two thin pressures met Sendai's back like meteors. " _Gfa~h!"_

 _Woo~sh…_ The three went spiraling ahead into the proper cone of the vortex, and instantly their speed picked up. Sendai struggled to keep her eyes open, despite the burn in them from the rushing wind, and the coming dizziness…

As they spun, caught by the upward current, the world whirled on spin-cycle around them as they rose above the trees, both flipping and being spun around, rotating on every axis...

Then, after a moment, the wind stopped entirely. Naturally, only once they were thoroughly dizzy and disoriented. ' _Go- gods… re- really…'_

...With this development, the three fell like rocks. ' _Oh- oh, shit!'_ Sendai's senses sobered up, dark splotching her form, although her party was a different story.

"A- aah…!" Rinnosuke let out a little grunt of primal fear as they plummeted a tree's length towards the grass below-

 _Fwish._ Sendai whipped a leg up, their fall decelerating-

Dizzy and windswept, Marcus managed slightly levitate himself, killing their momentum even further, and slowing their sideward tilt-

 _Thu- thud, thud._ They all landed near one another, rolling to a stop on the floor, with Rinnosuke receiving the most punishment, getting rolled over by his allies. "Oof…"

...Once Sendai got onto her limbs, she saw Aya before herself, clean of ectoplasm and electricity, looking smug.

The shrine maiden sprang into a standing position, stumbling a little from continued flightiness. ' _Why doesn't the ground feel solid beneath me…?'_

"You guys had your fun?" Aya gave them a nice smile.

"Ho- how did you... break free…!?" Rinnosuke expressed his bafflement as he stood up, looking worn out already.

...Aya blinked at him. "What kinda tengu would I be, if I just let people walk all over my body~, yeah? Besides, you gotta be able to do more than attack my gimmick! It's kinda unfair if you remove that, isn't it? 'Sides… if you've all come _this far_ just beatin' up everyone you see, I expect you to be a little more versatile than _that._ But it was a good guess..."

Sendai let out a breath, before recollecting herself, adopting defensive posture. '... _Why's she just telling us this?'_

"By the way, I'm gonna _destroy_ you guys now." Aya innocently informed them. "I sure wouldn't wanna be you!"

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Marcus threw up a magic barrier-

Putting away his gun, Rinnosuke hid behind Sendai. "Ge- geez…"

Spreading her arms out, Aya drifted into the air, and exhaled. "Haa~h…"

 _Woo~sh…_ A breezy, piercing gale rolled across the clearing.

Marcus's shield flickered out-

 _BA- BAM- BAM!_ The seemingly innocent gale hit them like a tidal wave.

 _WHAM!_ Sendai's vision flickered after she was slammed into a tree behind herself. ' _Oww~... wha- what the hell…'_

"Oa- ooh…" Rinnosuke rolled out of a bush near her, defeated again.

"Sh-... _shi~t._ " Marcus was laying on his back on her other side, unable to get back up.

...Stumbling from the tree, the shrine maiden dug for a potion, silently cursing herself for ruffling her clothes in the process, as the air generated from even that sent chills through her. ' _What is this!?'_

...The party's adversary seemed to just stand there as the miko threw her potion up. " _Evolution!"_

 _Di- di~ng!_ Healing solvent splashed all over all three party members…

Aya asked her a plain question. "Feel cold?"

...Sendai, despite being healed by the solvent back to proper health, still felt chilly. "...Why ask?"

"That's your magic defense." The tengu informed her. Holding out her free hand, she made a thumbs down. "Pshoo~. Way down. Wind magic does that."

 _BOO- BOOM_. With explosive velocity, Aya was behind the miko. She only left an impression of her movement whenever she began one, well behind her new position. "So, feel like throwin' in the towel yet?"

 _BOO- BOOM._ As Sendai subtly turned in the direction of the tengu, she was before the miko, upside down and in her face. "You'll get a free Bunbunmaru!"

 _BOOM!_ She was now upright and some meters away from Sendai, throwing playful punches at the air. "Or, you could order a second beating! Absolutely free!" ...She blinked, then leaned to the side sheepishly. "You get a Bunbunmaru with that, too. No pressure!"

' _She can rebuild her speed… but if we managed to do actual damage to her,_ _that'd go a lot farther than whatever petty crap we can clog her up with. Either we bank on temporarily slowing her, or-'_

" _Balloon!"_ Marcus makes yet another balloon, this one pastel green, once he's up. Sendai stares over at it…

' _Why._ '

Rinnosuke aimed his pistol at the tengu again…

Aya gave him a long stare. "...You guys _really_ into that beatdown? Seriously?"

Swallowing, the half-youkai contemplates his next move…

' _We're fucked if we do nothing.'_

"We need damage." Sendai tried to brief them.

"I _know…!"_ Grinning, Marcus briskly agreed-

"I- I'll do…" Rinnosuke didn't know _what_ he was going to do, but he was going to do it.

…

" _Boo!"_ Aya jerked forward-

From Rinnosuke's gun, a blue, dart-shaped danmaku pellet gravitated towards her. Gaining a charmed, extremely smug expression, the tengu watched it slow as it neared it. A bubble grew on the exterior of it, before smoothly expanding to melon size…

"Aww~!" Aya adored it. "Ain't that a cute little thing?"

 _Pop!_ Splash.

...Staring down at her wet clothes, and increasingly transparent shirt, Aya smirked up at Rinnosuke. "...Oh. _Oo~h._ So _that's_ your idea, huh. Hehe-"

" _Ice Shard!"_ Marcus thrust his arm out-

 _Ka- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Aya flinched when an ice chunk froze around her torso-

 _BOOM!_ Her form was gone-

 _Fwa~sh!_ The distinct sound of magical freezing was heard-

 _Bam-_ thud- thunk! After throwing herself to the side, Aya rebounded off of a tree trunk across the path from the party, before rolling onto her legs again, eyes wide and wild for this moment of action. Her wings, one arm, and torso were frozen solid.

"Hehaha~!" This didn't mean she wasn't having fun with it, though. "I thought you guys were just debuff focused! Where'd this combo come from!?"

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish._ Sendai lobbed some ofuda forward just to see if they'd land-

 _BOOM!_

Aya's sandal met her gut. "Pfhunh…!" Saliva flew from Sendai's mouth, her mind registering the blow on a delay-

 _Thu- thud!_ She rolled across the floor. "Auh…"

' _Way faster… than other tengu. Why~ the hell.'_ She felt the blow throb in her abdomen as she lied in the leaves and dirt. ' _Fuck.'_

" _Balloon!"_ Marcus threw his arms out-

 _Bwomp._ A cute, person-sized and straw-yellow balloon spawned before him, next to the other one he'd thrown up.

Aya looked over at the balloons, and grinned. "Okay, what the heck's with these stupid balloons you keep making…"

...As Sendai got back up-

 _Fwa~sh!_ Rinnosuke shot a light 'arrow' at the tengu. As a result, orbs of holy spread out across her features…

She froze up. "Woah? What's-"

 _Fwi~sh._ The orbs drifted and fluttered from her form, before coalescing around Rinnosuke…

...He blinked as the magic soaked into him, and then-

 _Woosh!_ Sprinting forward, he-

 _Bam!_ -kissed a tree, all the way across the path and some ways down. "Mngh…"

…

"Pffta~ hahaha~!" Aya loved it. "Ohahaha~! Wh- wha- what… what was _that!?_ What'd you _do...?"_

Marcus thrust his arms out. " _Thunderbolt!"_

Aya froze, staring at him with a still mirthful expression. "Wha-"

 _Thwa- KRACK- thwash, thwash!_ A series of lightning converged into one concentrated thunderbolt, initializing in the core of Aya's form three times.

The chunks of ice bound to her form snapped off as a result, but she was also left jittering…

 _Thud._ She fell over, form locked up with electricity, expression stuck in one of mirth. "A- a… ah…"

…

Marcus scratched his head. "You… you mean that _worked?"_

 _Woosh!_ Rinnosuke slid across the dirt path on his rear, before tumbling on the grass, past Marcus and almost past Aya. "O- oh my god…"

' _Great job, Kourin..._ '

With a worn expression, Sendai trudged back up to her party members. "Fu- fuckin'..." Drawing a holy molotov, she marched up to the tengu.

 _Crack!_ She shattered the glass over the frozen girl's form, and a small fire instantly started on her as the liquid burned. "How's _that_ for magic defense..."

Reeling one leg up, Sendai brought it down-

 _Bam! Bam!_ She began stomping the tengu's form, beginning with her side-

 _BOOM!_

 _Thud!_ Sendai fell onto her back, Aya slamming her arm into her torso. "Uah- aa~h…!" The miko's yell was more of surprised fright than pain, even if there was plenty of pain too.

Marcus darted near his balloon bubbles. "Come an' get me, siste~r!"

Now free from the stunning, Aya whipped her gaze over to him, expression hungry as she took to the air. "Aw yeah!?"

 _BOOM-_

 _POP!_ She slammed into a balloon; one of two he'd made on the right side of the path. The wet explosion that emanated from it knocked her back briefly. " _Uwaha_ -"

 _POP!_ The second balloon homed in on her, popping as well and keeping her staggered. "Woah woah-"

One of the aerial balloons arced towards her, and she saw it, but her body didn't react-

" _Ice Shard!"_ Marcus cast again, hands glowing with frosty energy.

 _POP!_ "Aha~h!" She squealed playfully this time, as this balloon's impacting blast staggered her further-

 _Ka- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ An ice crystal generated around her form, and the air around her began to freeze-

 _Fwa~sh!_ Once Marcus's ice shard properly initialized, Aya found her legs bound together with ice, as well as one arm frozen due to the balloon's water that'd clipped her.

Thunk, thunk, thunk. She hopped along on her frozen legs. "Oka~y, I'll give you _that one._ For a prefab, that's _pretty goo~d…!"_

Once again, Sendai came to a stand. This time, she held her stomach, however. ' _I've been through worse…'_ She gave herself encouragement to continue, the pain of probable internal damage making her grit her teeth as she marched back to battle.

Gaze on the tengu, the shrine maiden braced herself, expression steely-

 _BOOM-_

 _fwish._ Sendai grazed past Aya, who'd shot past her like a bullet. ' _A- ah…'_ She'd hardly realized how it happened.

"Woah!" Aya-

 _BAM!_ -embedded her frozen legs in a near tree. "...Aw, _crap._ " Looking down at them, her face fell.

 _Woosh-_

 _Bam!_ Whirling forward with his newfound speed, Rinnosuke slammed his arm into Aya's head, her awkward angle benefitting his assault.

"Owahah!?" Aya recoiled from the blow-

Pop. -before popping out of the tree trunk with a thrust of herself. "Who _ever_ hit me-"

 _Fwa~sh!_ Rinnosuke shot a bright flare into her face to mask his retreat-

 _Fwa- fwap!_ While she was processing who'd engaged her, and the blindness, Sendai lobbed ofuda onto her, which managed to stick. ' _Yes!'_

 _Za- KRAZAP!_ More lilac plasma generated in the tengu's form, the electrical pulse shattering the ice around her form and shocking her to her core.

 _Zap!_ The ofuda Sendai slapped onto her initialized, holy magic attacking the tengu's body.

"Ow- ow…" This combination of blows made the reporter stumble back and wince. "Gee~z. Three on one's... really not all that fair, huh…"

' _You were kicking our ass a few moments ago.'_ Sendai shivered. ' _My magic defense is still crap…'_

Marcus jogged towards the other balloon he'd set up at the start of the encounter, which persisted. "O~h boy, oh boy...!"

Rinnosuke was by Sendai's side again, having sprinted up to her with swift strides even while armed, thanks to the evasion buffs he'd copied. "Are you alright!?"

...Sendai gave him a _look._ "Ribs hurt… but fine enough." ' _I'm tougher than this. I just hate being nailed by fucking… quick hit and runs.'_

"Headwind!" Standing tall, Aya sprang up onto one leg again and posed. "Route Forbidden to Man!"

 _Woo~sh._ Suddenly, a powerful but gentle gale picked up, leaves and dirt blowing the direction the tengu girl was facing…

Sendai squinted a little. '... _Wind.'_

...Marcus had to walk in place to keep against the gale. Rinnosuke had to as well, but his strides were greater and amazingly less precise due to his speed powerup he'd copied…

 _Za- zap!_ While Marcus cast another one of his lilac plasma orbs to pester Aya, the tengu simply stumbled out of it again. "Even with all of that… y'know, I've got _friends_ who hit me harder than that!"

"I will face you!" Feeling brave, Rinnosuke took aim with his pistol-

 _Fwoomp._ He fired a red danmaku dart at her-

 _Woo~sh._ WIth a wave of her fan, she dissipated it. "Nice _bullet._ Why do you even _try…?"_

 _Ka- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Once again, she began to get frozen by one of Marcus's ice shard casts. "Oh, for the love 'a-"

 _Fwa~sh!_ ...Since she wasn't terribly wet anymore, she was simply chilled and covered with frost. She began to check herself just to make sure she wasn't frozen anywhere weird. "Okay, _good._ That spell-"

 _Fwoomp._ Rinnosuke tried the red dart again-

 _Woo~sh._ Aya made it die in a small tornado. "What's with you and these piddly little bullets…!?"

' _What can I even do…?_ ' Sendai felt particularly pressured, not having many quick and ranged options. ' _...Well, actually…_ '

She drew her lightning flintlock. ' _There's this. Oh, wait, and…'_

She punched at the air. A single, purple fist was launched towards the tengu…

Aya watched it come, and slowly drifted out of the way of it. "...Wow."

 _Zap!_ Then Sendai tried the lightning flintlock, and it was marginally more effective. "Eah- woah!" Aya flailed her limbs-

 _Pap._ Sendai flinched, a small rock beaning her in the side of head at gentle speeds. ' _Ow- what the hell…'_

 _POP!_ One of Marcus's balloons in the air popped, a rock flung by the ambient gale descending from the trees and colliding with it.

From Aya's change in direction, the entire gale itself changed, almost throwing the entire party off balance.

 _Fwoomp._ In the confusion- and in Aya's mirth at the party's stumbling- Rinnosuke fired his angry dart again-

It fizzled against Aya's clothes.

The spell card's wind stopped.

…

' _Um…?_ '

Aya focused on him. Rinnosuke glared back.

Her expression completely even, the tengu took a half step back, almost sliding back into a split from the way she arched back-

 _FWOOF…_

Two massive, wide black wings spread from her back, her unblinking gaze set on the half-youkai before her. With two unarmed hands, she brought them to her sides…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Circular, dawn-tinted discs of whirling twilight wind formed in her hands.

 _Fwoa~sh…_ Her form began to billow, an airy aura projecting itself around her.

' _She's obviously going to just tackle him.'_ Sendai knew that look in her eyes. ' _Let's get in the way…'_

Snapping up towards the wobbly-legged shopkeeper, Sendai afixed her arm with dark energy, ready to properly snap into place. ' _I've only got one shot. Let's make this count.'_

...Aya's wings gave a preliminary twitch-

 _fwish._ Sendai threw herself forward, thrusting the arm directly in her way with as much speed as she could muster-

 _ **FWOA- WOA- WAA~HM!**_

An explosion of wind and dust roared out into the now nighttime air.

 _THUD- CRACK- BAM! 'Oww- fuck- ghaa~h…!'_

...

Soundlessly by comparison to the massive power blast, Sendai found herself looking up at the now blurry stars in the night sky, pain blossoming through her body.

' _Holy…_ _ouch. Bad idea._ ' She hadn't expected something quite like _that_.

...She tried to move, but her body only had enough energy to jitter. ' _Damn… it…'_

...Some meters away, Aya wasn't fairing much better. " _Ohoho~w!_ Holy _shit!_ _Waahow!_ My- _ahahaoo~w!_ My- my-... waa~h!"

Rinnosuke was unconscious between them, splayed awkwardly on his side with his arms bent at improper angles.

...Some distance from the exchange, Marcus got back onto his feet. "...Oho~h, shit. I~t's… potion ti~me."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Now upright, Sendai sat around a fire they'd made some feet down the path. Starlight shone down on the four as they warmed up.

Aya was taking notes, neatly seated next to the flames. "...Y'know, I'd nearly forgot arms can bend that way."

Shuddering, Rinnosuke ran his hands over his elbows and biceps. "Yeah…" He looked up at her. "I didn't know chests could have holes that big in them that weren't lethal."

She snorted. "Oo~h... that was lethal alright. S'a good thing magey there blew your _mega elixir_ on all of us. That was a kinda blow _oni'd_ do to us. I'm not made fer getting my entire chest blown apart."

' _We probably didn't have enough regular potions.'_ Sendai was fine with the elixir's ultimate purpose. ' _Considering we got it for free, it's whatever. We needed it, after all.'_

...The four watched the crackling flames of the very tiny bonfire they'd assembled. Marcus had found himself a nice rock, while Rinnosuke sat on a stump, and Sendai chose the floor nearest the fire. Aya was quite close to it as well, letting it heat her flank...

"Yea~h." Seated plainly on a very conveniently-shaped rock, Marcus nodded slowly. "...We should buy more!"

Sendai's stomach growled again. ' _...That would figure.'_

Standing up, Aya took in a deep breath. "Alri~ght...! So~... I should pick you guys up a bite to eat, for that interview."

Looking up at her, Sendai gave her a sardonic smile. "I suppose you should."

Rinnosuke's expression was similar. "Aah. Thank you, I think. That's rather... unlike you."

She gave them a compromising, awkward grin. "Yeah, well, I blew your healing items and beat you up. Even if that _angry bullet_ was kinda your fault, I still went a little overboard, I guess…"

' _That was... sort of annoying as a whole._ ' Sendai, while normally okay with speedy opponents, was less than thrilled to fight something _that_ much faster than her. ' _But, it was interesting. And...'_

"That attack." The shrine maiden spoke up. "The one you used at the end there…"

...Aya stared at the miko, unsure of where she was going with this.

Standing up briskly, Sendai turned to the side-

 _Woo~sh!_ Then, she thrust forward. As she spread her arms, similar disc-based blades of wind visibly formed in her hands. Once they'd initialized, she flew forward with great velocity.

She skidded to a stop once the blades had vanished, dust kicking up in her wake.

Facing Aya again, she made her request. "...A tengu taught me this technique after I'd beaten it some years ago. I was wondering if you knew anything more about it."

...Aya grinned at her with a raised brow. " _Tengu Rush…?_ It's been awhile since I've seen it used like _that!"_

...Casually observing, Rinnosuke looked over at her. "Sort of a cheesy name. For, you know... something so powerful when used correctly."

She gave him a dry look. "That's what the trainees call it. There's no _real name_ for it. Some people call it _ass whooping_ , and others just call it tackling. The books and scrolls call it variations of 'Power Blast', which can be like _anything._ 'Specially 'cause it kinda works with weapons too. Kinda."

' _...Well, I didn't fight a trainee for it, but I didn't fight anyone quite like Aya here, for sure. It's sort of ironic, but it's almost like being armed works against the tengu's favor. When it comes to combat against humans, at least.'_

Gilding across the grass and path dirt to join the miko, Aya rubbed her chin… "So it's an _upgrade_ you want. Hmmhmm."

"Basically." Sendai stared into her expectantly questioning expression. "I really never use it, because wind damage is… sub-optimal at the best of times, and I often need more natural methods to engage directly. When I was younger, it was kinda handy to just slide into youkai and freak them out, but in my more recent fights, it's really just not competitive enough."

"Yea~h. I see what'cher sayin'..." Aya nodded at her explanation. "Sounds like you could use either like… some _caster-esque_ improvements, or just learn how to control your wind magic a little better an' break format a little. I think we both know there's a _lo~t_ you can do with wind!"

"I'm sure…" Sendai felt at herself, her magic defense now normal compared to earlier. "...Caster-esque?" She questioned the seemingly ill-fitting choice for her method of combat…

...It took a pause for Aya to realize her objection. "Oh, yeah! Well- you're _basically_ as fragile as our more magician-y types, or _me_. Which is saying _a lot_ for a human. The alternative'd mean you'd be able to hug yer enemies and crush 'em to death wit' yer bare hands, which is a bit… _challenging_. The fact you can do the basic one at all's kinda funny, but not surprising." The tengu wagged a finger at the miko playfully.

Then she stepped back a little. "No~w, with how strong _you are_ , I'm pretty sure you can do li~ke…"

 _Fwi~sh!_ Sliding forward, Aya's form was almost untrackable as she whirled up to a tree across the path in a gust of wind-

 _Bap!_ She delivered to quick uppercut to a undeserving tree, before appearing back where she started, only the motions of her landing in place again noticeable. "...Obviously you won't be _as quick_ about it, but that's something you could do. And, as for Tengu Rush itself…"

 _Fwi- fwish._ Holding her arms up like Sendai, Aya let the wind blades spin up around herself. Unique to her stance, when she let go, they continued to whirl, revolving around her and acting as fans.

"Casters basically do it like this. They let the air blades whip around 'em so they can live with grazing and avoidance strategies rather than goin' all in and grappling things to death like our brawlers. For our sword guys, Tengu Rush revolves around their weapon, which you don't have." She explained to the observing miko.

"...What makes it different from the one I know now? Aside from the spinning." Sendai was skeptical of the ability's flexibility…

Aya gestured to the wind blades. "Toss an ofuda inta one and find out!"

...Drawing a single ofuda, Sendai cast it towards one of the blades as it faced her-

 _Fwip- fwish!_ The holy paper was deflected, soaring off into the distance. ' _Oh, I see. Projectile defense. I probably really need that now.'_

"There _are_ a bunch of defensive wind spells…" Reading the miko's interest in this idea, Aya held a finger to her lips. "Bu~t, Reimu's barred a _fe~w_ of them in proper danmaku duels…! Mostly 'cause reflecting and deflecting everything's _a little_ unfair. Stuff like this only kinda sorta gets around the ban 'cause it's got blind spots. Still, it's not gonna stop a falling tree or a giant rock or something; if it can destroy the blade, it's _way too heavy_ ta be deflected."

"...Don't the tengu hold their techniques on a need-to-know basis?" Rinnosuke spoke up again, now standing near the fire to warm up further, using the space no longer occupied by the two girls. "Is it okay for you to be telling us this?"

Aya further pressed her finger to her lips. "If anyone _really_ cares, I can just say Reimu's mom beat it out of me! Besides, this wouldn't be the first time…!"

...Flipping back around to face Sendai instantly, she acted as if she hadn't moved at all. "Also, certain spell cards get around the whole 'no shields' thing since they kinda nullify your ability to have another spell card active that isn't a shield. Really, it depends if it's a bullet only duel, or if you'll be beating each other up."

' _The way she just flips around looks weird.'_ ...After absorbing the tengu's words, Sendai made her decisions. "That improved Tengu Rush sounds good. I don't care _too much_ about spell cards or danmaku at the moment, so I think I'll be fine without any other things about that."

Aya snorted, allowing herself a wry grin. "Oo~h, yeah? Hehe~... I'll ask you about that later! But, yeah, the caster Tengu Rush…"

 _Fwish._ Letting the blades fizzle out into unrestrained air around herself, Aya slid forward onto the path. " _Basically,_ you know how you make 'em in the first place? You make that ring around your feet, and work with the stuff from there?"

"Yes." At the tengu's words, the miko stepped onto the path near her, and held out her arms-

 _Woo~sh._ Wind whirled around her heels, making her hakama billow. "...From here I'd gather the wind into the blades."

"Yeah, do that too." Aya did it with her, holding out her arms-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ The two both made the wind blades at their sides. Sendai kept her arms held up to maintain them, but the tengu let her arms drop.

"So!" Looking over at Sendai, Aya grinned. "You use 'em to move, don't you?"

Sendai furrowed her brows. "...Was I not supposed to?"

"Kinda." Aya half-confirmed. "See, when you normally let go of them, they just explode right? Bring that wind ring _up_ and keep focused. Sorta like, _stir it._ "

...A small vortex kicked up around Sendai as a result, as she focused. "Ah. Hmm…" With it up, she lets go of the discs of whirling wind-

They begin to unevenly whirl around her form, the magic used to control them uneven and imprecise. While Aya's rotated around her gracefully, Sendai's were jerky, wobbled, and changed vertical positioning every few moments…

"Um…" After some observation, Aya rose her brows. "What the hell're you doing?"

Sendai continued to focus, choosing to ignore the tengu for now. ' _Let's see where this goes.'_

"Da~h." Aya continued to object. "That's not… how you-"

 _Fwoa~sh!_ A shockwave of air spread out from Sendai, a brief splash of slicing gales flourished from her form, and the blades flew into the air.

...She stared up at the blades as they escaped, proceeding up in an arc into infinity. "Whoops."

' _That felt nice, but I'm probably not supposed to be using ancient offense techniques as an elaborate way to fan myself.'_

"Yeah, try not to flood it with _dark magic._ " Aya's expression was vain… "You'll find it rarely mixes well. It just makes things crash and explode, unless ya know what you're doing."

 _Fwi- fwoosh!_ Holding out her arms, Sendai tried again. This time, the blades generated in her hands again, and after a moment of focus-

 _Fwish._ Upon releasing them, they jankily revolved around her form. Once they seemed stable, she propped an arm onto her right hip and watched them dance. "...Good enough."

"Now, how to get that speed without just _holdin'_ onto the blades…" Aya smiled widely at the miko. "I know you know how to channel _darkness_ inta yer limbs. Do you know how to do it with _wind_ , though?"

...The miko considered this for a moment. Folding her arms, she thought about it. "...I figured it complicated. I was never proficient in the actual _elements_ , exactly…"

"Gi~rl. You know how to channel wind _at all_ , so you've got a good starting point!" Approaching Sendai from the opposite angle she was before, Aya crouches down before the wind blades and looks at the miko's legs. "...You know how you can feel the wind when you kick and punch and stuff? If you can grab that for your whole body and sorta focus, you can probably actually control how you do with air instead 'a just… y'know, _darkness._ I dunno how the whole darkness thing _works_."

...Sendai let the wind around herself dispel. "I'll… consider this."

Her stomach growled again. ' _It's getting harder to ignore, now…'_

...Sensing that she was done explaining things, Aya let out a breath. "Phew. If you guys've had enough of my _tengu technique seminar,_ it might be time to get some grub goin'!"

"Y'know, that sounds like a plan!" Standing up, Marcus patted his stomach. "...I _would_ like ta see a tengu 'bout some _wind magic_ at some point. 'Cause y'know, at this point I'm just kinda on a cross-Gensokyo element tour for the hell 'a it. Might as well add some wind ta my collection!"

Aya shot him a grin. "Y'know, I should be giving lessons! Except I won't, 'cause that's _boring_ _._ But I still kinda owe you guys, so you're an _exception._ "

Drifting forward into the dim evening, Aya held an arm out. "Oh- yeah, there's some good food about this way…" She pointed down off the path. It took some squinting, but Sendai saw there _was_ a path towards where Aya was deviating, it was just incredibly untrodden and overgrown with brush.

...Giving her party members a reconfirming glance, Sendai continued towards the tengu who floated smoothly into the mid-winter brush.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

A brisk walk into the untrodden but still relatively accessible woodlands lead the party to a food stand…

' _Youkai just… sell_ _food to people_ _in the wilderness, now.'_ Sendai stared at the lamprey grilling stand with the vainest of expressions.

In the black of the evening- accented by the trees and foliage obscuring the stars- she was able to make out the luminescent red eyes of the tengu, and the pink eyes of the night sparrow running the stand. ' _Wait- night sparrow…? Hmm. I think I've seen her somewhere before. I punched one a few days ago… but this_ _can't be_ _the same one.'_

...The night-sparrow frowned up at Aya. "What's this?"

"We came ta get a bite, short stuff!" Aya threw a Bunbunmaru at her face. "Four orders 'a lampre~y!"

 _Fwap._ Mystia let the paper hit her face, flinching back slightly. She replied once it slid off of her. "...Well, okay."

Scanning the party's faces, she appeared vaguely dissatisfied… "Oh. Hey, Rinnosuke." She recognized the half-youkai first.

"Hi, Mystia." He regarded her simply and casually. "...Why're you stationed out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I didn't plan on serving humans today…" She slouched, looking a little displaced at the party's presence. "But, just a few's fine, really." ...Then, she turns her gaze to the miko, scanning her form. "If they're with a tengu, I guess that's fine."

...Sendai's memory clicked. "I punched you for attacking me with some fairies and youkai a few days ago."

Mystia frowned at her. "And you went all walking through the woods like you owned the place. And then you punched us."

"Because you jumped me." Sendai retorted plainly…

"You were walking around at night." Mystia restated her point. "Rather _far_ from the shrine and the village, might I add. Why-"

"Yeah, yeah." Aya waved her hand at her with insane speed. "Dig yerself a hole another time, fluffy, and get ta the lamprey. We're _payin'_ here."

...Swallowing her pride, the night sparrow shook her head as she got to work on the food…

The four sat in front of the cart on the stools provided. Sendai was next to Aya, with Rinnosuke to her left, and Marcus to _his_ left.

 _Sss~._ Almost immediately, the lamprey was laid to sizzle on the grill before them…

' _This is my second time having fish today.'_ Sendai realized. '... _That's alright. We went from a rustic cookout to a fast food stand in the same evening...'_

 _Woo~sh!_

A small tornado kicked up in the background, kicking up leaves and rocks by claiming them into the momentary vortex.

Mystia took a glance back at it, since it spawned behind her. "What the heck…" Then, she turned to glare at Aya. "No. I'm _not_ gonna be in one 'a your headlines."

Aya looked up from her notepad. "Hah?"

...Shaking her head again, the night sparrow went back to overseeing the grilling lamprey.

Sendai took a flat glance at Marcus, who had his hand over his mouth to veil his amusement. ' _A little over eager to test out that new tornado spell. And, you know...'_

"You pick up spells _awfully_ fast, Marcus." Sendai regarded Marcus's new magic… "Aya hardly even explained that wind spell to you."

He looked over at the miko from past Rinnosuke. "Aa~h. Y'want tha' _short_ or the _long_ 'a it?"

...Sendai wasn't sure how there could be either, so she wanted to find out. "Both?"

Marcus snorted. "Well, the short woulda' been some excuse, like… 'maybe I've got a knack fer this'! But, y'know. I've been studying magic, and _elements_ for awhile now. Never really had a reason in recent years to like… _put anythin' into practice._ Sorta fell inta a rut, y'know? Makin' _bombs_ and potions, 'n'... mrrm." Feeling the conversation was sort of one-sided at this point, he let himself trail off.

Sendai inquired more when he seemed to be done. "I remember you being big on body enchantments back when I was alive. You've clearly fallen out of _that_ line of study…"

Smiling, he nodded. "Ah, yeah. I used ta have _reasons_ fer studying it, but y'know, _things happened._ On the upside, I got that sto~re…! How about _that_ , ah?"

'... _'Things happened' is a rather simplified way of putting it, I guess.'_ Sendai decided not to press any further into that. "That _is_ something. What do you even sell? Besides potions."

"Garbage?" Aya suggests from beside the miko. "By the way, I've been listening to everything and taking notes, and I _will_ question you on everything you've said just to make sure!"

Reminded of her ever-listening presence, Marcus chuckled. "Ahah, shit. Well- I sell magic, and magic accessories…! Like this!" Digging through his robe, he pulls out a paddle ball. "It's intimidating!"

"What the hell even is that." Sendai has never experienced the grace of paddle ball in her life.

Pap, pap, pap! Marcus paddled the ball. "...I don't think I could explain better than this. And, let's see..."

Setting the paddleball down on the steel grill counter, he pulled out a myriad of objects, including his tubular bazooka, some packages, a-

" _Why_ are you carrying a dildo." Sendai double-took at the implement. " _How_ is that going to help."

Mystia double-took, looking up from her grill. "Wha- what the hell are you putting on my counter…? Get it off…!"

Aya leaned towards the miko… "How'd you know what a dildo was called…?"

...Sendai gave her a vain look. "I wasn't raised locked away."

' _Once my mother was gone, I very quickly discovered a whole new world of less than pure activities at the village. I was confused.'_

Scribbling notes down, the tengu wished to inquire more… "So, how often did yo~u…"

"If that's what the interview's going to be about…" Sendai loosely threatened to not proceed...

"I'm _joki~ng._ " Aya returned the miko a vain, sassy look of her own. "...Somewhat!"

' _Good.'_ The miko turned her gaze to the grilling food. "...Hey, sparrow. Do you have any drinks?"

"Ah." Mystia took pause, before searching her counter. "I have some waters, juices…"

"Water's fine." Sendai decided. "...So, yeah, Marcus. Dildo, why."

...He was grinning at her. "Y'never know when we might get assaulted by a rovin' band 'a _horny succubi,_ y'know…! That, an' I thought it'd make a sweet peace offering…"

' _Whoever accepts a dildo from an old mage is probably someone we'd be able to beat easily in the first place.'_

The grill slowly quieted down…

 _Click._ Mystia sat down some waters. "Food's ready. That'll be four thousand yen…"

Aya slapped the money onto the counter. "It's on the house! Which is me!"

"You're not the house." Mystia countered. Crouching down, she began to dig for dining-related supplies. "Let me get out the plates and things…"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Sendai was once again well-fed. ' _If this leads to another big fight, someone's going through a wall.'_

She stared up at the bleak light provided by the small lamp Mystia drew for her customer's sake, at their collective requests.

"So, so…!" Aya flipped her pen around fast enough for it to act as a fan. "Now that we're all fat and happy, how about them interviews…?"

"Alri~ght…" Feeling invigorated from the sustenance and still time, Sendai took a deep breath of the midnight air… "Let's get started then. What do you want to know?"

...Taking a glance down at her notepad, Aya considered the first question. "I think the big question's, aa~h… _why and how_ you're alive again. But you're working on that, aren't you?"

The miko blinked at this. "...Well, yes. How much do _you_ know?"

"Well, I tried to quiz the doctor, but she shot me up with a needle and I woke up in the yard, so that went nowhere." Shaking her head, the tengu recounted her recon experiences… "Reisen was convinced it was tengu season, and Yuyuko just fed me pudding and made me too full to continue…"

' _I probably shouldn't give her too much information, really.'_

...After taking a glance at the nearby woods, Sendai gave the tengu a filtered response. "Well, we kind of know… what _condition_ I died in. It wasn't normal. As for how exactly I'm alive right now, I don't yet _know_. We've only found some little things."

Aya rose a brow. "What kinda little things? Everyone sorta knows how you were all mangled and stuff- at least, us on the mountain do, to a _limited extent-_ but what about your revival?"

' _Hmm.'_ Sendai considered both the way the reporter spat out the question, and how to answer it simply. "...Well, we… searched where I revived, basically. Found some holy traces. Kinda figures, me being a miko and all."

"Where'd you revive?" The tengu scribbled notes onto her seemingly endless pad book…

"Some plains near the lake." Keeping her details ambiguous, Sendai relaxed into her seat.

' _Should reach a standstill if I keep giving ambiguous answers.'_

"...Hmm." After scrawling down this information, the reporter looked back up. "Guess that's all of that, for no~w. Now, your fighting style…! Is it true that Gensokyo was a harsher place!?"

"Weren't you alive back then?' Sendai instantly criticized her…

"It doesn't _mean anything_ coming from me~!" Aya gave her a big grin. "Let's just say you and the other miko are kinda the talk of the town, now! _Especially_ after that showdown at the shrine…!"

' _...Oh, geez.'_ Sendai scratched her cheek. "In what way?"

Aya held up a copy of the Bunbunmaru. "In _this_ way!"

...On the front page was a black and white photo of the crater the shrine was at the start of the day. Below it, there was a blurry, foggy photo of the Hakurei bathing in the hot spring, almost unintelligible between the lighting, contrast and visual clutter.

"I kno~w. I didn't get a great photo there…" Aya drawled on the bad photo. "Couldn't even retake it 'cause _she_ freaking up and tried to murderize me."

' _Aya was definitely alive for that period. Tengu typically live great durations longer than humans. One hundred years for her doesn't mean as much.'_

"...How many people get this paper?" Sendai was sort of indifferent to seeing it in print. "I can only assume how you had this _printed_ so quickly."

"Everyone." Aya beamed. "Both voluntarily and involuntarily!"

"...Oh." This information took the miko aback a little more. "...You have enough paper for that?"

"Mhm! Lots!" Nodding vigorously, Aya seemed prideful of this fact. "Most popular paper in Gensokyo!"

Rinnosuke decided to rain on her parade. "Which doesn't mean everyone actually _reads_ it. It's useful to always have a supply of paper, though."

' _...I guess it doesn't really matter.'_ Sendai dismissed her concerns over the attention. ' _Considering how much she already knows, I doubt we'll get more attention than we already have… which doesn't seem to be too much.'_

Ignoring Rinnosuke's prodding, Aya continued. "Onto another topic! ...How'd you get those _muscles?"_ She leered at the miko's form again.

"Fighting and training." Sendai replied bluntly. "...Before I died, I regularly trained daily. Sometimes I would go on youkai hunts, but not quite so much after having Reimu."

"I didn't think a human could get this strong with just training…" Writing at lightspeed, Aya nodded at the information. "What _kinda_ training? Hitting more people?"

Sendai snorted. "Well, no. Not always. Push-ups, lifting, long distance runs, endurance training…" She considering her previous routines. "Sometimes I would make things to hit around. When I was around twenty or thirty, I began training myself to fare the elements harder. Staying out in the cold longer, spending more time working in heat… there's no real way to train from rapid heat to rapid cold, but when your body can normalize to more temperatures, you can get a lot done. Sometimes it can get just _too_ cold or warm for safety, but that's not often in our climate."

"I see~..." Aya was satisfied with this. "How do you know _these_ two goofballs?" She pointed her pen at the guys behind her…

"...Marcus was _about_ my age." Sendai decided, looking him over for a moment… "Kourin was pretty young. About twelve or thirteen at the time. I did things around the village a lot, so I just kind of happened upon them."

' _Don't really need to say more than that.'_

...With that, Aya asked her one final question. " _Why_ the _heck_ is Kiyoko Hakurei alive!?"

"...See my previous answer, sans all the parts that relate to me." Sendai didn't know, herself. "She's quite out of place, it seems."

Aya gave the miko a smarmy look. "Yeah, that's rich comin' from you. But you're not _wrong…_ "

...Taking this pause as the tengu wrote, Sendai surveyed the night sky and dim woods again. ' _I can kind of see the lights of the village from here. We're not far. I'm not sure how late it is, but we could stop by there and see if there are any_ _training opportunities. Get more potions… maybe some more genuine food for travel.'_

Mystia had her arms folded, staring at the four impatiently. When Sendai gazed at her, the night sparrow seemed to fluff up a little.

So she ignored her, looking back at Aya around the same time the reporter asked another question. "What do you make of her? Kiyoko, that is."

Now having thought about the elder miko for awhile, Sendai was able to answer plainly. "...She probably should adjust soon. She needs something more abrupt, because she acts quick and decisively. She's probably going to kill somebody if she's not convinced of the whole 'more peaceful times' thing."

"Yeah, tell me about it…" Aya furrowed her brows as she scribbled. "Oh, by the way. You never actually answered what it was like back then…! You just _heckled me_ , which is encouraged, but not an answer!"

...After giving her a blunt stare, Sendai replied again. "Well, everyone was a lot more kill-happy. No one fought with danmaku. You killed youkai or they killed you. Most killed to eat, and a number of others either hated humans or were fearful of them enough to join in on the slaughter. The humans were pretty trigger-happy, too, and not without reason. I didn't really appreciate them considering me a youkai, considering I _fought youkai_ for them, but they paid me, so it was fine. A~nd… when I grew up, pretty much everyone wanted to destroy the shrine. I'm not even sure why. I guess it was cool, or something. Might be because _my_ mom died."

The miko furrowed her brows suddenly. "Did anyone attack the shrine after I died?"

Aya shrugged. "Ah? Eh. Some fairies. I forget what actually broke it, but something thrashed it, and Reimu went hunting for who did it."

…Sendai blinked. ' _For some reason, I don't buy 'I forgot', but the way she puts it makes it sound like nothing major.'_

Her question answered, Sendai continued a little. "...Also, there were a lot less girls. For some reason, it seems like everyone I meet's a girl now. There also weren't space people from the moon, or quite as many gods just _hanging around_ , or oni running around."

...The moon overhead seemed to be full, once the clouds rolled out of the way to reveal it. ' _Nice and bright. I wonder if the youkai still get feisty on a full moon, or if that's muted now too.'_

 _Fwish._ Seemingly teleporting from her stool once her notes were done, Aya stood behind Rinnosuke and Marcus. "...I might as well ask you guys some questions too."

"Ask away, if you _dare…!"_ Marcus smirked at her. "Let it be known… my secrets are not those safe for mortal men to comprehend!"

Aya gave him a neutral stare. "What kinda cereal do you eat?"

His expression became more casual. "Ah- I do like them sugared flakes. When I _do_ eat cereal."

She turned to Rinnosuke. "What kinda socks do you wear?"

"... _Socks."_ Adjusting his glasses, Rinnosuke turned to her properly. "...I kind of thought you were going to take this serious-"

"How's it feel running around and getting some fresh air?" Aya interjected with an actual question. "Even a small change of pace in _your_ routine's a big happening!"

"...It's interesting. I'm learning new things, even if it hurts." He begins to grin at the way he ended his sentence. "...It's pretty nostalgic."

...At this idea, Aya furrowed her brows. "You leave the house?"

"Marcus and Kourin used to help with some of our youkai hunts." Sendai decided to add, turning to the tengu and building off of her friend's info. "Keine was with us too, if you know who she is-"

" _Keine_ was a _youkai hunter!?"_ Aya's eyes glowed with this information-

"Youkai hunter _assistant,_ probably." Sendai tried to poke a hole into her vigor.

" _Keine_ was a youkai hunter _assistant!?"_ Nothing much changed in Aya's eyes, though. "I should've started reporting sooner!"

"...I was _too."_ Rinnosuke was somewhat displaced by Aya's dismissal of his existence.

"That's also vaguely interesting!" Not necessarily unenthused, Aya gave what might have been an honest answer.

...Once a moment of scribbling and thought on Aya's part had passed, she continued. "Y'know, for _Marisa's dad_ , I'd figure you'd have like… super master sparks or somethin'. Or like, _ultra spells!"_ Aya smiled at the elder Kirisame. "Instead, yer… well, yer not _bad,_ but yer nothin' special it seems."

Marcus just sort of tilted his head. "Aa~h. Yeah, I was never quite one fer the~... _casting_ , even if explosions're good fun and everythin'. At least, not recently…! I've just kinda been… doin' what I've been doin'."

"And that is?" Aya rose a brow at this…

"...Sellin' stuff and makin' bombs!" He grinned back in response. "And stuff!"

...Settled with this response _for now,_ Aya focused on Rinnosuke. "An' _you're_ actually trying to learn things. Which is kinda funny, but also sorta actually good to see."

He perked up at this mention. "It is? I thought I was just having an almost-mid life crisis, set upon by extraordinary events…"

"Well, you _are."_ Shaking her head like this was obvious, Aya grinned as she wrote. "But it's a good change of pace, since you're usually really… _relaxed_ with just being a lonely loner, loning alone in your lonely shop every lonely day."

...He gave her a vain stare in return.

"Are you lonely?" Aya asked the ultimate question of this train of logic.

"Well- _no._ " Rinnosuke countered hotly. "That's a little personal. But, no. I'm fine."

...Rolling her eyes, Aya scribbled this down and spoke lowly. "Well, _now_ you are…"

He didn't hear her speak under her breath. "What?"

"Also- didn't you _make_ Marisa's mini-hakkero?" Standing up stock straight all of a sudden, Aya came to a realization. "...Why're you runnin' around with that crappy little gun?"

Rinnosuke smiled at that. "Well, it was kind of short notice. ...Also, what was that you said-"

"Well, I~ think that'll be all!" Stretching for no reason, Aya wrapped up the interview session… "Wait. Before I get lost…"

She stands before the miko, holding her camera up. "I want'cha ta pose fer me, sister!"

Not expecting the request, Sendai didn't move. "...What, really?"

"Yeah, really." Bringing the camera to her face, Aya leered at her. "The camera's waitin'...!"

...In the heat of the moment, Sendai flexed a muscle and gave the camera a grin.

"No, no- here…" Sliding up to her, Aya guided her to flex one arm before her torso, and then pressed the miko's other arm to the first one. "Now press the palms!"

Like this, the miko exerted both arms, displaying them before herself. ' _This works.'_

"Oh, wait, hold on…" Aya separated the miko's arms again-

 _Fwip_. -and removed the arm sleeves. "There!"

...With that done, the miko pressed her palms together again, flexing both of her arms tightly as she pushed them against one another.

...Smirking, Aya pointed down. "Also, if ya could curve your legs a little-"

"No." Sendai shook her head.

"Alri~ght…" Settling for this pose, Aya leaned over as she adjusted her camera, centering it at the miko…

Sendai gave the lens a cheesy grin-

 _Snap!_ The flash blinded her momentarily. ' _Woah.'_

"Hehehe~...!" She drew the developed picture from the camera's bottom, where it ejected them. "What I'd give ta see _Kiyoko_ naked…! An' not trying to kill me."

 _Fli- flick._

...The party and Aya stared over at Mystia, who powered off the dim cart light, leaving them in darkness.

"Will you four get out of here?" Mystia impatiently asked everyone to get lost. "I kind of need you four to get out of here. I wanna make _some_ extra money tonight."

...Looking down at her as he stood, Rinnosuke decided to ask her a question. "Hey, Mystia…"

...She just stared up at him with a tired face.

"This is a little awkward, but-"

"I'm not looking for anyone right now." Mystia responded bluntly.

"That's not it at all." His response was equally monotone. "I was just wondering if you could, perhaps… teach me something useful."

...Mystia let her arms drop loosely to her sides. "Wha-... what the heck do I look like, a karate master? Is- is this a joke, or something?"

"Well, no… I don't think so." Stepping around the counter vaguely, Rinnosuke talked to her… "It's just, I'm looking for useful skills. It's actually pretty important."

...Aya began to float off, Sendai turning to watch her silent ascent. "We~ll… good luck with that!"

 _Fwish._ In the next moment, she was next to Sendai, whispering into her ear. "At least he's having fun…!"

 _Fwish._ She was in the air again, ascending slowly as she was previously. "Thanks for the intervie~ws! Check the front page tomorrow!"

 _BOOM!_ Everyone except for Sendai flinched at the blast sound that was made as Aya seemingly vanished.

…

"Wha- what am I supposed to teach you." Mystia was befuddled. "What do you want from me!?"

"Just- something basic, small kind of…!" Rinnosuke's tone began to match how lost hers was, until he had an idea. "Look. Something like…"

Drawing his pistol, he aimed it into the dim, black woods. After focusing-

"Is- is that…" Tilting her head, Mystia focused on the pistol. "...That's one of those flintlock things I've heard about, I think."

"Yes, it is." He decided to keep it simple for her. "But, basically, I use it as a magical focus, and…"

A blue danmaku blow dart was fired from his gun. As it neared the tree, it slowed and engorged, a shiny bubble expanding which was black in the dark woods…

 _Pop!_ It popped, soaking the tree trunk.

"Something as simple as that." He turned to the night sparrow. "You'd be surprised how effective just _water_ is."

This line of thinking made Mystia stop and consider this. "...Well… I _do_ have a few things that aren't native to my species."

Reaching under the cart, she pulled out a light, empty canister from inside. "This grill uses a lot of flammable grease to make the heat. It's pretty expensive to buy, but a friend of mine had a friend of her's ask a kappa that was a friend of her's to show me this…"

Putting her hand over the empty canister's top nozzle, Mystia screwed it open. When the cap was off and the interior was exposed, she pressed the back of her cap-holding hand over the hole…

The slow, pittering sound of a filling drum was audible for the next few moments.

' _I know we should be looking for abilities and everything…'_ Sendai began to register what was actually happening, finished contemplating the interview. ' _But this seems a little ridiculous.'_

...Now that the canister was full, she removed her hand from the top. The back of her hand had grease on it, but-

 _fwoof._ A soft wind dispelled it from her wrist. "There. With some water magic and a little uh, transmuty stuff, I can make some okay grease. It's not quite what the kappa use, but it's good enough for a grill."

"How do you make it _grease_ and not, well, water?" Rinnosuke was eager to find out…

...Becoming engaged in the activity, Mystia began working out how to explain it. "Well. Let's, um, see… first, you have to~... you kinda hafta~..."

"S'a chemical formula, isn't it?" Marcus walked up to the counter, placing his hands on the metal part where plates were placed. "An' since it ain't premium, you just kinda~ magic up the materials, even if they're a buncha wood particles in paste form mixed wit' chlorophyll."

"Yeah, I think that was it…" Not entirely confident in her memory, Mystia went along with this. "How'd you know?"

"S'basically the water elementalist's answer ta not knowin' shit 'bout fire magic!" Backing away from the counter again, Marcus nodded pleasantly. "S'also how people learn fire magic in tha' first place…! Before they get the actual superheatin' part down, which is usually tha' first, but sometimes _ain't._ "

...In the background, Rinnosuke had distanced himself from the two a little. Aiming his gun into the brush, he closed his eyes, focusing on the world around him and the weapon…

...And then-

 _Spli- splish!_ His arm recoiled, and a sort of watery mix of green and beige splattered out from his pistol without aim, coating the brush before himself, as well as the ground and some of the tree naer it. "Uh… hmm. That works. I think."

"Great skill." Sendai expressed her awe. "...You're going to coat them in _grease._ "

...Looking back over at her, he smirked. "I mean… it works as an oil slick, I'd think. I don't actually know yet…"

Marcus held his hand out-

 _Fwam!_ A hand-sized fireball traveled to the isolated bush-

 _Fwoom!_ It instantly went up in flames, despite the tiny fireball only striking the edge of it. "Ho ho~!" Beaming at the inferno he contributed to, Marcus pumped his arm in the air. "Man has created _fire!"_

...Aiming at it again, Rinnosuke fired a blue danmaku dart.

 _Bwomp…_ The bubble of water generated around it as it slowed, shakily initializing, and then-

 _Pop!_ The bucket's worth of water doused most of the bush, but some of it still smouldered. ...After smoking for a few moments, it ignited anew.

"Oh, geez…" Rinnosuke took aim again-

 _Bwu- bwu- bwop bwup._ Marcus summoned a small rush of bubbles from under the bush-

 _Pop- pop- pop- pop!_ They all exploded into downpours of water, which thoroughly soaked the bush, finally extinguishing the potential inferno…

"If it were _real man's grease_ , water wouldn't 'a worked at all!" Marcus exclaimed, before meandering over to Sendai… "So we're gonna hafta find some _better chemicals_ fer ya to burn with, at some point."

...Sendai nodded at this. ' _That could be useful, actually. That'd make a reliable way of keeping people on fire.'_

"Well, I _do_ have real grease…" Mystia was indignant of something. "It's just, it's really expensive, and actually making it requires materials…"

"...It shouldn't?" Marcus gave her a curious stare.

Mystia had no idea what to say back, simply furrowing her brows in response.

Turning back to Mystia, Rinnosuke gave her a smile. "Thanks a lot for this, Mystia."

"...That's _great._ " Jarred by the whiplash in conversation, she gave him a warm smile. "Now get-"

She paused as someone new walked out of the brush.

A short, earthen rabbit girl with flaxen hair marched up to the scene, sparing a glance at the smouldering bush-

 _Fwoom._ -which light on fire again, suddenly but only with slight ferocity.

"Ohp- hold on…!" Holding an arm up, Marcus waved it about-

 _Fwa~sh!_ The bush froze solid-

 _Boom!_ -and then it exploded, the icy fragments splaying out, sliding along the floor.

Rinnosuke stared down almost mournfully as the frozen chunks of the pine bush glided to his shoes. "...Oh."

...While he processed this, the flaxen-haired rabbit girl looked up at him with her brown eyes. "Hey."

...He turned to her blankly.

"Um…" She smiled. "You're Rinnosuke Morichika, right?"

...Rinnosuke rose a brow. "Yes?"

"I saw your profile, in the browser…" She spoke softly, bringing her arms together… "Did you get my relationship request?"

He blinked. "Your... what?"

"On rabbitlove dot gov." The quiet rabbit looked away for a moment, uncertainty setting in. "You sought audience with the princess, to find the right rabbit lover for you. I- I, um…"

...Realization dawning on his face, he widened his eyes, and gave Sendai a look of distress.

The miko returned a blank stare, before giving him a brief shake of her head. ' _Have fun. What'm I supposed to do.'_

...Looking his new rabbit friend over again, Rinnosuke scratched his forehead. "Um. I'm sorry to say, but I think-..."

The instant he started to say those words, the rabbit girl withered, closing her eyes...

...Becoming intimidated, he whips his head back to his party for a moment, before once again glancing the girl over.

"...I think I _haven't decided_ yet." He declared, letting out a breath. "You will have to come back… some other time."

"...Oh. Oka~y…" Looking somewhat displaced and confused, the long, flaxen-haired little rabbit girl began to slowly wander away.

…

Sendai began to speak. "You know-"

"Will you guys get the hell outta here…!?" Mystia was ready to pull her hair out at this point. "I fed yo~u! Lea~ve!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...The party was now situated on the path, which was around thirty-forty meters away from the food stand, give or take.

"You know, it would be less hard on her to just tell her you're _not_ interested." Sendai advised her friend bluntly. "Unless you actually want a little funny bunny. Which is…"

"Well, _no."_ Rinnosuke instantly replied defensively.

The three had almost reached the village gates, albeit far later than they'd anticipated.

"...She just looked so _sad."_ He shook his head. "I really should've just told her no. I doubt she'll even find me again."

"...How'd ya imagine she _found ya_ ta begin with?" Shooting him a smirk, Marcus held up a finger as they moved. "Fer all we know, the princess put a tracker on ya specifically for this!"

"Oh, geez…" Parting his hair with his hands, Rinnosuke shook his head. "I even changed out of that outsider-looking hoodie thing, and bathed. Well, I _will_ tell her no next time."

' _Not that anything's wrong with a bunny girlfriend- them being rather benign youkai and all- bu~t… they tend to be a little fast and loose. Also, insatiably horny.'_

...Ahead of them, the torch-lit village gate stood tall, one of four gates that marked the perimeter, in accordance with a compass's directions.

At the wall, instead of the usual guard affair, there were some guys in suits, as well as some robed men. ' _Hmm?_ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _x Youkai Style:_

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush: Caster - Tengu charging technique meant for casters. While this doesn't innately boost agility, it provides the user with wind blades that increase defense against projectiles and certain physical attacks.

Wind Experimentation - Sendai's thinking about experimenting more with wind magic.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful anymore.

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(eighteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Grass Grease - Magic which wets the target with magically charged wood paste and chlorophyll, leaving them vulnerable to increased and stronger burning.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

aya fight

THIS CHAPTER WENT ON QUITE A BIT

s'not a bad thing but oof - w - took awhile especially with my college shenaniganry

revisal time should take less though 'cause i've been doing some thorough double-checking to evaluate prose and pace quality

so far it should be aight so hoh

aya fight had a nice collected pace to it even if it ended abruptly, and has kinda demonstrated how the guys's've grown - w -

the next chapter should allow for some good pace for the party to get used to their new things and a fight that shouldn't be overwhelmingly difficult but not easy either, whereas aya was near the overwhelming territory

it took some doing but rinnosuke got the basic precursor to an actual grease shot, but it'll be called the grease shot or something near that anyway 'cause hoh

also he's got a _girlfriend dude_

aw

she's a nice rabbit friend, from rabbitlove dot gov

she's curiously reserved for earth rabbit height but she knew how to computer and was using it so wahoho

after looking it up i figured out rabbits are pregnant for thirty one days

my editor also tells me they have litters up to five and don't suffer incest defects

the bamboo forest is a crazy place dude

anyway yeah this training arc features a lot of skills quite quickly - w - 'cause focus on learning rather than just getting to the end and beating up boys and girls

this time most of the party members got skills that aren't the most immediately useful but should build on some good things

except for marcus he just got tornado which is pretty immediately useful

oh yeah there weren't guards at the gate this time dude, there were men in suits and robes

"how men in suits; more specifically what do you mean suits" alice among other seamsters and imported culture; we don't really get a chance to learn about it in this fic but we might at some point i dunno

"how men in robes" robes are old and everywhere

"but why are they there" we'll find out dude we'll find out

anyway yeah dude

oh yeah as it turns out aya actually has a curious amount of really good buffing spell cards but a number of them weren't really usable here

one of which is basically a tier above aeroga in that it's a really good wind shield, some powerful tornados, and some other speed boosts or wind spells

also the card where she summons a murder of lesser crows to murder you

this fight was a lot less about the danmaku and more about just beating up the party - w - but in the end it ended up sorta humbling aya so that was interesting

as always, see you all next time!


	28. 6-3 - Rumble Village

In the late evening's star-lit glow, the miko who came before arrived at the front gate of the village, panning her gaze around the suited and robed men…

' _What's this?'_ A brow raised, she approached the arranged men. Most had rather generic, short haircuts, although the robed men had beards and long, scraggly hair. Anyone not in a robe wore a generic black business suit. ' _They're wearing those weird outsider-style dress clothes.'_

"Hehe~y!" Marcus raised an arm to greet them, walking beside the miko. "Okita's boys, an' the priests! You guys do public work now?"

...They didn't give any reply. There were a few brief looks, but that was it.

"You… know these people?" Speaking behind a hand, Rinnosuke quietly regarded the team mage.

Rigidly, Marcus jerked his gaze over at him. "Well- _no._ I know _who_ they are, but not y'know, _them._ "

...Once the miko reached them, none of them said anything. Most just gave her frowns and glares, while a few beamed. ' _Welcoming. They really have forgotten about me, if they think they can jump me with some no name crooks.'_

"Hakurei youka~i." The middle generic man sauntered up to her, smoking a cigarette. "That's ya name, right?"

Sendai returned a level glare as he got into her face. "Who're you?"

"It doesn't matter." Holding out an arm, he moved to wrap it around her. "Come with me."

She pushed him back. "Fuck off."

Stumbling back, he found his balance. His cigarette dropped to the ground-

 _Shi- shing, shing._ Two suited men around the miko began to draw assorted blades, and the robed men readied their staves cautiously.

...Brushing himself off, the confrontational man nodded at this aggression.

"Your boss buy you that suit?" Adopting offensive posture, the miko looked ready to strike whoever stepped close enough.

...Grinning, he looks back at the other guys. "Thinks she's funny."

While they gave a low murmur, he ignored them, turning back to the miko and staring her down.

"What's this?" Disturbed and displeased, Rinnosuke stepped up next. "Does anyone know what you're all-"

"Shut u~p." The guy held up a hand to pause the shopkeeper. "Half-youkai piece of shit."

This response evoked an immediate dismissive expression from said shopkeeper.

"How much for a night?" Slipping back up to the shrine maiden, the guy made an obnoxious effort to appear casual, strutting with exaggerated effort. "Really. You're damn sexy. It'd be a cryin' shame if I had to make ya cry. Why don't we forget all this youkai bullshit?"

 _Cra- crack._ Sendai cracked her knuckles. "How about you all just go away?"

...The guy jerked his head to the side, grinning wider. "...Ya- ya just want me ta _go away?_ I ain't goin' nowhere. _"_

"I can have you all reported." Folding his arms, Rinnosuke kept close to Sendai. "This is blatantly illegal."

"You think I give a shit?" Stepping forward, the man neared them again. "She can't even so much as _touch me_ wit' out my permission. Watch this."

He jabbed a palm towards the miko's breasts-

 _BAM!_ Her palm met his gut-

 _Crack!_ A black shockwave expanded in the air for a brief moment, the sound of a bone snapping echoing across the clearing.

Thunk- thud! " _Fghua~!?_ " The man slammed against the gate, before landing on his side. "Nho…"

Tensing up, the rest of the men all held their katana-esque short blades high, and the unarmed ones raised their fists.

' _...That went easier than expected.'_ Sendai's adrenaline had pumped prematurely, the miko's body conditioned by the incessant, back-to-back battles she'd experienced.

Weakly pushing against the floor, the short-haired leader grinned up at the party. "Ha- haha… hah."

...A moment later, he explained his mirth. "Yo- your… holy magic, it don't work. Naziro, tell 'em…"

...One of the robed men sheepishly pressed his staff into the floor. "I have warded all of these men against holy attacks. Your sacrilegious Hakurei techniques will not work."

...Not really fazed by this, Sendai scanned the eight or so men. "It's a good thing I don't use holy anything. I'll beat you all with my bare hands."

The leader stared up at her warily-

Two of the men with blades moved to guard their ringleader, and the leftmost one yelled back at her. "We don't give a fuck! We're trained Hakurei assassins!"

One of the nearby unarmed men sighed. "Kenji, you _annoying_ goddamn…"

'Kenji' whipped his head back towards the other guy. "We can't let some _bitch_ knock around Reizo!"

Stepping past the miko, Rinnosuke held his own arms out. "Are you _serious?"_

The men whipped their gazes to him...

"I've had it up to _here_ with everyone being a homicidal maniac." Casually pulling out his gun, Rinnosuke began to aim it at them-

"Woah, woah, hey- ea~sy!" The grounded thug held up a hand.

"What the fuck!?" Kenji's jaw dropped.

"Wo~w, are you serious…?" An unarmed man began to back towards the wooden walls of the village...

"Just our luck…"

"Holy shit."

...Rinnosuke took a moment to collect himself, not having expected the weapon to be taken seriously.

' _Of all the things that have changed, the human village doesn't seem to have gotten the memo.'_

"Now _who's_ payin' ya ta do somethin' _this stupid?"_ Marcus stepped up along Sendai's right flank, stroking his beard… "If it's Okita, tell 'em he can forget that bulk deal on panaceas."

"Shut the fuck up, old man!" Kenji barked at him. "He's got nothing to do with you!"

"...I don't know about _them."_ One of the robed men spoke up, his hands obscured between two joined sleeves. "But we, the village's practitioners of the faith of the general well-being and prosperity, were assigned here to provide holy defense against the massive youkai threat which has finally taken the Hakurei by force."

' _So they did go through with that whole 'make their own faith division' bullshit.'_ Sendai frowned at the three robed men…

"Just- go away!" Rinnosuke demanded of them, waving his pistol again. "You're all awful!"

The gun-waving caused a visible wave of apprehension from every thug present, all of them backing up a meter or two…

"You won't fucking shoot…" Kenji refused however, hands shaking violently as he turned from the other men, his blade aimed at the Hakurei. "The entire damn village will hear it. When the youkai hunters get to you three, you'll be fucking dead."

' _I somehow doubt that.'_ Sendai scanned the men's forms vainly.

…

Once it seemed like the crooks had nothing more to say, Sendai proceeded forward. ' _Let's brush them inside and move on in.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - Rumble Village

Kenji stood in her way immediately, blade poised in a neutral position. "Stop! I'll kill you…!"

"Come on." She beckoned him with one hand. "Stop whining and fight."

...Expression flaring, he ran at her. "Rrgh…!"

 _Woo~sh!_ The way he brought his blade up over his head was almost a slicing motion in and of itself. " _Ra~h!"_

While he approached, Sendai saw where he wanted to swing. ' _Stupid kid.'_

 _Fwish!_ Easily sliding out of the way of his swing-

 _Thunk!_ Sendai smashed him in the stomach with a restrained thrust of her left leg. " _Oouh!"_ While the man recoiled, this hit did little more than boost his adrenaline and make him miserable.

The miko stepped back-

 _Woosh._ -and he swing his short blade wide, missing her by a lengthy margin-

 _BAM!_ In the next moment, she flicked her right leg at him, full dark power coursing through it.

 _Crack!_ " _Waa~ugh!"_ The blow struck him so hard he flew over-

 _Thud!_ He ended up landing on his shoulders… and only moments later did he roll onto his back. "Uuh- uh…"

"Hrgh!" The stockier, more composed bladesman thrust at Sendai-

She hastily jerked herself out of the way. ' _This guy's smarter. Let's see…'_

Nearby, Marcus hid around Rinnosuke, who no one wanted to approach because he held a pistol.

" _Star Showe~r!"_ His arms aglow with violent, cyan and gold energy, the mage cast them down-

 _Di- di- ding, ding!_ Sendai heard the initialization of many hollow energy stars form over head, and she began to double back. ' _That sounds ominous…'_

 _Bam!_ With one stomp to the ground, she'd slid back to her party members-

 _DINK- TINK! DI- DING- DING!_ In the evening's black and blue tint, mesmerizing yellow star shapes composed of solid mana energy sailed down in diagonal arcs. Striking people and soil alike, they rebounded on impact, leaving echoes of luminescent, yellow magical energy…

"Ha~a- aah…!" This massive non-elemental attack instantly did away with the entire company of suited men. Arms and limbs flailed, and blades fell to the soil. Most of the mercenaries were thrown to the ground, the violent impacts throwing and rendering recovery impossible.

"Fu~ck...!"

"Unh…" As the spell quickly ended, the stars and magic dispersing into invisible waves, the groans of non-lethal, non-elemental agony became a low murmur…

...Sendai whistled. ' _Guess we've not gonna have crowd control problems at least. Marcus picked up on more than I thought after all.'_

"It- it's _every man for himself!"_ Once it was over, the single standing man held his ribs as he kneeled down, picking up one of the blades from the fallen guys. With it, he shambled back towards the gate, staring at the three fearfully.

' _Does he think he's gonna win…? With his back_ literally _against the wall?'_

...While the party stared on-

 _Shink!_ He unexpectedly turned and stabbed the blade into his boss, who was still lying on the floor. " _Gha~h!_ "

 _Bam- bam- bam!_ Sendai sprinted in through the turmoil to intercept this from going further-

 _BOOM!_ Flying into the man, her jet black leg met his side-

 _CRA- CRACK!_ He was smashed into the metal bar gate of the village. "Hu- _hnu~..._ " Letting out a gasping breath-

 _Thud._ He dropped onto his rear, tears streaming down his face.

' _Not sure what the plan was, but let's avoid randomly murdering each other.'_

...To the right of the encounter, the three robed men simply stared with disapproving expressions.

Once she was collected again, Sendai faced them. ' _Hmm. They weren't in the range of that star shower…'_

" _Seal!_ " The three men barked, abruptly holding their staves and hands out-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Sendai guarded against an array of colorless ofuda that were launched into her. They pretty much instantly fluttered off of her form a moment later. ' _What…?'_

...The lead holy mage held a look of deep disdain and disappointment. "We have failed."

...Ignoring them outright, Sendai moved to crank the gate open. ' _Well, that was fun.'_

 _Cla- clank, cla- clank, clank clank…_

 _Thoom._ The gate was now fully open.

"Check their pockets fer potions!" Marcus was ready to seize the rewards of his party-wiping spell. "We could use some!"

"Oh shit, you're right." Sendai snapped to alertfulness upon the idea of stealing stuff from them.

...She came up to the boss guy, who was lying on his side, his cohort's blade inside of him.

He looked up at the miko vainly. "Ju- just take the money an' go… I- I'm sorry."

"If you were _really_ sorry…" Rinnosuke marched past them, looking dour. "You wouldn't have gone picking a fight to begin with."

"Nngh…" The guy exhaled. "Just... leave us alone…"

' _The good news is, no one's dead.'_ Sendai had found some money pouches and two health potions, after frisking down 'Kenji' and his stocky friend. ' _This should be good.'_

Marcus held up another mana potion, and a health potion. "He~re we go. I 'member makin' these, too! Funny how it works, innit..."

' _I don't know when he picked up a spell like that, but that was pretty damn effective.'_

 _Di- di~ng!_ Rinnosuke tossed a potion onto the guy with a sword in his gut.

' _Before that goes too far-'_

 _Shink!_ Sendai drew the blade from him hastily, before the healing could embed it into his flesh.

" _Fha~h!"_ He shut his eyes, letting out a yell.

' _There we go.'_ Casting the sword aside, the miko continued into the village. ' _Actually pretty… profitable…'_

Her track of thought slowed as she stepped into the village, and observed a myriad of guards, other suited men, and a couple more robed men. The guards and priests were in the middle of the road in a small company, while the suited men came from the alleys.

"...They're _really_ out to get us, this time." Sendai brought her arms up again. "I'm not sure if this is more or less convenient."

"Oh, hoh shit…" Marcus grinned at the myriad of enemy soldiers. "Damn, someone put a _good_ hit out on us! Or, _you._ "

"You're _kidding me…"_ Rinnosuke's face fell as he entered the gate with his friends. "What did we do!?"

...While the party stood before the gate, the company of guards lined up. The front most guards held great shields, while every other man had a pike. The priests remained interspersed and behind everyone else.

' _This might actually be a good moment.'_ Observing how this had quickly become a standoff, the miko allowed herself to relax slightly. ' _Especially because Marcus can probably just get rid of that guard company entirely. I mean… they haven't talked to us yet, but the way they're pointing those pikes at us can't be friendly.'_

There weren't many more suited men. There were two on either side of the party, and of each couple they had one short bladesman and one guy with nunchucks. ' _Why nunchucks.'_

...After a moment, one of the guards came out from within the generic ones, this one holding a short sword in one hand, and a tiny metal shield in the other. " _Hakurei youka~i!"_

Sendai waited for him to continue, as he gave his announcement weight with proceeding silence.

"We have been ordered, on behalf of the village… to apprehend you!" The man pointed his sword at her. "Should you resist, we will use force!"

"Who're you." Sendai was unimpressed by the generic guard.

"Sergeant Takei Haru." He gave her a resolute nod. "If you do not surrender, you will face me!"

 _Fwi~sh!_ His blade lit up with pale, white holy energy. "I have the village's faith in my blade!"

...Scanning the opposition once more, Sendai decided to speak to her party quietly. "This might actually be a good time to work on our skills…"

Marcus tilted his head towards her. "On the like _two guys_ that'll be standin' after I star storm the place? Ah- after ya have yer little pow-wow with sergeant shiny pants up there, 'a 'course."

"...Yeah." Sendai figured. "Good time as any."

' _These are probably going to be the least intimidating foes we'll face in awhile. We're used to getting our asses handed to us by one incredibly powerful target, so a bunch of people way less organized and endured than us is… not evenly matched. Not that we're very organized, but by comparison to the chaos that'll probably ensue after a single wide-range spell...'_

Sendai began to step towards the sergeant.

He held his shield high, glaring back at her. Sergeant Takei Haru was a man of rather plain brown hair, brown eyes, and clad in a simple metal breastplate, his legs covered with baggy beige pants and arms fitted with white sleeves.

"I give it about five minutes…!" Marcus's voice was heard from behind the miko, confident.

' _We'll see what he can do. I don't really expect much.'_

...Haru gave her something between a scowl and a simple frown. "Are you giving yourself to us?"

"I'm challenging you." Sendai pointed at him. "A fair one-on-one."

...The guards gave low murmurs at this idea, before Haru himself spoke. "If that's as you wish."

"No- sarge, y'can't be serious…!" One of the greatshield guards objected. "A youkai she may be, bu' she's still one 'a the shrine-"

"This blade was enchanted to repel youkai." Haru assured him. "No brute of any caliber can stand against a sword like this. And if what the wall scouts told was true, she fights with her fists."

He faced Sendai again, and beamed. "I accept your challenge!"

With that, the two stared one another down.

' _I should probably experiment with what I learned from that tengu.'_ Sendai had her arms up in an offensive stance, awaiting the sergeant's first move.

Meanwhile, the guard leader awaited hers, cautious. His blade idly glowed as he held it ready, his small metal shield held to ironically guard the only armored area of his body.

...Sendai's clothes began to kick around, while she focused on creating an invisible ring of wind at the base of her body. ' _What'd she recommend, again…?'_

"Make your move." Haru demanded. "If you want a duel, you should have the nerve to face me head on. Do not take much longer!"

' _Oh, right.'_ Sendai jabbed at the air before herself. As she did, she felt the rush of her arms moving through the air, her sleeves whipping with her motions. ' _So she wanted me to grab the air… off of my movements.'_

 _Woosh!_ Leaping, she spun around. ' _This air…'_

...Slipping her Eye of Truth talisman on, she examined how her mana allocation _precisely_ flowed. ' _Oh, wow. This actually helps a lot.'_ Her form's colors changed wherever she shifted her magic, as did the air...

And then-

 _Fwish._ After channeling enough mana into the wind, she'd enveloped her form with it. ' _Woah. This feels… interesting.'_

"What are you planning?" The sergeant demanded of her. "Fine then! If you're going to take my kindness for granted, I'll make you beg for mercy!"

She met his gaze with disproportionate disinterest, as she continued to focus. ' _Hmm? It's kind of hard to channel darkness to my limbs like this…'_

Displeased with how much time the miko was wasting, Haru ran at her, moving at an arc to try and be unexpected. Bringing his blade low, he let it graze the tip of the dirt path, before roaring it up to hit the miko-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai sidestepped. It took her vision a moment to catch up with how far to the right she went. ' _Woah._ '

Her dodge had taken her around the side of Haru, well before he'd even began to bring his arcing swing to fruition. "Hra~h!"

...His eyes wide, he searched for the miko. "Wha- where the hell-"

 _Thunk!_ Her leg effortlessly plowed into his back-

"Ghah…!" He almost fell forward, before catching himself at the last moment, standing up anew.

' _I can only give normal kicks like this…'_ She realized. ' _I can't channel darkness to defend myself either. But, I'm really fast, and hit fast. You know what…'_

Haru turned around, readying himself again with deep breaths and wide eyes. "...Thought you had me!?"

 _Pap- pap- pap!_ Sendai sprinted towards him on flighty, weightless legs.

Baring his teeth, he jabbed his sword. " _Back!"_

 _Woosh!_ Sliding to the side as she moved with the wind, she found it hard to slow her momentum. ' _Woah woah-'_

"Get off!" Awkward from her approach, he moved to swing as Sendai came upon his side, glaring into her curious gaze. As he readied to swing-

Sendai shifted behind him and held onto the back of his armor. "Can I use this? Thank yo~u."

Pulling out an ofuda while he thrashed, she unevenly placed it on his back. ' _Let's write this enchantment to an ofuda, so I can't forget it.'_

He thrashed himself about, kicking against the ground. "Off! _Get off!_ Rgh-"

His boot came down near her sandal, but she slid it back-

"Done." She took the now mint-green ofuda from his back.

OBTAINED: TENGU STYLE TALISMAN

"Hra~h!" Pulling himself from the miko's one-armed clutches, the man whirled around. " _Fall!"_

 _fwish._ Sendai tried to slide back at the same time as she expected the less than precise impact to graze her, and ended up tapping into her dark energy as a result, sliding dramatically backward. "Ooh…"

' _Almost hit the house behind myself…'_ Sendai stared at the man in the middle of the road. She now wore the new talisman she'd made on her shoulder.

His eyes were wide. "That speed…"

Sendal leapt-

 _Woo~sh._ Gaining air from the wind enveloped around her form, Sendai stared down at the man, now nearly ten meters off the ground. ' _Woah…!'_

Feeling less than confident in his sword arm's agility, he brought his shield up-

 _PAP!_ Kicking down like an arrow, Sendai met the shield with her sandal just as fast. ' _Fast...!'_ She grinned at the new agility. Despite the disorienting nature of it, she knew what vague ways to throw her body from experience-

 _Whack!_ Her other sandal met his face. "Ghu-"

 _Wha- wha- whack!_ While he fell, Sendai kept kicking her light legs down, pressuring his head further by bouncing on it repeatedly-

 _Thud!_ He wasn't an oni or anything though, so this string of hits was devastating to both his balance and health. "Ghn- nkgh…" He'd fallen back onto his rear. Dropping his sword and shield, he flailed his arms up to try and catch her, his nose bloody and eyes shut defensively.

Sendai was already on the ground behind him, turning to gaze down. "...Wait, really?"

' _I'm too used to enemies taking like ten of my dark punches and laughing it off like assholes. Those were three normal kicks to the face.'_

Her body was well-honed to natural disorientation from displacing herself in awkward ways, so this new speed, while awkward, was a welcome change. ' _I wish I'd done more with wind magic sooner… not like I could've seen it as easily as I do now. Maybe some of that agility training I did when I was thirty wasn't useless after all.'_

...She crouched down, consoling the seemingly defeated sergeant. "You're not _seriously_ done, are you?"

He sat up, face bloodied and hard. "Wha- hrgh…"

Scrambling onto his limbs as quick as he could, he whirled to face the miko, who'd been staring at him from behind. "You're not go- going, to get the better of me! I know yo- your game, this time!" He was out of breath, tired and hurt.

' _This guy's never fought a real battle.'_ Sendai could see it in the way he moved, in the way he coped with pain, and the way he now shook. ' _Now I feel bad. Still, he asked for this.'_

...Doing some jerking about-

 _Woosh, woosh._ He took some experimental swings, as if to try and preemptively intercept any sudden movements the miko could've made. "Ho- hah…!"

' _Are you serious…'_ Sendai disagreed with this notion greatly. ' _He's done.'_

"Hah!" He jabbed-

 _Woosh._ Sendai threw a leg forward-

 _Cla~ng!_ Her sandal's heel struck his sword by the wayside.

...Cla- clack. The sword ended up many meters away, leaving him with a shield by his feet, which he still hadn't picked back up.

His eyes were wide. "...Yo- you're no Hakurei."

"What am I, then?" Sendai stared at him plainly…

"You're-... you're a _tengu infiltrator!"_ His hand held to his face, caressing his nose. "You're… you're a youkai! A monster! Not even _Hakurei!"_

' _...Okay.'_ Indifferent to his hysteria, the miko glanced at the wall of guards. They seemed to be shifting, the pikemen having moved to interlock with the shield guards in order to poke their weapons out of the wall.

"Men…!" The miserable sergeant called out to his guard company, stumbling back. "He- help!"

 _Cla- clank, cla- clank, cla- clank…_ The wall of armored men, shields and pikes began to advance.

Rinnosuke ran up to the miko's side. " _Stop!_ Stop or I'll shoot…!"

...Their slow proceeding didn't slow, the guards either ignorant or unfazed by the threat.

" _Star Showe~r!"_ Marcus brought his luminescent arms up again, and cast them down-

 _Di- ding, ding- di- ding, ding!_ The sound of golden stars initializing above caused everyone to take pause...

 _Woosh!_ Sendai allowed herself to drop a little so her legs could push against the floor. Half-falling and half-leaping, she coasted away from the oncoming rain of pain.

The shieldmen held their defensive implements up high.

Haru flailed an arm. "Shields! Get under-"

 _DI- DING! DINK- DINK- PI~NG! DI~NG!_ Golden projectiles, all star shaped and all of varied sizes, rolled in what appeared to be a gentle arc down towards the soil. Neon yellow shockwaves emanated upon their impacts with the ground and the shields.

Between the bright flashes and neon magic, tossed pikes were visible as many men were thrown clean off their feet. After each strike, the stars vanished on their rebound, the shower of cartoonish projectiles gone within the next moment.

"Uu~gh…" There were many less standing guards now.

' _There's something really satisfying about seeing them all just go down like that.'_

Haru laid defeated on his side near them, overwhelmed by the magic. His remaining energy allowed him to twitch and make movement attempts, but he was otherwise finished for the day.

...Only two of the six shieldsmen had fallen, the rest-

 _Thoo- thoo- thoom._ -resting their great shields back into the soil, exhausted after tanking the volley of fantastic projectiles. Only two pikemen remained.

"St- _stay stro~ng!"_ One priest stood standing, his white staff half-sunk into the soil beneath himself-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Healing energy ran up one of the shieldsmen. ' _Yeah, that'll help.'_

"Sir- sir…!" The rightmost pikeman abandoned his weapon, moving to the fallen sergeant. "What do we do!?"

' _He doesn't even seem conscious.'_ With a vain expression-

 _Pap- pap- pap- pap!_ Sendai sprinted across the distance between her and the guard, acceleration nearly instant and resulting speed constant.

The panicked guard had a moment to glance at her and gasp at the velocity. He brought his arms up to defend-

The miko poked his throat with a four-finger jab.

"Ghu- ngh- _haa~h!_ " He choked from the attack, stumbling back, and once he found his voice again, he yelled.

Sendai watched him flee. ' _Five guys left. At least the village guard's been consistent throughout all these years. This is why they were on my side; if they had any problems, I could just smack them around. Eventually, they learned to stop making a political challenge out of hitting me with things.'_

...The one remaining pikeman came forth, the four shieldmen all huddled around him in an attempt to form an impassable half-circle. ' _Also, what is this matchup. You guys should just throw in the towel at this point.'_

Staring at the _one_ point of offense poking out of the sluggish shield huddle, Sendai began to reach into her sleeves. ' _I wonder how my items will work with this…'_

Drawing a holy molotov, she hurled it forward. It glided across the wind with static trajectory-

 _Cra~ck!_ It shattered against a shield. ' _Ah. I don't need to aim my dinky stuff as hard, then.'_

 _Fip- fip- fip._ She slugged a three-spread of ofuda forward, and they met another shield almost instantly, but with little noise, their impacts meek. ' _...I think the wind actually made that weaker.'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish…_ Ofuda whirled from her sleeves, rushing forward to create her big origami axe. ' _Time to make use of this big silly thing…'_

Unlike normally, where she'd allocate her dark magic to make the holy ofuda clump together, the wind created a more hollow, fragmented and shell-esque armament. ' _Uh…'_

...Lugging the weightless weapon towards the wall of shields, she swung it-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ The blade exploded into a scattering of ofuda, and a small shockwave of wind, which scattered it all about. ' _That's interesting.'_

Drawing a yin-yang orb, she maximized it to torso size-

"Ah…" -and had to minimize it a little, her inability to reinforce herself making the weight difficult. ' _I used my darkness for that?'_

Drawing an arm back-

 _Bam!_ She smashed the orb forward, the projectile coated in wind.

Like her ofuda and the molotov, it rolled forward-

 _Clo~ng!_ Upon hitting one of the shields, it rolled off harmlessly, before continuing to sail away into the distance above…

' _Wow.'_ Sendai watched it leave the village, ascending to the great beyond.

...Once the night sky enveloped it, she drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo. After channeling mana into it, she casted it forward.

Instead of whirling around, it rotated in place, a pentagram of mint light forming around it. '... _Uh?'_

After a few revolutions, and the pentagram initializing fully, it folded open towards the guard formation she aimed at-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ It fired a thin and blurry, mint-green laser-

" _Hua~h!"_ The pikeman was blown out of the formation, his weapon sailing away as he slid onto his back, sent all the way across the road-

Cla- clank, clank! The remaining shieldsmen all stumbled about, the blow having grazed two implements, and causing the whole joint formation to wobble.

' _Whoops.'_ She didn't expect that to happen necessarily. ' _...Now they should seriously give up. Are they going to hit me with their great shields or something?'_

...Looking past the guards, she saw the one she hit dead-on had done a flip onto his stomach. As he lied there, it was evident that he'd given up on rising again. ' _Pft…'_

Then, she looked back at her party members. ' _I wonder how they're faring…'_

...Two of the suited men along their flank from earlier were frozen in ice. To the left, one was on the ground, wet and jittering with purple energy-

"Fa- ah…! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" One of the swordsmen was now unarmed, flailing his limbs about as he burned.

 _Pop!_ Rinnosuke fired a water shot near him, but the man had eluded the orb of water accidentally. "He- hey- _stand still!_ I'm putting you out! _Stand still!"_

" _Fuck yo~u!"_ The guy roared back, rotating around as he tried to pat out the burning wood paste on his body vainly. "Gh- _ha~ah!"_

 _Pop- pop- pop._ A moment later, Marcus spawned a rush of bubbles beneath him, which popped and soaked him.

" _God-_ hot- hot, fh- nngh…!" Still writhing from the stored heat and smouldering clothing-

 _Thud._ He flopped onto his stomach and began rolling.

...While Rinnosuke continued to try to soak him, Sendai looked away. ' _I think they're good. So-'_

Thump.

...Sendai furrowed her brows, and turned to the shieldman who bumped her. ' _What. Really.'_

Thump. After she turned to him, the shieldman stepped forward, and managed to press his weapon of choice against her.

...She pushed back-

The guard wielding it stumbled back. ' _If I was actually a youkai, you'd all be dead right now.'_

Gazing upon the shield's metal, the miko drew her dragon palace flintlock, and infused it with mana-

 _Thwa~sh!_ The electricity flared from the gun in a spread, arcing to the perimeter of the shield, and of the next shieldman nearby-

 _Za- zap!_ The spread magic managed to electrocute the two of them-

 _Thoo- thoom._ They dropped their shields. Unwilling to lug them back up, they took the chance to run.

This left two shieldmen, who were slowly advancing away…

She drew a rebound stone. ' _Let's go for that skill shot!'_ Reeling an arm back, she cast it at a nearby wall-

 _Tink- tink- tink- tink- tink!_ Instantly it zipped forward with amazing speed. One blink would've made it impossible to see what drew the five or six zig-zags in the nighttime air, before the line bounced awkwardly off a surface and into infinity.

 _Thoo- thoom!_ The shield guards discarded their tools, sprinting away. "Aa- _aa~h!"_ This display of youkai witchcraft had demoralized them.

'... _Not quite what I had in mind, but okay.'_ Sendai grinned at the stone's ludicrous speed.

With that, every adversary was down.

...Marcus and Rinnosuke approached the miko again. The former spoke, situating himself casually. "We~ll, I think we _all_ learned a little somethin' somethin' today…"

"...Self-defense might be more important than I thought." Rinnosuke echoed the moral he took from this.

"This should send them a message, again." Sendai scanned the fallen village soldiers. "The guard's just as dumb as I remember it."

' _We can probably train in peace now, too. Anyone who wants to screw with us after this either has power to back it up, or just a really big ego.'_

Stepping forward, the miko took in the village's evening lantern lights. ' _...This night's actually fairly pretty, all things considered. And..._ ' Her movements still felt flighty from the talisman she had equipped. ' _This is interesting.'_

...While the three continued forward, Rinnosuke turned to the miko. "Do we actually… _need anything_ from here?"

"We _did_ come to pick up potions…" She considered. "We sort of accomplished that prematurely."

' _I wanted to go here to eat some while ago, but after those two meals, I'm pretty satisfied still.'_

"Maybe we could beat up some trash cans 'n' stuff." Marcus considered. "Or stop by my shop an', y'know, _sleep._ S'just a little late in the evenin'!"

' _It's probably the dead of night.'_ Sendai took in his words… ' _It would be nice to crash soon, even if I'm not terribly tired. A little from that thrashing the tengu gave us, but I've been able to catch my breath this last hour.'_

"We could stop by Keine's too." Rinnosuke spoke. "...We've done a _lot_ since the last time we saw her."

' _That'd probably be good...!'_ Revitalized, Sendai's brows rose at the idea. "That sounds like something we could do."

Di- di- ding… click. The door of a nearby storefront shut.

...The sharp, distinctness of the volume had caused the three to pay attention to it almost simultaneously.

Walking forward towards them, a pink-haired woman with two white, chinese-style hair buns approached them. Her dress had a brown panel with vine-esque designs on it, and the dress beneath was white, the skirt green. Her right arm was wrapped entirely in a bandage, and she had a shackle on her left arm.

'... _She's out of place.'_ Staying still, the miko evaluated her apparel

The woman was smiling at the three, her hands held together. "...Hello, there."

"Hey." Sendai greeted her simply.

"Hi, Kasen." Casually, Rinnosuke gave her a wave. "You wouldn't believe the time we just had getting into here…"

' _Kasen?'_

"Oh…" She took a peek at the museum of writhing and unconscious guards in the background. "I might have some ideas."

...Once silence set in, she spoke again. "Tsukiko."

Sendai furrowed her brows. "What…?"

"You're looking a little… out of place." The pink-haired woman stated deciduously. "You have a lot of nerve, my friend. What day do you believe it to be?"

' _What's up with her?_ '

"...First, I'm not your friend." Facing the woman, Sendai propped an arm onto her hip. "It's today. I'm no more out of place than you are."

"The three of you aren't supposed to be back. Your ancestors and you, that is." Kasen made her point bluntly. "...While it's not that I don't welcome you, I fear what the misgivings of old may bring to Gensokyo's balance. The Hakurei require more direction now than ever."

...Unimpressed, the miko let her gaze examine how the lantern light cast across the woman. ' _She should meet my grandma. They'd get along splendidly.'_

"That's cool." Still, she didn't care for her opinion. "Speaking of misgivings, there's someone you should probably meet…"

"I've already stated that I know she exists." Kasen reiterated in different terms. "...My misgivings apply just as much to her as they do to you."

Rinnosuke brought up a question he had. "How do you know? About the Hakurei, and everything."

...She gazed at him neutrally and patiently. "...I'd say that a little bird told me, but I don't think you needed good eyes or ears to notice that explosion. Additionally… Tsukiko's rounds across the realm have not proceeded covertly."

...After a quiet moment, she drew a Bunbunmaru out of nowhere. "This paper was also printed an hour ago."

' _Holy shit that's fast.'_ The speed at which Aya printed and distributed her work instantly amazed the miko. ' _That's even my picture on the front.'_

"I'm just a little concerned you haven't come here with the most pure intentions." Discarding the Bunbunmaru, Kasen continued forward towards the three. "Or, despite those, with the correct mindset for approaching this place, at this moment."

...Sendai wasn't quite certain what she meant. "I've passed through here a couple times recently. No trouble 'till today."

Stepping up to her, Rinnosuke holstered his gun in his pocket. "We'll be fine, Kasen."

...She smiled at him. "How can I be sure of that, when you were all so confidently plowing through your fellow man?"

...At the shopkeeper's reluctance, Sendai spoke up again. "No one's dead, I'm pretty sure. They struck first."

"That's not the issue, exactly…" Bringing a hand to her chin, Kasen proceeded further towards them in the evening lights. "I'm not sure of the volitions of… _who_ or _what_ may have brought you back. I'm not sure if you're here for something I should be concerned about."

"Why do you even care." Still unimpressed, the miko propped her arms on her hips.

"I'm a hermit." Kasen replied aptly. "I seek to help humans, when I can. I don't often frequent the village, at that. But, considering what has happened… I couldn't so simply leave this place alone."

' _A hermit, huh…'_ Sendai rose her brow. ' _I guess I don't have too much to worry about, then.'_

Giving her a nod, Kasen continued. "I've also guided… your _daughter_ , if I'm correct in thinking you're her mother. You've left her with the scantest essentials, as a Hakurei shrine maiden."

"Really…?" Becoming more interested, Sendai stepped up to her… "What have you taught her, then?"

"How to perform her duties more like a shrine maiden." Smiling widely, Kasen's tone seemed to pep up upon this explanation. "...While being a very _genuine_ and un-attended person is much preferable to the Hakurei dispositions of old, she could be doing great things if only she'd received true guidance. At this point, I can only hope she'll listen when she wants to."

"Sorry for getting assassinated." Sendai gave her a flat retort. "I'll try not to from now on."

Reaffirming her smile once more, Kasen built off of that sentiment. "It's not you or your mother's fault. As in… things would have been unfavorable either way."

' _...Really, who the hell is this? Some hermit coming up to me and talking about what it means to be a Hakurei shrine maiden…'_

"So what _should_ a Hakurei shrine maiden be doing?" Sendai demanded of her. "If _I_ wouldn't have mattered, in teaching her how to be a 'real shrine maiden' or whatever."

"They should protect humanity first, and strive for peace second." The hermit placed her arms behind her back. "...It's too often that she's acted in a self-serving manner. She's vague about her duties, and while such wouldn't be bad were she more impressionable- to an extent- or simply understanding... she doesn't seem to care about the bigger picture regarding the interactions between humans and youkai. It's an unfortunate precedent that slows the progress of genuine understanding."

' _Grandma's pretty humanity first.'_ Sendai almost grinned. ' _Again, they really need to meet. Especially now.'_

"That's great." She didn't really care about this information, though. "I don't think I'd like Reimu being impressionable, though. Strength in yourself can be a good thing. Anyway-"

Sensing that the miko was trying to move past her, Kasen interjected. "With all of this said, I _strongly_ advise you stay away from the village from now on."

"No can do." Sendai's face fell again. "I've got to see a man about some potions."

"I can trade you any potions you require." Kasen offered. "As long as we do it outside the village."

"Yeah. Not suspicious." Grinning at the offer, Sendai stepped back idly. "What is _really_ the big deal with the village? We're not going to _blow_ anyone away."

Moving along the left of the three and into the way, Kasen stood blocking the road. "...I can't afford to let you chance that, especially after that showing. This is not the village it was before, and I don't trust you not to disrupt this place based on your presence. There's no guarantee you aren't carrying the philosophies of old with you. You may be gone from this world tomorrow just as quickly as you've arrived."

"...I'm not sure about _that."_ Put off by this notion, Sendai frowned at the hermit. "Know somethin' I don't?"

"Fickle nature begets fickle nature." Kasen vaguely spoke around the question. "...Every force against something in one direction results in a force in the opposite direction."

"Don't really sound like the forces 'a life an' death ta me!" Stepping up to her, Marcus held out a dildo. "Dildo?"

"It's more complicated than… that." She blinked at the dildo he held out, brows slowly furrowing…

' _...I don't see how that pertains to me, exactly.'_

Ignoring the sex toy offer, Kasen met Sendai's gaze again. "As I was saying… whatever brought you back both used tremendous power, and caused a great disturbance. Something of such a scale is bound to rebound, because the reality of our world is not one so… prone to failure."

"I'll handle that when it happens, I guess." Sendai shrugged the matter off. "I see what you mean. But, even knowing that, all I can do is hope I'm preparing the right way, if I can at all."

...Considering the miko's logic, Kasen surveyed her party members. "I'd appreciate if you did this preparing elsewhere. The human people do not need to be troubled by any further conflicting interaction. While youkai are flexible and indifferent to that sort of thing, the people here, as you can plainly tell, have been offset dramatically."

...In the night's cool breeze, under a starlit sky, Sendai took a deep breath. Somewhere in the village, idle but hushed banter could be very occasionally heard, despite the distinct lack of actual villagers both on the road, or even around the near one-story buildings.

"I don't think I care about these people that much." The miko decided.

' _Never done anything for me… and, above that, have actually tried to kill me on multiple occasions. When not doing that, the individual villagers have been nothing but trouble aside from a few good ones. They kicked Kourin out when he was a kid, and I have no idea how Keine got her school to work, but I guess that was one good thing that happened. If it weren't for the fact they provide services, and a few good people live here, I'd just… not care about the place.'_

Kasen sighed.

...Spreading her feet apart, the hermit brought her bandaged and plain arms up. "I'm going to show you my resolve. I refuse to let you enter here. Regardless of how plausible you eluding direct confrontation with me may be after today, I want to at least show you how much this sentiment means to me. Hopefully… it will convince you that enough is enough."

Gaining an offensive posture, Sendai distanced herself further. ' _Yeah, that's what it always boils down to. Here's to her not being some god of explosions or something equally ridiculous.'_

As her friends backed up with her, the miko sized up the hermit's vaguely martial arts-esque form in the midnight, full moonlight. ' _She knows stances, too. This is going to be interesting.'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Kasen Ibaraki_ ====

...The hermit stood resolutely, balancing herself on one leg with her other knee up.

In the dim light of the evening, the miko stared at her deliberate pose. ' _Not sure if I want my new talisman on for this or not. I might as well throw it on anyway, since I can remove it readily, and it's not like someone would make a huge mess of a fight in the village.'_

 _Fwish!_ Wind ran across her form, and she felt herself lighten.

"You're not…" Caught by skeptical disbelief, Rinnosuke felt for his pistol. "You're not gonna _fight us_ , are you?"

Her expression solemn, she confirmed this. "If it's what has to be done to demonstrate my resolve. I'm left with no other choice."

...Taking in a deep breath, he simply drew his pistol. "I had a feeling it was heading that direction. Alright. Give us your best shot."

Kasen's posture slipped slightly. "...Um. A gun? You're rather unlike yourself, Rinnosuke…"

Putting away his dildo, Marcus articulated his fingers. "Al~right! This's gonna be a good one, I can _feel it!_ Now that I know them ah… _debuff skills_ 're a thing again. _"_

' _Let's see what she can do…'_ Winding her limbs up, slowly articulating herself into a ready position-

 _Pap- pap- pap!_ The miko began sprinting around the hermit to try and distance herself from her party members. ' _She's got more of a problem with me than them, so they should be able to wail on her for awhile.'_

True to her expectations, Kasen had pivoted around to face the miko. ' _She seems to be awaiting confrontation…'_

"Tornado~!" Marcus thrust his arms out, sleeves billowing-

 _Woo~sh!_ Immediately, a swiveling whirlwind began to revolve in the midst of Kasen's form, her hair and clothes kicking around wildly. She remained resolutely where she stood, however.

 _Spli- splish!_ A shotgun spread of pasty green fluid splattered from Rinnosuke's pistol and into the tiny windstorm. She'd been immediately soaked by the liquid's traces, but didn't seem to acknowledge them.

...At the girl's passive demeanor, Sendai drew a mana molotov. ' _Let's provoke her.'_

 _Crack!_ She'd tossed it once the wind storm ended, the glass shattering against the hermit plainly.

Kasen jerked her body vaguely-

 _Fwoom._ The holy liquid simmered and glowed with nearly white flame on her form, but didn't do much to her, if anything. ' _Hmm…? She guarded it with her good arm.'_

 _Woosh!_ Abruptly leaping into the air, Sendai readied her arms and legs to torpedo down towards the woman. ' _Let's catch her off guard, then!'_

 _Fwish!_ As the miko rocketed back down-

 _Pap!_ Kasen caught her by the sandal. ' _Wait…'_

 _Woosh!_ Pulling the miko around, Kasen whipped her whole body around and tossed her away-

 _Pahp._ Sendai flailed herself to land almost neatly some meters away, skidding to a halt. ' _...My limbs can move really fast, and I can sort of move my body while in the air. My attacks are weak as shit, though.'_

" _Lucky~ Star!"_ Marcus floated up a few inches as he held his arms up-

 _Di~ng!_ A single, solid star shape was drawn in the night sky above him, only the outline rendering.

...Kasen faced it as it arced down-

 _DING- POW!_ She punched it as it fell, shattering the star back into mana.

A moment later, she recoiled on a delay, shaking her hand as if hurt. "Ow- pft, ow…"

 _Fi- fi- fip!_ Using this moment, Sendai lobbed weak, lightning-fast ofuda at the hermit randomly. One landed on the bandaged arm-

 _Fwam!_ The arm exploded into unraveled bandages. "Uah…" Immediately forgetting about her pain from punching the star, Kasen stared down at the remaining stump. Not only had the bandages exploded, but it turned out the bandages _were_ her arm.

' _Woah!'_ Sendai's eyes widened at the paper carnage. ' _She was hiding the fact she only had one arm…!'_

"Darn it, darn it…" Stepping back, she held her good arm to her stump. "Well…"

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish._ Slowly, loose, unraveled bandages began to congregate around the red, fleshy open wound that her arm stump seemed to be. "Good enough." With _some_ bandages around her open wound, although not covering it, she stood ready again.

' _The rest of the ofuda don't seem to be doing anything to her, but her arm just explodes when they make contact.'_ Sendai removed her Tengu Style talisman-

 _fwoosh._ The wind around her form dissipated.

Now with command over her dark power again, the miko proceeded towards the hermit-

" _Plasma~!"_ Marcus was heard across the path clearing-

 _Zap, zap!_ The lilac orb pulsed in Kasen's form-

 _Fwi~sh._ Her shackle lit up a dull yellow, the electricity seemingly traveling through her form to it, allowing her to shrug off the bolt's energy.

Rinnosuke held both arms to his pistol. "I'm sorry, Kasen! Go to _sleep!"_

 _Fwam!_ A mint-green muzzle flash flared from his weapon in the night's darkness.

 _Fwoo~._ The resulting hazy green aura enveloped the hermit-

 _Fwi~sh._ Again, the shackle lit up, this time mint-green, and the aura was reversed.

As such, Rinnosuke was stupefied. "...Wait- what happened…"

Sendai came up on the hermit, moving to grab her. ' _Let's see how tough she-'_

 _Bam!_ Sendai slid back as the woman's good palm met her ribcage. "Nnh…"

' _Alright… not quite as weak as I'd hoped. But she didn't break anything with that hit, so this should be doable with all the support I'm getting.'_

Stepping back, Sendai began to find her steadiness again-

 _BAM!_ Whirling up to her with newfound speed, Kasen delivered a kick to her gut.

"Gfuh…!" Sendai hadn't anticipated that, cringing back-

 _Spla- splat!_ Ectoplasm sploshed onto the hermit, causing her to tense up. "Oh…?"

 _Fwam- fwoom!_ A sphere of fire initialized around her torso, instantly setting her ablaze, her body lighting up in the nighttime moonlight.

Sendai looked up at the woman's blazing form as she simply stepped towards the miko at a relaxed pace. ' _Wha- what the fuck…'_

 _Woosh!_ Despite her disbelief, the miko was able to slip out of the way of a jab-

A bandage wrapped around her form. ' _Aah- okay…'_

It pulled her closer, and-

 _Bam- bam, bam!_ She plowed into the hermit's head with vicious jabs, committing fully to left, right, and left blows-

 _Boom!_ Despite each punch flicking Kasen's head back, her palm met the shrine maiden's gut. "Ghu- aau…" Sendai resisted shutting her eyes, the pattering of her fists on the woman's head becoming weaker.

 _Thud._ Kasen pushed her away, intentionally avoiding spreading the fire that was on her to the shrine maiden.

"I'd rather we didn't fight like this." Kasen spoke to the miko honestly, voice level in complete spite of the flames dancing on her clothes and flesh. "...Especially not as you are."

That last mention provoked Sendai's ire. ' _What's that supposed to mean…?'_

"Fire sure as hell ain't workin'!" Marcus barked out. "Kourin, operation splash 'n' squish!"

Rinnosuke gave him an owlish look. "...Excuse me?"

"Operation _slip._ An'. Slide!" Marcus restated his plan in different terms.

...Sendai inhaled. ' _Let's assume she can read my breath and intentions.'_

 _Woosh!_ She thrust forward with a dark arm-

 _Woosh._ As Kasen thrust forward to intercept her and meet her blow with a palm, Sendai stopped, spinning ninety degrees to remove her momentum-

 _Boom!_ Letting herself become airborne, she lifted her legs, and the most outstretched one delivered a sandal to Kasen's nose.

"Ngh…!?" Narrowing her eyes, the hermit stepped back to gain distance-

 _Pop! Splash._ A glob of water burst over her head, fired by Rinnosuke just seconds prior. "Eeh…" The sudden cold and extinguishing of the flames caught her by surprise, but she didn't spare it a second notion.

Sendai rushed forward to capitalize-

PAP. The women's palms met, as they'd thrusted towards one another's guts.

 _Wham!_ Sendai had another hand to work with entirely, though. Without full leverage, the blow she delivered to the hermit's gut was oddly ineffectual. ' _She takes hits really well for some hermit.'_

 _Bwup- bwup- bwup… pop pop pop!_ Marcus unleashed a torrent of bubbles from beneath Kasen, the blast erupting from beneath her, floating gently around her, and then soaking her entirely.

The newfound moisture made it difficult for the two women to interlock their two palms anymore-

 _Bam!_ Slipping her hand from Sendai's, Kasen punched diagonally up her form-

 _Boom!_ Powering through the pain and new ache, Sendai hooked Kasen across the cheek with her now free left fist, a black shockwave echoing out as a result-

 _SLAP!_ Kasen's bandage hit her in the cheek, having whirled up along her side. ' _Ow- fuck- come here…'_

Sendai unleashed a powerful overhead thrust towards the woman-

 _PAP!_ Kasen caught it with her palm-

 _Clunk!_ Their knees met when they tried to knee one another simultaneously, the miko's fist in her palm-

 _FWAM!_ A black and pale blue shockwave of dark magic and spiritual energy echoed out when they both stomped down together, glaring into one another's eyes. ' _How strong is she…!? She's not just some hermit!'_

" _Force Blizza~rd!"_ Marcus flailed his limbs outward in a probably unnecessary motion-

 _Woo~sh!_ The thick blizzard quickly enveloped the encounter the two combatants were having-

 _FWA~SH!_

Kasen was frozen solid. Sendai was _mostly_ frozen, stuck in the same block as her. "Wha- ah…"

' _...What the fuck.'_ Sendai blinked in disbelief.

...Marcus stepped up around the block, and waved at her. "Hello~!"

"Nice _going."_ Sendai's voice was strained, as she spoke embedded in the chunk of ice… "Fu- fucking…"

 _Cra- crack._ The ice began cracking. ' _Wait, holy shit…!'_

"Get- get back!" Sendai barked out to Marcus. On a short delay, he complied with widening eyes-

 _CRA~CK!_ The entire ice chunk exploded, both the hermit and the miko free-

 _BAM!_ Kasen met the miko with a powerful downward thrust of her palm the instant she was free.

"Ouah!?" Sendai felt her balance leave her-

 _Wham!_ She rebounded against the floor hard. "Ghua~..." Sliding across it on her back, she felt a subtle, aching pain throb through her body. ' _Fuck…'_

Kasen exhaled. "...Tsukiko. You fight courageously. But, the era of impromptu vigilantism is coming to a close."

" _Lucky~ star!"_ Marcus held up an arm and thrust it down-

 _Di~ng!_ Once again, a single star of raw magical energy formed above him, ready to arc down towards Kasen.

She tilted her head towards it. "This kind of peacekeeping doesn't work. Or, well, it doesn't work well-"

Rinnosuke rounded her, getting into her face. " _Kasen!"_

She blinked at him-

He held his gun into her face. "D- ah, I'm sorry!"

 _Fwa~sh!_ He fired a flare into her eyes.

"What…!?" She reeled her head back-

 _DINK!_ The single non-elemental star rebounded off of Kasen's form.

"Eugh!?" She stumbled to the side, gritting her teeth. "What even…"

 _Woosh._ She slid back across the clearing, distancing herself from the two. "...You're both trying way too hard. Please, you mustn't let your attachment to her muddy your judgment."

"I- I'm just doing what I think is right!" Rinnosuke yelled back at her, holding his pistol pointed at her. " _You_ don't have to fight _us!"_

...Kasen furrowed her brows at that. "How could you have gotten so caught up in this…?"

Sendai was already back up, marching towards the hermit, her body bearing vague aches all over. ' _She reacted so much more to magic than she did my hits. If that's the case...'_

"Freeze her again." Sendai announced. "I've got a plan."

Kasen locked her gaze on the miko.

' _Even if she's not frozen for long, she should stay frozen long enough for me to use a Holy Spark on her.'_

...Shaking her head, Kasen's expression fell again. "You don't need to go this far. You see my resolve, and yet you still refuse to back down. Why?"

 _Bwomp._ Rinnosuke's blue dart began to expand into a water orb above her, and she easily strafed out of its effective range.

 _Fwup- fwup- fwup…!_ Marcus's bubbles erupted beneath her feet and began drifting upwards-

 _Fwish!_ She slid out of the way, spinning like a top, her bandages whipping around her as she did so-

 _Bam!_ Sendai's leg met her good arm, when the shrine maiden tried to capitalize on the spinning maneuver. ' _What- really?'_

 _Woosh._ Sliding out of the way of another downward jab, the miko nearly fell over-

 _Thud._ - _actually_ fell over. ' _Like hell I'm letting that hit me again.'_

 _Woosh!_ The miko scraped her arms into the soil, abrading her skill to simply evade a coming stomp from the hermit-

 _Bam!_ The ground rumbled and the soil crumbled beneath Kasen's shoe.

' _What the fuck…'_ Sendai took in this visual as she snapped back into standing; sliding her legs up to herself and getting onto them to fluidly rise in two motions. ' _I know some of my skills can do impressive looking things to the ground too, but damn.'_

 _Spla- splat!_ Ectoplasm from the pistol Rinnosuke wielded splashed onto Kasen's form again, this time now able to take hold due to the lack of fire, grease or water. She bore a face of disgust at the goo, and took a mournful glance at her gradually reconvening bandages…

" _Bubble Bla~st!"_ Marcus beamed as he waved his arms outward, sapphire light leaving his form in particles-

 _Bwaomp- pop- bwomp- pop- fwup- pop!_ A messy, massive field of bubbles erupted under Kasen, clipping Sendai some as well. The bubbles gave the two a hefty douse, almost as if rain had splashed up from the earth below.

' _Ugh._ ' Despite normally being okay with water, the miko felt displaced. ' _I'm not even holding anything, but my hands feel… weird.'_

Kasen let out a huff, flicking her one arm to fling some water from it. "I don't want to do more than demonstrate my resolve. It would be _smart of you_ to heed my generosity, you know…"

' _Fuck that.'_ Sendai mentally refused, before contemplating on a real response. "...All we have from you are vague theories and your _ideas_ of what will happen. And, while you care about this village, I _really_ couldn't give _that_ much of a crap about this place."

' _That does remind me, we need to position her so I can line up with the road, and not Holy Spark any houses. Uncaring of the place I might be, I don't want to collateral anyone's home if I don't have to.'_

"That's… that's a shame." Kasen was disappointed. "That's so far from what… from what Gensokyo really needs."

...Sendai smiled at her. "How about what _I_ need? Anyone ever fucking think about that?"

' _Selfish? Yes. I'm not a saint. There's no reason for me to be so generous, to a world that's been… so unforgiving. There's being the bigger person, and then there's being a carpet for other people.'_

...Falling back past the midst of the path, the miko beckoned the woman. "Come get me, _bitch._ I'll kick your ass, because it's the _shrine maiden thing to do."_

' _Let's make her angry so she walks into the middle of the path. Then I can reposition and shoot down the road and only hit the stupid gate.'_

Kasen trodded towards the miko. "Stop being _unreasonable._ Tsukiko-"

' _Pft- unreasonable!?'_

"Unreasonable…!?" Sendai barked back at her. "Just _go away!"_

Kasen froze in the middle of the path, stopped by the miko's sudden, more genuine anger.

 _Ka- fwi- fwi- fwish…!_ An ice chunk initialized in and around her torso, and she whipped her head to Marcus, eyes wide.

 _Fwa~sh!_ Kasen was now _really_ frozen in the middle of the path.

 _Bam- bam- bam!_ Sendai's sandals kicked up clouds of soil in her wake as she rushed to be lined up with the dirt road. "Kourin, Marcus, get outta the way!"

Drawing a tome- the Chronicle of Gensokyo- as the two allies made their way to the sidelines, Sendai thrust it up. " _Holy Spark!"_

The tome split into eight, revolving around and around, before slowing as it neared its final position. Forming an octagram above the miko, the books began to glow vibrantly with holy energy-

 _CRA~CK!_ Kasen stumbled from her icy prison, gazing vainly up at the octagram. " _Tsukiko-"_

 _VRRRRRRRR~_

The massive, vibrant beam of holy power roared out, enveloping the hermit. As Sendai anticipated, it ran straight to the gate on the road the three came in on.

RRRRRrrrrr…

The night was alive with color, but once the spell ran its course, it began to dim again…

...Sendai stared out into the village road, faint starlight not enough for her at this moment. ' _I think I got her…'_

...Closing her eyes, Sendai took a breath in, before forcing them open. ' _Geez.'_

"Did I get her?" Sendai spoke into the darkness. "Guys?"

"Ya _blinded me_ , girl." Marcus stepped up to her, equally blinded by the brightness of the holy laser. "I'm 'onna hafta get back to ya…!"

The miko heard the shopkeeper's approach- "I don't know…" -before he spoke.

' _Oh well. We'll find out.'_

 _Clop clop, clop clop, clop clop…!_

...The three turned to a dark steed that road along the village road, coming from the main square.

" _Steady, boy!"_ The old man riding it reigned it back-

"Nehehei~gh!" Horse noises came from the horse.

Once it was reigned to a stop near the three, the man glared down at them. " _There_ you three are."

...Sendai stared at the robed man with a perplexed expression. "Who are you?"

"I am Captain of the Village Guard." He revealed with a long face. "I've come to send you back to hell, licentious youkai maiden."

 _Shi~ng!_ He drew a heavy roman blade from his sheath, raising it into the air. "In the name of the Village civility and the general peace. Your presence on this earth is a blight, and-"

"Re-... _really…"_

Ignoring the man, Sendai looked back at the voice from behind herself. ' _Oh, hey, is she still up for more? She doesn't really sound like it.'_

Kasen stood on shaky limbs, hair frayed and body visibly coursing with holy jolts and energy. "... _Tsu-_ Tsukiko."

"I don't know you." Sendai reiterated. "To be honest, I feel like you're full of shit. And, even if you're right, I don't think I _care."_

...Kasen's gaze fell to the floor.

Rinnosuke was unsatisfied. "...I'm sorry Kasen, but… I'm not sorry for defending myself and my friends."

"Ah, the _hermit._ A friend of _yours_ , naturally. _"_ The robed captain spoke down to the party again. "Has she come to corrupt the village with her perverse presence once again? The past administration may have been ignorant of your kind, _Ibaraki_ , but I know the truth. I know that all youkai are incapable of love, and no amount of _lies_ will change the truth."

' _You're really not helping.'_ Sendai contemplated tossing the guy off his horse.

...Kasen spoke with vague strain. "Still… pl- please, if you listen to me-"

" _Enough."_ The old guard captain decided. "You are all to come back to the-"

Sendai flicked a rock-sized yin-yang orb towards him-

 _Tink!_ "Ooh- aah!" Flailing his arms from getting beaned in the side, he-

 _Thud._ -fell off of his horse. "Ghah- _confound…!_ _Petty!"_

 _Clop- clop, clop- clop!_ The black horse began to bound away, escaping from its rider and dashing off into the night.

"Nightmare! Nightma~re!" The robed man wailed for the horse as it ran off, getting back onto his legs…

Ignoring him, Sendai moved towards Kasen. "You _had_ your chance to _explain shit._ Guess what, you blew it."

…

Standing up, the robed man held up his blade. "How… _dare_ you _defy me!?_ I will have your _hearts_ for this _pestilence!"_

Sendai stared back at him vainly. "Will you shut the fuck up? It'd be cool if you just shut the fuck up."

...The man had his eyebrows raised in befuddlement.

...Then, he continued towards her. "It's the vilest of crimes that youkai must be given the forms of beautiful women. But I suppose it is the test of the gods, for me to either slay or conquer those beneath me."

Sendai rose a brow. "What's the difference. Between slaying and conquering, that is."

He leered at her. "...The alternative to death is to be my property. You know, I've theorized that youkai _can_ be… _corrected._ Now see- _"_

" _Aaaa~h!"_

' _Woah, shit!'_ Sendai flinched back from Kasen, who simply began yelling.

The hermit held her one arm to her chest, closing her eyes-

A floral pattern lit up around her form, and began to glow with soft, pink and white energy-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Healing energy flourished across her form, and she was left with a gentle, vital glow of the luckiest green, as if she were blessed.

' _Healing magic!?'_ Sendai's jaw almost dropped.

Marcus and Rinnosuke ran to the miko's side, ready to help her with the next encounter. "We're not gonna stop!" Rinnosuke was curiously determined despite this.

"You _misuse_ the Gods' blessing!" For some reason, the guard captain chose to ignore the party for now, focusing on the hermit. "... _Men!"_ He yelled back-

Cli- click, click, click.

...Sendai looked back, and saw a myriad of lancers, swordsmen and robed men of various shades incoming. ' _Are you… kidding me. Fuck. Maybe she was right about that whole 'get the hell out' thing. What a chore._ '

...Glaring into her opposition, Kasen brought her good arm to her stump-

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwoosh!_ Her bandage arm began to rapidly reform-

" _Manzairaku!"_ She yelled out a name-

 _FWUU~SH!_ "Wuah!?"

Sendai was launched into the air, a beach ball erupting under her feet and sending her flipping into the air. "Hua- aah…!?" ' _What happened!?'_

...As the miko flipped around, she looked down.

A seal had erupted from the floor, balancing the beach ball that launched her on its nose. " _Ahr, ahr!_ "

 _Woosh!_ Kicking towards the floor, Sendai ignored her dizziness from the flips as she lowered-

 _Thu- thud!_ She rolled on the landing-

" _Houso!"_ Kasen yelled another name.

Sendai braced for the eruption. ' _So she can summon these weird-'_

A portal opened up, amber flames dancing around the edges-

" _Rhaahr!"_ A huge tiger leapt from it, and it roared at the shrine maiden. It stood at ten feet tall on its four paws, and it was as wide as the smallest village houses.

"Wh-..." Sendai's jaw actually dropped at this.

' _Whaa~t the fuck! She can make tigers!? Oh shit!'_ Sendai'd never fought a tiger in her life, so she was apprehensive; especially because this tiger was taller than she was, and it was standing on all fours.

"O- oh, shit…" Marcus clammed up at this. "Are- _whah._ "

"U- um…" Rinnosuke held his gun up solidly. "I- I'll really shoot if, um…!"

While the legion of guards behind the Hakurei and her friends were also equally if not more apprehensive-

"That's a fucking tiger! I saw it in the books…!"

"What!? The Hakurei have all the youkai, don't they!?"

"It's an- it's an animal, not a-"

"There aren't tigers in Japan, stupid!"

-the Guard Captain proceeded forward without fear. " _Kasen Ibaraki_ , your vile defiance ends today! Surrender to me-"

" _Rhaa~hr!"_ The tiger roared in his face, making _everybody_ jump.

He brought his blade up, despite the tiger being huge. "Ba- back to hell, animal of youka-"

 _Woosh._ Housu the tiger leapt into the air. He soared high enough to potentially clear one story buildings-

 _BOOM!_ -and landed in the guard crowd.

Clank- clank- thud- clank! What ensued was the tiger running loops amidst their ranks, doing little more than batting and leaping around and skidding amidst them. Though they poked it with instruments, some managing to pierce its flesh-

" _Heal!"_ Kasen thrust an arm into the air-

 _Di- di~ng!_ A wreath of healing magic formed over the tiger as it tore through the thirty men who tried to engage it directly-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ As it regenerated, the battle became hopeless in seconds.

" _Aaa~h!"_

"No- my _thing- help! He- ugh!"_

"They've- augh- they've broke our backs…!"

" _Retrea~t!"_

...Very quickly, there was only scattered, abandoned implements and unconscious people behind the party.

Sendai was worried. " _...Ah- I… don't know what to say."_

...The guard captain turned back to Kasen. "...I, I believe I'll just be going-"

"Mukou!" Kasen held up her bandaged arm-

A raijuu scurried onto her shoulder, perching on her bandaged arm-

 _ZAP! ZAP!_ It began to crackle with electrical energy.

Dropping his sword, the guard captain ran-

 _FWAP- THWASH!_ A whip of Kasen's bandages formed, smacking him and summoning a meek lighting strike that enveloped him.

Thud. _"Uh- urgh…"_ He collapsed, bested by the energy.

...Sendai watched the tiger- ' _It's moving for me oh shit!'_

" _Rhaa~hr!"_ The massive beast moved to pounce on the shrine maiden-

 _Fwish!_ Sendai rolled to the side. ' _Get me the fuck outta here!"_

 _Thoom!_ The tiger came down near her side as she got back up, and she pivoted to it-

 _Bam! Bam!_ Her fists plowed into the furry flank of the beast, two resolute jabs sending black shockwaves rippling across its coat.

" _Rgghrrh!_ " The animal let out a gutteral roar, before prancing to circle around. Within moments, it poised to lunge onto the miko within a moment-

 _Fwa~m!_ Marcus initialized a fireball in its form. "No regre~ts!"

 _Splish._ The seal sunk into the floor-

 _FWUU~SH!_ It erupted beneath Rinnosuke, sending him flying. " _Waa~h!"_

 _Fwoosh!_ Sendai uppercut into the air to get away from the tiger, and to have the height advantage.

' _It's just a big monster. But- she's healing it, and she's… oh my god. Of all youkai to know healing... uugh. I knew I never wanted to fight a hermit.'_

The tiger looked up at the miko, movements hastened by the flames engulfing it, propping back onto its hind legs-

" _Rrhr!_ " Letting out a primal coo, it leapt into the sky after her.

' _What- holy shi~t!'_ Her eyes widened in abject disbelief as the beast soared even faster than she did with its leap-

 _SHWHACK!_ It swatted a paw towards her, and the claws grazed her- " _Aaugh!"_

Shutting her eyes, the miko rolled away into the air, her flesh cleaved open by the mighty blades-

 _FWOAM!_ The tiger landed on the ground, a small ring of flame roaring out from its form on landing.

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Kasen worked more healing magic on it…

 _Thud._ Sendai rolled across a nearby, flat rooftop, coming to a limp stop. "U- uuh… nh…"

' _Fu- fuck... '_ She began to dig into her pockets-

" _Tsukiko~!"_ Rinnosuke's yell was heard somewhere, but Sendai couldn't tell-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Healing energy splashed onto her form. ' _Thank everything that's holy. Okay, we're gonna have to run, because this just… we're gonna need more people, or just…'_

Sendai stood up, heart racing and head aching-

 _Bam!_ Kasen soared into her, riding up onto the roof with the aid of a giant eagle that held onto her arms, legs meeting the miko's abdomen.

 _Bam!_ Hitting the ground hard, Sendai rolled around and sprang back up-

 _Wham!_ She struck Kasen with her leg as the hermit approached, using the hermit's rigid body to spring away. After a short run, she leapt off the building "Hup!"

 _Clack!_ Kicking off the side of a nearby house, she landed on her sandals and moved to reach back into the main road-

The tiger was there. " _Rhaa- a- ahghr…"_ It stood imposingly in her way, challenging her.

' _What the fuck.'_ Sendai was stumped. '... _Well.'_

...Arching back, she-

 _Boom!_ Slamming the ground before Kasen could get back to her, Sendai bounded towards the tiger-

" _Rhaaghr!"_ It opened its maw to catch her as she roared forward-

Expanding a yin-yang orb, she slapped it weakly at the tiger as it expanded-

 _CRACK!_ The fangs of the beast locked tightly around the yin-yang orb. " _Rrgh-_ "

 _BOOM!_ Sendai kicked down onto its head. A ring of black bellowed out from her sandal's strike.

' _Hell yeah! That fucking worked!'_

" _Raauu~gh!"_ Letting out a mighty roar, the beast let the yin-yang orb drop from its mouth-

 _Thoom._ -as it flopped onto its side.

Sendai scrambled up to a very very weathered Rinnosuke. Marcus was next to him and inside of a barrel. "Ok- okay- uh… we beat the _tiger_ I think." Her words were hasty and unsure...

"That's _gr- great."_ Rinnosuke beamed at her. "Now can we _get out of here!?"_

" _You're not going anywhere!"_ Kasen's voice boomed from past the museum of abandoned weapons and unconscious guards. " _Koute~i!"_ She thrust an arm into the air.

Instantly-

 _KRA- KOOM._ The clouds overhead began to swirl.

... _fwiii~IIIII~SH!_ A loud rainstorm began, the black night becoming pitch darkness as the water poured upon the party.

' _Okay- let's just leave…'_ Sendai moved to grab onto her friends. ' _Nope nope nope. Fuck this.'_

" _Curaga!"_ Kasen thrust her bandaged arm outward-

 _DI- DI- DI~NG!_ Sendai followed the green tint of the healing magic-

" _Rrrgh…"_ The tiger was back.

 _KRA-KOOM._

Lightning stuck, and Sendai saw Kasen's final pet.

Floating above the village, a green dragon with great gold trims and traditional, large scales overshadowed the party. It was around twice the size of the tiger, and its mighty yellow eyes gleamed with a gloss otherwise unknown to the world.

' _Tha- that's a… that's a_ dragon. _Oh my god.'_

...With Marcus and Rinnosuke in her grasp, she began running backwards, before properly turning and booking it-

" _ **RHAAAAAA**_ " The dragon roared with volume that made Sendai's ears ring, and the ground vibrate, despite its meek stature- for a dragon.

 _ **POP! POP- BWOMPOPi POP!**_ Massive, great bubbles of solid azure rocketed down into the ground like meteors, kicking up shrapnel of dirt and rock in their wake as they exploded against the floor-

 _WHAM!_ Sendai went flying away from the battlefield, the resulting shockwaves sending her and her party into the air. " _Whaa~h!_ "

" _ **RHOOOO"**_ Another roar rang off the buildings of the village. Sendai's body shook as she flew forward in the darkness of the now stormy night-

 _ **FRAARAAHR!**_ A massive shockwave of conflicting wind vortexes encapsulated the party-

" _Ohu- haugh- ngh…!"_ Sendai had no idea where she was, or what was going on. The wind was like swords being scraped across her skin- all of her skin.

" _ **RAAAHR!"**_ The dragon let out a slightly more muted roar-

 _ **Fwoaa~sh!**_ Mighty wind encapsulated Kasen and all her pets, the wind itself guiding their movements and accelerating them. This wasn't immediately relevant to Sendai's situation.

 _Splap._ The party landed in some kind of mud. Their landing was softened by Marcus's attempts at floating, leaving them in an awkward heap in a deep mud puddle...

The storm was gone all of a sudden.

...Sendai stood up, caked in dirt and mud, cuts from the wind marring her form. "Nn- nnh…"

Rinnosuke's glasses were broken, and he held onto Sendai's form. "I- I can't…"

" _I~..._ " Marcus grinned, his face covered in slices. "Have no~t felt… like this… in a _lo~ng time…"_

Holstering them onto her shoulders with renewed vigor, Sendai trudged forward-

 _Splap._ -before collapsing into the mud once more, before getting up and moving more.

' _We- we need to…'_ Sendai thought of safe locations in town. ' _Kei- Keine… knows the village, I think. Fuck it. Nothing else close enough…'_

With them in tow, Sendai channeled the last of her dark magic into her legs so she could run away faster.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

…

The were-hakutaku took a sip of her tea, setting aside some parchment and papers. "There. All graded. Now…"

Staring warmly into her fireplace, she shut her eyes. It was another quiet evening in the Kamishirasawa household.

…

" _RHAAAAAA"_

"A- aah…?" Keine flinched, almost dropping her tea.

...Setting the cup down, she furrowed her brows. Something was wrong. Maybe someone was hurt, or that was the horrible yell of something uniquely new and terrible happening to someone.

" _RHOOOOO"_

Now properly focused, she knew that roar.

Marching up to the window, she stared out into the now stormy night.

…

" _Rhaa~r!"_

She held her forehead, before allowing this mannerism to become a facepalm.

…

…

Not long after the noises and the rain had stopped, she'd finished her night blend of tea.

Standing before her front door, she had the powerful mental debate of finally sleeping after staying up the whole full moon grading papers, or going out and investigating the _dragon roars_ that were implying horrible things were happening to the village.

…She decided to compromise, walking towards the door-

 _Thud._ -and collapsing onto the side of it. "We- well…"

And then-

 _Boom!_ Sendai kicked it open with force.

" _Wheah!?"_ Keine was sent rolling further into the house, before landing on her side- _"Oof!"_

"Shi- shit, sorry…" Sendai mourned the accidental friendly fire, as she rotated around and lugged the battered friends into the house precariously.

Sighting a soft couch, she immediately plopped the guys down…

 _Thud._ Dropping onto the floor and sitting down, she pulled a potion she'd stolen from the guards out. "Ev- Evolution…"

 _Di- di~ng!_ After casting it into the air, everyone began healing up-

Sendai splayed out on the floor, done with the day.

…

"Wha- what." The mint-haired Keine was now wide awake. "...What?"

"Owie." Marcus was still awake. "I... better start learnin' summore wind magic. Hot da~mn…"

…

 _Knock knock._ Someone knocked at the open door.

...Keine blinked at them. "Um. Come on in, Kasen."

Sendai sprang up onto her arms. "Noo~!"

Stumbling clumsily to her limbs, she half-crawled, half hobbled towards the front door.

"Um…" Kasen looked sheepish in the doorway. "I'm sorry about-"

 _Bam!_ Sendai shut the door in her face.

…

" _I'm sorry about the whole… going overboard thing."_ Kasen talked over the door by speaking a few decibels higher. " _If-_ if you- _... I may've been a little too extreme about my whole, um…"_

' _Y'don't fuckin' say. Why don't you just... summon a meteor and wipe out...'_

...Turning around, Sendai-

 _Thud._ -lost the battle against her body's energy, achieving sleep on the hardwood floor.

…

Stepping up gingerly, Keine swung the door open.

Kasen slowly trotted inside… "Hi, Keine."

"I'd like some answers." Keine nodded warmly, her now red eyes meeting the hermit's own.

"...Okay." Kasen slouched, smiling back awkwardly.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush: Caster - Tengu charging technique meant for casters. While this doesn't innately boost agility, it provides the user with wind blades that increase defense against projectiles and certain physical attacks.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful anymore.

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Wind Power - Constantly enveloped by the wind, Sendai moves far faster and jumps higher than normal. Twenty five percent dark and wind resistance is granted when this style is activated.

Airy Pockets - All sub-items are slightly modified by the wind element to perform differently. Most gain different physical properties, as well as exchange power for accuracy.

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(2x) Potion - Low tier health restoration items. Quickly but steadily restores health of an ally on use.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(eighteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Grass Grease - Magic which wets the target with magically charged wood paste and chlorophyll, leaving them vulnerable to increased and stronger burning.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non-Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

kasen fight

long chapter with lots of different combat segments - w - although they all had pretty specific purposes and this fight was able to get super intense because kasen has a surprisingly level of depth and complexity for a manga-to-fighting-game character; both for intensity thresholds and for general combat

she herself is very much support oriented, but she's also a tank, which is a pretty strong combo

and being _what she is_ , she's very resistant to a lot of elements and physical attacks in general

magic kinda wrecks her though

anyway this chapter had a wide spectrum of fights itself

like, sendai fights enemies so easy that she literally thinks of them like players would think of low level enemies

and then kasen _phase one_ was like a traditional fight

and then once KASEN SNAPS and SUMMONS HER ANIMAL FRIENDS… shit gets REAL YO

SENDAI CURBSTOMPING BATTLE

because really _what do you do against a wind and water dragon_ … with a _TIGER._ and a _SEAL._ and an _EAGLE._ all being constantly healed by a hermit who knows way too much healing magic for her own good

oh yeah judge claude frollo versus a fucking tiger

not only that but a _super tiger_ that wiped out his entire unit beforehand

in the games koutei (the _dragon)_ isn't quite made out to be that strong but y'know… when was the last time you killed a _MOTHERFUCKIN' MYTHICAL BEAST_ yo

koutei's also still just a child dragon - w -

his size is also kinda inconsistent between the manga and AoCF

also in AoCF the tiger housu like _is_ the size of the dragon XD

IT'S A PRETTY BIG FUCKIN' TIGER DUDE…

hoh hoh

i know people can't always get hype about every fight but i do feel like every little piece of this quest has purpose even if it's _fairly small_ and contextually explained

i say that more in reference to past chapters; this one was obviously _a lot of stuff_ but y'know i draw comparisons between some of my recent and past chapters and go 'if people are finding this to be too much action then y'know that's cool

it's very much a question of if you're in the mood, if you're able to get in the mood for it, is it what you want from a story and ye

like i can only name one fight that's been super "well okay" and one premise that was super "well okay", although even then the actual visit to hakugyokurou gave some useful things and insights as a whole

not everything can be high intensity, and while the pace does suffer a little from the rollercoaster effect i'm pretty sure the vague presence of plot and _the fact people don't have much else to read half the time_ will pull through - w -

...although i do think the general overall intensity for this fic's fights are in a good place; i dunno i get people saying _fights are pointless nothin's at stake_ and then _why is sendai havin' things at stake at all_ and waHAHA

so i think it all balances out - w -

i feel like one of the common tradeoffs of more serious things is that it's just collectively less grabby-on-the-interests-y

this fight also has a pretty big purpose that'll be made clear next chapter \ ;3

oh yeah the ending was kinda abrupt-looking in retrospect but sendai was pretty _oof_ so she really wanted to pass out - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	29. 6-4 - Rumbling Bloodlines

…

"Uurgh…"

Sendai clutched her head. ' _What happened…'_

Snapping her eyes open, she found herself staring at a wood ceiling. Despite the lack of lingering pain, she felt groggy and stiff.

Ignoring the soft covers and the smooth blue blanket, Sendai cast herself from the futon. ' _Feel like I've been sleeping on a wood beam…'_

Reaching behind herself, she pressed against her back with both palms-

 _crack._ "Aa~h…" She exhaled in pleasure from the quiet snap of joints.

' _Alright, there we go._ _Just need to do a few stretches before I start my routine. But…'_

Her gaze returned to the futon as she began to articulate her torso, limbs cracking idly as she did so. ' _Why was I here?'_

Through a nearby window, the holy blue glow of a blooming morning caught her eye. Idly, she rolled her head to work the stiffness from her neck, and moved over towards the dresser.

' _I'm still in all my clothes. My ripped up clothes. Nothing's out of place, and…'_ Her hands brushed her pockets. ' _Everything feels in order.'_

Sliding one of the drawers open, she looked into the dresser…

Plain blue dresses greeted her. '... _I've seen these before. These are Keine's.'_

Then, everything came back to her. ' _I better go see her right now.'_

Shuffling across the floor in her socks- as her sandals had been placed elsewhere- the miko swung the room's door open and stepped into the larger room.

In the back, there was a staircase down. ' _Two stories?'_

Moving past some tables and small shelves of books and binders, Sendai leisurely advanced down the tiny stairway…

Down here, she saw a beige sofa along the far wall, and a kotatsu rested upon a small lowered landing. Once on the landing and off of the stairs, she looked ahead at the rest of the room, separated only by a counter and a single square beam.

Over there, a table was set up with food on it. Marcus and Rinnosuke looked over at her, along with Keine-

' _Wait- what the hell…'_ Sendai furrowed her brows at the pink-haired individual who was also there. ' _Really, now.'_

"Mornin'!" Marcus gave her a wave as she neared the table. "Guess what! Real food today!"

Marching into the room through the dividing counter, the miko pointed at Kasen. "If you wanna go again, let's just get it out of the way."

...Kasen smiled patiently at her, considering a response-

"She's actually here to _apologize."_ Keine held an arm up to mediate the situation, half-standing from her seat. "Don't try to kill her just yet."

' _Apologize?'_ Sendai neutrally stared into the hermit's eyes, body stiff and expectant of some kind of surprise.

...Taking in a breath, Kasen decided to stand. "...Yes. Yesterday was… _jumpy_ of me. It was also rather unbecoming. I'm sorry for hurting you, Tsukiko."

...Sendai wasn't quite sure how to process this. ' _What's her angle? Yesterday, she talked a pretty big game.'_

"What was that, about keeping us out? For the village's sake?" Sendai questioned the hermit's previous intents. "Aren't we stepping on that right now?"

Exhaling, Kasen looked as if she was stricken. "...Well, yes. But… I kind of... did probably even _more damage_ than you would have in one evening, so um… there's not any _reason_ to go about that anymore. Summoning my tiger and dragon, and everything."

' _...That's right. She totalled the captain and his men. Not as if that's difficult, but it's hypocritical.'_

"So, what now?" The miko continued to question her, relaxing a little. "Have you forsaken the village to… something or another? What were you worried about, again…?"

"...I feel in part the village is _already_ forsaken, to a degree." Looking down at the table, the hermit made an admission. "It was never this bad. No one person, of their own right mind- or of the village _guard_ , the _captain_ even- would be so corrupt, or say such things. Something's amiss… or, perhaps, has _been_ amiss."

' _He was pretty outlandish. The last guard captains that I remember were kind of dicks- or dumb kids- but that old clown's kinda shitty. I give him another month, or a few weeks, before he gets himself eaten or assassinated. Sometimes the position just changes fast like that, until someone okay gets it.'_

Sitting down, Keine focused on her morning foods again. "It does feel like things have been getting worse. No one's really taking it seriously enough."

...With this matter settled for now, Sendai found a chair at the edge of the table. ' _Rice, salmon… some fruit._ _I'm reminded of how weird the village's produce situation is. We've got plenty of guys who farm rice and wheat, but the fruit always comes from either youkai or almost literally nowhere.'_

"Serious stuff, hu~h?" Marcus grinned up at the teacher. "We're the most serious people fer the job!"

...Some moments of consumption later, Keine responded to his claim. "I'm really not sure what's going on with the village, and I really don't think it's a problem that can be solved normally. I would know, by this point…"

' _It wasn't spiralling into insanity when I was around. So...'_

"We could take a look around, some time." Sendai proposed. "...I've only dealt with the village council a handful of times, but I think I have a lay of things."

' _Dealt with them enough to realize they were jerks and not really worth talking to.'_

"If you feel like it." Idly shifting in her seat, Keine seemed indifferent to the idea. "...As the head of the village's education, I'm actually _on_ the council, and I still can't really get anything done outside of my jurisdiction."

"They let you on the council…?" Half done with her food, Sendai grinned up at her. "Wow. Do they know you're a youkai?"

"I'm an… 'exception'." Keine put it awkwardly. "It's superficial and dodgy, but the council considers me _above_ other youkai. That's what they say, anyway."

' _Now I want to punch them, but that's never gotten me many places here in the village. It gets the guards to leave me alone, but that's about it.'_

"...This sounds pretty… dismal." Kasen contributed her thoughts on the matter once she was finished with her food.

' _There's a reason Kourin kept away once they kicked him out.'_ Sendai tilted her gaze up to the hermit. ' _...I'm glad he somehow got a shop despite everything. Sort of ironic considering the village doesn't seem to have ever formally let him back in, other than for supplies. Or so I think.'_

...Once she was finished with her food, Sendai focused on Keine as she moved to stand. "I was gonna ask if we could spend the night here, but it doesn't seem like we had a choice."

Smiling, Keine had yet to finish hers. Adjusting herself, she responded. "Aah. Well, you were quite welcome. I was sort of surprised how much of a number Kasen did on you, but she summoned her dragon, so it figured."

' _Yeah- what the hell was with that dragon. I'm gonna be really apprehensive whenever I engage anyone now, because it's a fifty-fifty whether or not they're some elder god, dragon tamer, or some lame part-time crook.'_

...Rising from his chair, Rinnosuke decided to become part of the conversation. "Did you _really_ have to summon a dragon on us?"

"No." Kasen shook her head with a smile. "I'd just gotten a little… too annoyed. It doesn't usually happen."

"Didn't know Kourin here was so intimidatin' ya needed a _dragon_ ta fight 'em!" Marcus patted the shopkeeper on his shoulder. "Hehe! Kourin the _dragon slayer!"_

"...You're selling me a little high there." Rinnosuke slowly moved to brush his arm off-

"Would any of you happen to know about that shrine explosion?" Keine questioned the three. She got up herself, beginning to place utensils and trash from the meal onto her plate...

"Yeah, maybe." Rounding the table, Sendai grinned at her inquiry. "Long story short, my family lineage has also come back to life. You saw my mother in the village the other day, maybe?"

...Keine's brows were somewhere between raised and furrowed. "How do you mean? _Your_ mother? I sure felt that _holy blast._ It knocked me clean out. I was _supposed_ to be teaching that day."

"That was my mother." Sendai confirmed. "...The shrine thing was me, her, Reimu, and grandma."

Rinnosuke pushed his chair in, before leaning into it with his arms. "How'd all the village youkai fare?"

...Overcoming her surprise, the teacher answered him. "Well. Writhing pain and crippling muscle weakness, which lasted until the same time the next day."

She began to move her plate towards the dividing counter in the midst of her main room. "I spent last night couped up in here grading, even on the full moon. The weakness that hit my body was pretty severe, and I'd imagined most of the youkai had to bundle up to hide. The luminescent traces of the holy magic would have given them away for sure."

' _Guess I really don't get a good gauge for that blast. Hakurei techniques favor my body and everything, it seems.'_

"...Wow." Somewhat taken back, Rinnosuke simply absorbed this. "That's…"

Turning her gaze to the house's front door, Sendai considered what to do today. ' _...At least I got_ some _things done that could be called training. Those were some pretty good fights, for what they were.'_

...She began to turn back towards the table-

Kasen was now before her, bowing with her arms at her sides. "Let me travel with you…!"

...Sendai blinked. ' _Ah?'_

"You're trying to figure out more about how you died, right? As well as your revival?" Standing up straight, the hermit pressed her palms to one another. "I'd like to help you."

"...How do you- why would you?" Instantly suspect, Sendai propped an arm to her own hip...

"I read about it in the Bunbunmaru too." Kasen responded bluntly to her first question. "I can't let this mystery go unsolved either. There's no reason for me not to take your side, especially when you need it."

At that, Sendai furrowed her brows. "...I need it? Really now."

...Kasen adopted sassy posture of her own. "There are people with way more resources than me in this land, and if you ever find yourself on the bad side of one…"

"I could take you, if you didn't summon a _dragon_ and a… _tiger_ to square off with me." Stepping forward, the miko made her point assertively.

"Your party members were layering me with debuffs." Kasen countered with what came to mind, leaning forward into the miko's advance. "They bought you time whenever you slipped up and needed a breath."

Energy pumped through the maiden as she considered a counter-response. "...Now that I know how you fight, I wouldn't even have to hold back to begin with."

"I never actually used my magic to fight you." Kasen perhaps less than patiently smiled back into her glare. "...I'm sure you've also seen that I know healing magic."

Sendai felt herself freeze.

' _...If we had a healer… I wouldn't need to fork out as much money for potions. Especially a powerful hermit healer. That's a damn convincing argument, actually. Plus, she's no slouch in hand-to-hand, and she can summon those really powerful beasts.'_

...Sendai shot a glance to her party members-

"Yes- yes, we _desperately_ need a healer." Rinnosuke nodded energetically in the background. "Please say yes."

Marcus was puckering his lips innocently. "...We need a _dragon!"_

...Letting herself step back from the hermit, Sendai nodded. "Alright. We've been kinda imbalanced without Keine. You can come along."

' _She wasn't necessarily a healer, but she was pretty hard-headed. Literally. She knew some good spells.'_

"I'm glad you see my worth!" Smiling brilliantly, Kasen brings her arms before herself and places her hands together. "...We're going to get to the bottom of these things, I can promise you that."

"No funny stuff and we'll be alright." With the terms laid out, Sendai finally managed to gaze across the table…

Keine gave her a nod. "Kasen's a good person. From what I've seen."

Kasen turned to her next with a tilted smile. "From what you've seen…?"

"I'll hold the fort here while you guys…" Pausing, the teacher's expression became inquisitive. "What kinds of things have you fought so far?"

"Eirin." Rinnosuke exhaled.

"That butterfly ghost lady wit' the pudding…" Marcus pointed up, half a deck of cards in the hand he used to point.

"Grandma." Sendai's response was also plain.

...Keine grinned. "I'm not sure how that went for you, but I'm _kind of_ glad I wasn't there."

' _I wonder how many of those fights were doable- or easier- if we had another hand to throw potions. Hmhm.'_

"...I don't know about that." Matching her grin, Sendai looked to her friends. "What do you guys think?"

"She's better off staying here…" Rinnosuke votes against exposing his friend to the horrors of advanced deity combat.

"The world's a nice place." Marcus nodded warmly. "Fulla' _hurt!"_

With that, the teacher began to move further into the house, past the counter into the living area. ...Looking over the counter, she gestured outward. "Come by anytime you guys like for snacks or food. There's some drinks in the cupboards, too."

"Will do." The miko smiled at her gesture.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

FINAL STAGE - Rumbling Bloodlines

The party proceeded from the village gates with a new assortment of potions and renewed vigor.

' _Now we can really get down to training. Before that, I should hit up the shrine so no one thinks I've exploded or anything.'_

"Next time we get in a fight, summon your dragon so we can end it instantly." Sendai immediately made a request to their new recruit, as they proceeded in the morning's gold glory.

Kasen pouted at her. "His name is _Koutei._ I also can't so simply summon him to overkill _all_ my disputes, especially if I can handle it more elegantly on my own terms."

' _Guess it would be kinda weird to just use a dragon as proxy for you all the time. Still, it'd save a lot of trouble.'_ Sendai still wanted to curbstomp all her enemies with dragon magic.

'... _This is a pretty nice day, too.'_ She looked up at the few clouds in the sky. ' _It makes me want to do things.'_

"You guys are awfully quiet…" Kasen turned back to Marcus and Rinnosuke.

Marcus looked up from a small, half-opened cardboard box he was holding, and slipped it behind his back. "Oh- yeah? Well, when ya get old, ya tend ta prefer… _observin'._ Yeah."

...Rinnosuke's response was more blunt. "I have a lot of experience in standing still and not saying anything. I should've packed a book, for traveling…"

"...I have a field guide to herbs." Kasen offered sympathetically.

...He gave her a nod. "That should do."

' _I should probably be reading up on that new chronicle. Should be a section on alien rabbits from the moon in there somewhere now. Hard to keep track of everything when you get beaten to a pulp every fifty meters. Gensokyo has a lot tougher youkai than I remember...'_

While her party members mingled, Sendai saw another Hakurei miko drifting down the path to the village…

' _Ah. Reimu…'_

Reimu softly floated down to greet them. "Hey, mom."

"Hey there." Sendai waved up at her. "Heading to the village?"

"Mmm." She nodded gingerly… "What's Kasen doing, hanging with you…?"

"You know her?" The elder miko looked back at the hermit-

-who was now right beside her. "I've decided to travel with your mother, Reimu. To help her investigate."

...Reimu leaned at her lazily. "Well, have fun with that. And, yeah. She trained me in some general discipline things. It was alright."

"You should be _keeping up_ with them…!" Kasen insisted, still smiling. "I didn't just take you to sightsee with training themes…!"

"I'm not sitting under a waterfall every week." Reimu shook her head…

At that, Sendai jerked her head back. "...Why not?"

...Reimu stared at her blankly.

"After enough of that, you get more acclimated to the cold, you know." Her mother advertised the benefits of waterfall-sitting. "Helps with swimming, too."

Reimu snorted. "I can _fly._ It kinda makes swimming irrelevant…"

"Do you freak out when you get water in your face?" Sendai interrogated her skills. "'Cause if you do…"

"Well- not _that much._ " Reimu waved off her insistence. "Look- I'm just gonna go pop into the village for some things. I don't need super waterfall sitting powers to do that, I don't think."

Sendai grinned at her. "Well, I wasn't sayin' _that._ It'd be good for you, is all."

...Reimu gave her a half-hearted nod. "Well, sure. I don't think I'd make it routine, though…"

' _The whole point of it_ is _the routine, though…'_ Sendai just let her eyebrows raise. "...Oh well. I'll yell at you about that kinda stuff later."

Reimu snorted. "...Sure. See ya, mom."

"Oh, yeah, watch out for the village guard." Sendai gave her a wave as she slowly floated off… "They're a little uppity."

"They're always uppity." With that, she began to leave conversing range.

…

Instantly pivoting around to to the miko, Kasen beamed. "I didn't know you were confident about training…!"

...Sendai began to grin at her. "You think I got these muscles overnight or something?"

' _Speaking of training, I really need a good day to just set up a routine again. I don't think that's gonna happen so much while we're investigating this big sprawling mystery.'_

The four were still stationary as the result of the new discussion between the two. Marcus leaned over as he continued to fool with that cardboard box in his hands...

"It's just… I was kind of confused by the fact you don't really use Hakurei techniques." Kasen brought her bandaged arm to her chin. "Aside from that powerful laser… and the ofuda."

"Dark magic's pretty good." Sendai held up her arms-

 _Fwam._ Dark energy billowed through them, her skin becoming ink black. "It's really useful, and really suits my style of just pouring a lot of power into things. The only shortcoming of my fighting style in general is that, nowadays… everyone keeps _well out_ of melee range, and are _really good_ at magic and projectiles. ...It's actually really bad."

...Dort of mystified, Kasen panned herself back and forth idly as she conversed. "I was pretty surprised by your dark focus, yes. While you get by with it… haven't you ever considered holy magic?"

...Sendai shrugged, not giving it much thought. "Honestly? Thought that sort of thing was lost for good. Got no idea how Reimu just knew it."

Chuckling a little, Kasen looked sheepish. "Oh. ...I dread to think what would happen if the Hakurei _entirely_ forgot their holy capabilities."

' _So did I. Then I learned how to trap stuff, and then once I was able to punch stuff I got really confident.'_

"What was your training like?" She questioned her method of gaining power next. "...Nothing holy, I assume."

"Punched trees and bamboo. Push ups. Ran around all day. Some youkai fighting. Ate well sometimes." Her expression became focused. "Climbed the mountain. Sat under waterfalls. Scaled cliffs with jumps and stuff. That's about it."

...With that, the hermit was silent, expression pensive as she brought a hand to her chin.

' _It's a really nice day.'_ The miko focused her gaze on the nearby trees. ' _The breeze is flighty. If only I didn't half feel like I got hit by a truck from last night. Sleep did me good, at least-'_

"Humans can get this much stronger just by doing that?" It seemed that Kasen almost couldn't believe such a routine. "How long did you do it for?"

"Ten or twenty years. Probably more like twenty." Sendai figured, before articulating her arms a little. "Took me awhile to get the idea, and took even longer to make it work. Great payoff."

"...Ah." Acknowledging this, Kasen proposed an idea. "Would you consider… trying holy magic _now_ , though?"

' _Hmm?_ ' Sendai tilted her head. "Perhaps."

 _Fwoo~sh!_

...The two girls looked over at Marcus. His hair was blown back, and the box he was fooling with was now accelerating up into the sky…

He grinned back at the girls, hands now in his pockets. "...It got away."

...Rinnosuke readjusted his glasses. "So it did."

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Within a nearby, sunny forest clearing, the four took in the scenery…

They were in a broad, even clearing, surrounded by unassuming trees on all sides, fit with vegatationless branches as winter's onset was almost fully here.

More accurately, the guys took in the scenery while Sendai and Kasen stood in the clearing's midst. Next to them was the rotted, broken lower half a tree that no longer stood, its top having escaped somewhere long ago.

"So…" Kasen held some Hakurei talismans in her non-bandaged arm. "I can't really use these, but I'll hold them to explain. You can manipulate holy _somewhat_ , right?"

' _What's up with her bum arm?'_ Sendai was still curious about the hermit's arm...

"Mmm." Averting her gaze from it, she agreed, her own ofuda brandished. "I can write magic configurations to them, and that's about it. Otherwise, I slap them on youkai I don't like."

"...So you know _a couple_ things." Kasen considered this information… "You've also been playing with wind magic. I remember that from our last fight. Then there's that big laser attack..."

' _Holy magic for me's always been very… either zero or one hundred. I can't be precise with it at all.'_

"If you play with these talismans… I wonder if you can try and make the magic flow through your body similarly?" Looking the miko over, Kasen proposed an idea for her to try.

...Although she was skeptical, Sendai tried it. ' _This isn't gonna work.'_ Placing ofuda along her arm, she watched them glow, and tried to focus on the magic that empowered them-

"Aah…" She let out a hiss, the ofuda glowing golden. Their energy burned her flesh lightly, black mist leaking from around their borders.

...Once some moments of this persisted, Kasen had a brow raised. "That's an… interesting reaction. How much of that dark magic is _innate?_ It's like they treat you as a youkai. _"_

' _I knew this much already. Traditional talismans don't like dark magic. Happens that youkai always are full of dark magic, whether they're dark elemental or not.'_

...Drawing her dark magic away from her arms by channeling it into other parts of her body, Sendai checked to see if the ofuda would cease their aggression…

They fluttered off once there wasn't enough dark magic to cling to. ' _Hmm.'_

"You _create_ the ofuda yourself, so…" Kasen smiled at her. "Is it possible you could run that same magic through your body like that? The holy element that makes them."

' _Except,_ _it's like the ofuda almost draw it out of me when I make them. Not sure if I can just...'_

...After focusing on her mana for awhile, she tried to channel the ofuda-creating mechanism on her forearm and shoulders instead of her sleeve or hand areas.

Then, she felt the magic simply expel from her form. ' _Ah. Hmm…'_

...She again tried to focus it around her torso, preventing actual ofuda from forming and instead focusing on making the holy magic bind to her at all; as if pressing it into her skin with just a margin of restraint…

"What…?" Slowly, Kasen's face shifted into one of confused wonder.

...Moments passed, and Sendai opened her eyes after some focusing.

Where she directed energy, rings of luminescent holy magic revolved _around_ her form, akin to bands of a silk web, except only in semi-perfect, whirling revolutions. They were thin, sharp in movement yet gave off a blurry hue of clean, mind-clearing light.

...As the miko moved her arms, the smaller bands that were around those moved with them.

"Your body's _actively repelling_ the holy from latching to your skin…" Temperamentally displaced, Kasen's brows were raised. "But, your focus is still keeping it there… and it's trying _pretty hard_ to attach. It's like watching oil and water try to come together."

' _Maybe it can be forced together if I try hard enough.'_ ...Focusing herself, Sendai tensed her muscles as she tried to force her mana onto the revolving holy rings-

 _Fwam!_ The rings burst outward, her form lighting up for just a moment, and then the magic was gone. ' _Ah.'_

"I've got it…" Holding up one of the ofuda she had, Kasen made a determined face. "Get there again. I'll try to place a talisman on in that one moment the magic lashes out."

' _This is gonna be silly.'_ Doing as she directed, the miko held her arms out again and began messing with the talisman-summoning magic…

Once the holy rings were around her form once again, she readied herself. "...I'm about to make it lash out."

"I'm ready." The hermit nodded…

...After she focused her magic for long enough-

 _Fwam!_ The holy energy lashed out again-

 _Pap!_ Kasen practically punched her to make the talisman hit her shoulder in time-

 _Fvhi~r…!_ As the talisman lit up with neon grey and white energy, she stumbled back. ' _Woah. Everything's sorta...'_

Violent, uneven currents and shimmers of holy energy had formed a layer over her body, just barely in contact with her skin. This rippling shell exerted strange forces onto her muscles and her balance, causing her to take more pragmatic posture, arms out and legs spread out. ' _This makes me feel heavy. It's also in the way of my eyes, a little.'_

...Stepping around experimentally, her steps flattened the grass beneath her. She left sandal-shaped imprints in the soil. ' _Wow. I'm not sure how to feel about this, but even moving around is kind of a chore.'_

"...Huh." Kasen grinned as the miko stomped about. "It's really not reacting well to you, for some reason."

' _For some reason, you say…'_ The miko inadvertently looked dangerous as she stomped around with her arms out. ' _Let's try actually moving and not just stumbling…'_

 _Thoom- thoom- thoom!_ Her stomps were not well-received by the soil beneath, causing small deep gashes to form wherever she stepped. ' _Not… much faster. This might actually be good exercise.'_

...Crouching down even lower, she tried to leap-

 _Whoosh!_ She didn't manage to gain much height, the ground not visibly sinking despite her force.

 _Thoom!_ Landing a moment later, ending up ankle deep in the soil, she furrowed her brows. ' _My jump was too much for the dirt. That's… something.'_

"Try hitting this dead tree, here." Kasen gestured to the broken trunk beside her. "I wanna see if you can do anything like this."

 _Thoom, thoom, thoom._ Lumbering up to the deceased trunk, Sendai prepared to punch it. ' _Let's see… how this works?'_

Her darkness magic refused to travel any further into her arm. ' _Can't channel my darkness like this. This holy magic's really clumsy.'_

Attempting to pull her arm for a punch, she only got it halfway up her torso before thrusting it forward tightly-

 _CRACK!_ Her fist plowed into the trunk almost effortlessly, the dead wood crumbling in her way. Particles of holy splashed out from the impact, and cracks began to form along the trunk's entire exterior. ' _That was a pretty decent result… even if this tree's hollow.'_

Unable to command precision from her limbs, she settled for bringing the arm back, and simply tearing forward with her other hand, not even extending it fully as she slammed it into the trunk-

 _CRA- CRACK!_ The hollow side of the trunk began to cave in and tip over, falling towards her-

Grabbing onto the modest, shallow tree chunk, the miko stepped back as she held onto it. ' _Ah, shit. Well, it feels pretty light, at least. Thought I did something careless, for a moment…'_

...After a moment of continued stumbling back as she hugged onto it, she furrowed her brows. ' _Hold on, there's not_ this _much tree to push me back…'_

" _Hrruu~h!"_ Sendai thrust back-

The shallow, eight or nine foot tall cylinder of dead, mossy wood hurtled into the air before her-

 _CRACK- THOOM…_ It completely shattered upon impact with the soil before her, a dusty cloud of must and unhealthy looking mist blooming out of it, before quickly dissipating in the sun's warm rays.

' _I didn't even feel that.'_ Sendai looked down at her limbs, and at the shuddering, rippling surface over them, and in front of her eyes. ' _That's some force.'_

...Jerking her limbs towards her shoulder, she moved to take off the talisman placed there-

 _Fwi- fwam!_ The moment she did, the holy energy was unleashed from her body like a small explosion. ' _Woah.'_

...Instantly, she felt her knees buckle. "A- ah…?"

' _Oh. Feels like I just landed without preparing myself… and now I can feel where the tree scraped my arms a little. Ugh.'_

"Are you alright…?" Kasen began to step towards her-

"Fine…" Standing back up, the miko briefly glanced at her legs, before dismissing them. "It's hard to _feel_ things happen. I don't really feel when my limbs hit something. That holy magic turns off my nerves..."

...Kasen considered this as she circled the miko, moving behind her. "Try putting it back on. I wanna test something…"

...Sendai re-attached the now discolored talisman-

 _Fvhi~r…!_ Once again, the holy magic reinitialized. ' _A- ah…'_ Sendai hadn't expected it to snap back so quickly, and found herself off balance for a moment.

...Once she was back into her hunched over, primal-looking neutral posture, she looked around-

" _Hup!"_ Arms wrapped around her waist, and Kasen quickly hoisted her up into the air. ' _What…?'_

Sendai found herself airborne for a moment, before-

 _THOOM!_ Her landing created a crater in the ground.

 _Thud._ Sendai flopped onto the side of it. ' _Okay…?'_

...Stepping up to the miko, Kasen had a hand to her mouth. "Oh- oh dear. Um…"

"What's up?" Sendai couldn't move her legs. ' _Hmm?_ '

"Heal!" Thrusting an arm into the air, the hermit shut her eyes-

 _Di~ng!_ A floral pattern reminiscent of a tablecloth formed around the miko-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Healing energy ran through her body. "...Why?" Some moments later, she raised after demanding her legs to comply again. ' _Weird.'_

"Uu~h…" Kasen smiled at her sheepishly. "Look down?"

...Once she was up, the miko looked down. A small puddle of blood was in the crater she scrambled out of, crimson spattered upon jagged rocks. Curling over, she managed to examine her now ripped hakama pants. "...Oh."

' _I think I broke my legs and didn't even feel it.'_

"Yeah, um…" With a sheepish smile, Kasen interlocked her fingers. "Don't fall long distances like that. Actually- to get a good grasp of how much it changes your power, try hitting me."

"Okay." With that-

 _Thoom, thoom, thoom._ The miko plodded towards her-

 _Wham!_ She tightly, awkwardly shoved a hand into the hermit's abdomen-

 _Whack!_ Then, she used her arm to slam into the hermit, which sent her stepping back. "Aah. Well-" Kasen wasn't too affected-

 _WHAM!_ Sendai thrust both arms forward awkwardly and amateurishly, almost pushing herself back more than putting leverage forward-

"Eh…!" Kasen stopped herself from falling back after the arms clipped her torso, previously poised arms now awkwardly at her side as she found herself. "That was some force-"

Hurtling towards the hermit, the miko spun around. " _Hora~h-"_

 _BAM!_ " _Eyah…!?"_ Unceremoniously, the slap of two powerful arms sent Kasen sailing onto her back. "Oof…!"

...Sendai had to stop herself from falling _onto_ her, and her balance almost didn't comply. ' _Al- alright…'_

Kasen had already flipped back around, getting off her knees and onto her legs. "Impressive strength…!"

' _This_ is _more than my regular hits actually managed to do to her… and all I'm doing is flailing my arms and falling towards her like an idiot.'_

"Now, if you could _direct_ some of that force…" Coming to a similar observation, Kasen began to move towards one of the live, standing trees in the background. "Even a little bit for now. I could understand if you couldn't…"

 _Thoom, thoom, thoom._ Powering towards the tree the hermit came to, Sendai flexed her arms in a futile attempt to get bearings on her strength. ' _There's something great but also terrible about being forced to ignore all the precision and care I usually incorporate. My dark magic keeps me from hurting myself and lessens impacts on my skin. I don't even know whether or not this magic's protecting me, since it makes me numb to everything.'_

Balling her fist as she came to the tree, she stared at it through the visual clutter. ' _...Focus, she said, huh.'_

Her knuckles white- only the vague pops of her joints giving her any feedback, she tried to channel as much focus and attention into the arm as she could. ' _Let's see…'_

...The already unstable holy shell began to crackle and spike violently as she tried to infuse it with her natural darkness. ' _Wait… and-'_

Swinging it a little, she saw the air currents left by her arm sleeves- when the holy shell wasn't awkwardly making them fidget.

 _Fwi- fwi~sh._ Wind began to spiral around her fist and wrist. An unholy purple emanated, coming from within her skin and the core of her limb, making the holy shell boil like lava or a churning sea…

This combination also brought pain to the forefront of her mind, able to feel the vague burn that was the three elements becoming one right on her flesh. ' _Okay!'_

 _Tho- thoom!_ Stomping into the ground, she reeled her arm back. " _Haa~h…!"_

Able to tell the arm's positioning from the bright glare and whips of wind that came off of it- and the pain- she lugged it forward in a straight thrust towards the tree.

' _It's like I'm wearing a big coat, heavy pants, gloves and boots. It's so hard to feel anything like this…'_

 _CRACK!_ Her fist punctured the tree's hull-

 _FWHAM- BOO~M!_ A moment later, the air she'd gathered had decompressed into a shockwave, and a piercing dark bolt flared from her hand, visible through the tree's other side.

...When the visual clutter had dissipated adequately, the tree began to fall forward, the massive hole left in its solid hull compromising it entirely. ' _Oh shit.'_ As it fell, the miko brought an arm back-

 _BAM!_ The falling tree stopped for a moment as she reflexively punched it with a clean jab, her muscles in overdrive to make it happen nearly fluidly.

 _BA- BAM! BAM! BAM!_ Gritting her teeth- for reasons not yet clear to her- she worked her body to send overhead, frantic punches at the tree. Her fists glowed with blinding holy light as she slowly slapped her arms towards the hulking lumber…

Quickly, the tree's broadness began to crack and crumble from the repeated hits, the damage spider-webbing along the bark. The more immediate hits chipped away the exterior, sending inner strands raining out.

After enough of this, she tried to simply push against it, and quickly found it winning that battle. ' _Fuck-_ '

Kasen slid up under it, and began to push with her. "Aha~h…!"

Her aid quickly made it become a standstill.

" _Try…_ try punching it again." Curiously comfortable beneath the tree, Kasen offered the miko an opportunity to wail on it. "With that combined punch…!"

' _How's_ she _holding it just fine without me…?'_ Ignoring the hermit's impossible strength, the miko stepped back…

 _Fwi- fwi~sh._ As the wind spiralled around her arms once again, she channeled darkness there until the result was violent and visible.

Once the light blared with a blinding glare and the dark's unholy, purplish tint, she knew the magic was ready to support her next thrust. ' _The pain part almost doesn't hurt, since I can hardly feel anything in reference…'_

Reeling the arm back, she lobbed it with excessive force towards the slanted trunk, meeting it diagonally-

 _FWHAM- THUNK!_ The big tree jerked up and slid down suddenly and randomly, the force kicking it. It met the dirt next to the stump loudly, kicking some of it up. Then, it began to tilt over the cracked stump, eager to fall on the two again-

Sendai and Kasen were able to step out of the way of it now, though.

 _THOO~M._ The clearing was filled with the foliage of the fallen tree, and the ground let a brief vibration meet the girl's forms...

There laid the cracked, cratered, and now soon to be deceased mighty Japanese maple.

 _Fwi- fwa~m._ Unequipping the talisman again with a single, silly jerky motion, the shrine maiden dismissed the holy energy. ' _...That's pretty alri- oww~!_ '

Instantly, she looked down at her sore hand, the splintering pain slowly fading in. ' _What the- holy shit…'_

Her left hand, which she'd used for both combination punches and general battery against the tree, now had an assortment of afflictions. Grey stone marred some of it, while in other places seared blood and exposed flesh were accented with black, crystalized rocks. ' _I can… see some of my knuckles. The bone. Ow- shit..._ '

" _Heal."_ Kasen waved her arm towards the miko-

 _Di~ng!_ Once again, the pretty pink pattern bloomed around her-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ ...As she healed, the crystalline chunks and stone pieces began to drop from her hand, exposing empty cysts of flesh and blood. Finally, the flesh began to regrow and the indents filled in...

"W~ _ow_ …" Letting out a hiss, the miko watched the empty craters in her flesh fill. "What the _fuck…?"_

"...I hadn't expected you to try something like _that."_ Kasen admitted, watching the skin heal with her. "The results were interesting…"

"Interestingly _painful._ " Sendai retorted…

' _This would be outright self-destructive without constant healing, but with Kasen here it should be alright.'_

...Once her hands had stopped hurting enough for her to stop focusing on them exclusively, she began scanning the clearing…

"We're gonna have firewood fer weeks!" Marcus had rounded the foliage with Rinnosuke, and was leisurely sauntering towards the two girls…

"Sure." Sendai dismissed his comment promptly. "...I don't think you saw it, but, you know anything about those _stones_ that fell out of my hand?"

Marcus rose a brow and grinned. "Stones…?"

Bending down, Kasen claimed a few from the dirt. "Here they are." Standing again, she proceeded up to him.

Without even touching them, he nodded in recognition. "Oo~h! Aah, villagers come ta me all the time 'bout the gray stuff. Priests that is. Not surprised ta see the black shards either…"

"Why'd it form when I _punched a tree?"_ Looking her hand over one more time, she questioned him.

"Pro'lly 'cause your little dark 'n' holy experiment made the elements go haywire." Coming closer, he looked the hand over himself, and looked back at the stones. "Mmm. Holy _can_ solidify flesh- 'specially when it's left unchecked and goes super hot."

"Super hot…?" The term made the miko think. "I didn't feel any burning. Hurt, but that's different."

"Holy an' dark don't get _hot_ the way like… _fire_ up an' does. Fire's just… sorta always alchemically violent, meanwhile holy an' dark're more or less the most unnatural of the typical suspects. I mean _hot_ in a sorta… _technical_ sense, I guess ya could say. Ah right- what I mean's an elementally- 'er maybe _chemically-_ violent state. The two were all stirred up so they acted real pure, which is _destructive._ " All of this said, he brought a hand to his beard… "Tha' holy shell thing ya had goin' on pro'lly grilled yer hand good, in both flavors!"

...Sendai absorbed this information plainly. "Uh… huh. So…"

He grinned and held up his arms. "Basically…! Hot pan, meet cold water, an' you were the guy dunkin' the pan into the water!"

"I see…" She nodded at him. "So the magic became hyperactive, and my skin didn't fare well."

"Basically!" Satisfied with that understanding, he began to turn… "Alri~ght…!" ...Then, he turned back to the party. "Where was it we were goin' again…?"

Sendai snorted. "We're heading to the shrine."

' _I think we've prepared enough for right now. It'd be nice to stop in there for a moment, both to make sure my ancestors aren't doing anything spooky, and get a good bearing of the place. I haven't really spent a lot of time there since I came back… and we could use a moment to think about what to investigate next. We've gotten a little sidetracked with this training stuff, even if this kind of thing's really important.'_

"...Your folks aren't going to _destroy me_ or anything, right?" Rinnosuke didn't feel like getting exterminated. "I'm guessing that you've talked that over with them…"

...Sendai stared at him for a ginger moment, before giving him a nod. "Yeah, sure."

"I'm interested to see these Hakurei…" Her response more plain, Kasen proceeded ahead of the three. "If things are as you say… I'm sure we'll find _some_ answers soon."

' _If you say so.'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Arriving at the top of the shrine stairs, the party came towards the closed shrine door. ' _This overcast set in rather quickly. Still feels pretty nice out though.'_

Sliding the door open, she moved ahead of her party into the main room.

Suika was passed out beneath a kotatsu that wasn't there before. At the back of the room, blocking the rear exit was Kiyoko's throne, with the shrine maiden in question seated upon it. Her oppressive stare reached Sendai from across the room. ' _Do you always need to look like someone kicked your dog in front of you…?'_

...Once she stopped in the room's midst, her party filled in behind her…

Rinnosuke felt it best not to say anything, so he kept behind the miko he knew.

Marcus casually held his arms behind his back…

Kasen wasn't immediately sure what to make of the seated Hakurei before her.

"An' then I-..." From the floor, Suika spoke a sentence fragment. "Aah…"

…

"Hi." Sendai decided to break the ice, seeing as Kiyoko wasn't in the mood to.

Kiyoko's gaze shifted across her party members, from the mage, to the shopkeeper, then to the hermit…

"So u~m…!" Marcus felt brave enough to break the ice. "How ya doin'!? I'm from the uh… the village!"

Kiyoko promptly ignored him. Her gaze was locked on the hermit still…

Kasen was still very unsure of how to proceed from here. "...You know, um, Tsukiko-"

"How _ironic."_ Only now did Kiyoko speak, interrupting her.

...Then, she let the room become silent again.

Sendai didn't care for this. "Speaking's an important part of talking to people, you know."

"That _another_ one of the oni would march into here. _Alongside_ a shrine maiden, even. It's been some time since such an event could be so _casually_ repeated." Her low stare didn't falter from the hermit's form. "It has been a long time, Ibaraki."

...Sendai very quickly put two and two together. ' _Another oni? ...I mean, that would explain the super strength.'_

"...Hello… Kiyoko." Deciding to cut her losses, Kasen spoke to her head on. "Yeah. One hundred thirty years, to be exact…"

"You carry yourself differently now." Kiyoko tilted her head up a couple degrees, which was worth mentioning. "I _almost_ didn't recognize you."

"Tha' truth come out…" Suika wiggled from the floor. "Does Ka~sen is oni…?"

Advancing further into the room, Sendai made for the kotatsu casually… "You guys know each other?"

"Ibaraki here was among the sages present for the founding of Gensokyo." Kiyoko watched her move to sit down. "If you hadn't known that."

"Probably not." The miko admitted. "The agony."

' _Aa~h. You can't just see a kotatsu and not use it for a little..._ '

"...I've been guiding the last of the Hakurei." Kasen brought up her first point sedately-

"That would make _sense_." Kiyoko seemed to inhale, rising in her seat…

' _This should be fun to listen to.'_ Sendai leaned into the kotatsu…

"After _we_ took the mountain, and your kind went your ways, your half-hearted sentiment was unforgettable." Laying into her, Kiyoko's stare seemed to shift into a glare, gradually… "I turned down your consol once, and yet you _persist_ , so _intently._ What an inhuman drive to see your end through."

"I waited…!" Kasen spread her arms slightly as she confronted the seated miko. "It was only in these recent years that I've even _acted,_ and not only had you perished for nearly a century by then, but your clan was no longer what it once was. _Gensokyo_ was and is no longer what it once was."

"You see my sentiment corrupted and lost, and your response is to capitalize." Kiyoko remarked simply.

Kasen's brows furrowed. "It's not that _simple!"_

…

Crouching down as if he was wading through a war zone, Rinnosuke came up on the kotatsu too…

Marcus crawled alongside him. "Gee~sh. Stiffer than the stiffs back home…!"

"...I'm not trying to be _petty."_ Kasen glanced away for a moment, before meeting her stare again. "But, Gensokyo has… so much potential. As a home, a land of its own, and a place… where everyone can feel safe. I'm not-… I was wrong back then. But… I know that Gensokyo is better off without you."

...

' _Holy shit.'_ Sendai grinned in anticipation.

...At Kiyoko's level stare, the miko let out a snort, and resisted openly chuckling. ' _How can she just sit there with that face of hers…?'_

"I don't want peace. I want war." Kiyoko announced. "I will not stop until every last youkai has been exterminated. Including you."

Kasen's mouth was agape.

"When the Hakurei are done here… we _were_ to sail to a million lands." Kiyoko tilted her head as she considered this… "However, the outside world has changed, to my immediate knowledge. I'll simply have to see for myself."

"You're not… going there, are you?" Kasen shook her head at her. "You can't."

"I won't." Kiyoko confirmed, to her relief. "I will not set foot outside this barrier until it is done."

' _Daily reminder that we should probably do something about grandma at some point.'_ Sendai simply had her brows raised… ' _As badass as she is, it'll stop being amusing once she goes on a rampage and riles tensions up again. Or, heaven forbid, drops the barrier and exposes us to the_ seven billion _outsiders...'_ She wasn't thrilled by the humans in the village to begin with.

...Marcus spoke quietly to the miko. "Your grandma's _crazy…!"_

Kiyoko panned her gaze to the kotatsu. "On the topic of youkai, I'm curious about the one you brought with you, Tsukiko. The one that _isn't_ a sage."

...Sendai stared up at her plainly. "Yeah?"

...Kiyoko held her arm up beckoningly to try and goad her into saying more.

While this sentiment reached the miko, she pretended to not know. ' _I'm trying to get an idea through to_ you.'

"Who is he." Tired of waiting, Kiyoko asked the obvious question.

"He's a shopkeeper." Sendai met her bluntness with more of the same.

"And why does he follow you?" Rolling with this answer, Kiyoko pressed…

"He helps me fight youkai." The miko was sure there was no way this could go wrong.

"...A shopkeeper, who fights youkai, and… _is_ a youkai." Kiyoko seemingly sought confirmation for this series of attributes. "Who has chosen to ally himself with a Hakurei miko, whose job is _specifically_ to exterminate youkai."

...Sendai blinked, before nodding. "Yeah. He's a half-youkai, you know."

"Half a human is no human to me." Kiyoko gave the shopkeeper a frown.

' _...Well. Okay.'_

"It's not like he could kill me if he tried." Sendai reasoned with her. "...Or anyone else, for that matter."

Rinnosuke snorted from his seat-

"His company may not be a fatal error, but his life is evidence of how far the unguided people have fallen. He is the rot from the onset of pestilence." Kiyoko stared down at him as she made this remark. "...I wouldn't put it past him to be the precursor to any number of mysterious inconveniences, either. So too would you have it between the ignorant and maliceful."

"...I don't even _live_ in the village, anymore." Rinnosuke shook his head at her, giving her a frown. "You don't know me."

Kiyoko had nothing to say to that, her gaze towards him unchanging.

' _Not even a point in arguing with her.'_ Shaking her head, Sendai stared down at the kotatsu…

...Sliding out from her seat and sitting up, Suika scratched her head. "Yer always such 'a _buzzkill_ , y'blade-swingin' arm-chair general…"

Drawing her gourd, the little oni tilted her head back-

"Ghk- mmgh- mmh…" Chugging it down, streams of sake spilled from her cheeks as she inhaled the alcohol. "Fwa~h…!"

...Her cheeks a few tints rosier, she gave the miko a warm smile. "Only~ time ya _good fun_ is when yer _fightin'!_ Leapin' an' swingin', an' tha' thrusty attack…"

Sendai grinned at her grandmother. "So why haven't you kicked _her_ out yet?"

"It's going to take nothing short of a ritual." Dissatisfied, Kiyoko shook her head... "Above that, she's sedate enough to not be the most immediate priority."

...Once the maiden's words had settled- as they always required a thick silence as a natural result- Suika turned to size up Kasen… "Looks li~ke ya whole pacifisha' thing ain't workin' out…"

Stirred from her thoughts, Kasen looked away from the nearby shrine wall and focused on her. "What? ...What do you mean?"

"I~ saw ya sic tha' _pet drago~n_ a' yers on the village!" Suika beamed as she waddled over towards the taller oni. "Had enuff 'a their _shit_ , ah?"

...Sendai looked over at Kiyoko, who seemed to clutched her chair at this information.

Cringing at the delivery, Kasen sighed… "We- well… I didn't really _mean to-"_

"Oo~ hahaha~!" Suika let out loud laughter. "Ya- ya _didn' mean ta!?_ Ooh- sorry 'bout tha' _flower pot rack_ 'a yours! _Accshadentally_ shummoned ma' _dragon!_ Have it fixed up 'n' a jiff! _"_

" _Unforeseen circumstances_ came up, okay…!?" Kasen frowned down at her fellow oni… "And I didn't _exactly_ use it on the villagers."

"Didn' _exactly!?_ Hahaha~!" Suika slowly collected herself again… "Aw yeah. Bet them villagers thou' it a real _unforesheen shercumshtance._ Yeh."

"Can you _not_ like… nngh." Kasen shook her head further at her own attempt to silence her boisterous friend. "Y'know you're making me look like a real idiot here?"

Suika grinned up at her. "...Y'mean yer not?"

Kasen glowered back in turn, and it tickled her. "Huhahaha~! Ah- I'm _joki~n'!_ Sure it ain't no sweat anyhow! Y'take _one look_ a' miss metal tits o'er there, an' tell me she ain't _undressin' ya where ya stan'...!"_

...After giving Kiyoko a mixed look, Kasen frowned back down at Suika. "Alright. Mmm."

...At her sudden lack of engagement, Suika paused too. "...'Alrigh' mmm', is it taday? Y'turnin' off and runnin' off… again?"

"...I'm not going anywhere right now." Once again reserved, she answered concisely.

"We~h. Yer always like this, now…" Twirling her gourd around, Suika tilted her head. "Tryin'a be all _shrew~d_ , tryin'a fool people ta thinkin' ya ain't _no oni._ Hell, maybe you _ain't."_

"This is why I stay away from you." Kasen retorted simply.

...After lingering closer, Suika thrust her arms forward to push her-

"Ngh…" Kasen let herself drift into the air, flipping around to stop her momentum. "I'm not going to fight you. Just-"

" _We're_ going to fight you." Sendai raised from the kotatsu and stepped out around it, cracking her knuckles.

"Oho~h…!?" Suika beamed at the miko who stood against her. "Hehe~y, sh'the big miko~!"

...Landing, Kasen whipped her head to the miko. "Um. No… no we're-"

 _Bam. Bam._ "Sh'bout _time."_ Suika pounded her fists together a couple times, the smacks audible. "I've been fixen ta fight _you_ even since I first saw ya…"

"First, we go outside." Sendai gave her some terms. "No damaging the shrine."

"Both 'a you, now." Suika pointed both her arms at them, one for Kasen and one for Sendai. "...An' none 'a these silly boys. They'd only gheh in the way." She gestured to Marcus and Rinnosuke. "Unless ya _need 'em_ ta layer me in shtupid shit ta even have a fightin' chance! Hahaha~!"

"We'll be fine on our own." With this declaration, the miko began to move outside. "C'mon, Kasen."

"But, but…" Stepping after her, the oni was trying hard to object to this. "Tsukiko- wait…!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Suika Ibuki_ ====

...The two girls reached the bottom of the shrine steps. Suika had already rolled down the side of the hill, and was inhaling sake as she lied on her back nearby.

"Mmgh- nnh…" While she lazily gargled down beer, she rolled onto her side, resting her head on an arm. "Too~k yah long enuff…"

"We don't have to fight." Kasen leapt from the steps very early-

 _Boom!_ -and touched down hard before the oni.

...At Suika's continued leisure, Kasen repeated herself. "Did you hear me? We don't have to-"

"I~ hear ya~..." The little oni slurred from her comfy nook in the grass. "Y'do~n wan' getcha' _cute lil grass tabbard_ all _di~rty._ "

...Upon reaching the bottom, the miko took in a breath. ' _She's an oni… but, Kasen's an oni too. I mean, me plus one oni, against another oni; this should be pretty easy. Numbers and power.'_ She gave the little one a closer stare… ' _She's looks pretty young. That… probably means she's especially powerful. That seems to be how it works now.'_

Slowly, Suika wobbled to a stand, looking unsure of her footing. "Hehe~. Well, I _kno~w_ how mu' ya love tha' _tabbard,_ an' I know how mu~ch yer… _poli~te shiviltiesh_ mean ta ya."

...Kasen exhaled. "Um. Are you trying to say we don't have to fight…?"

" _Hell no!"_ Energy snapped into the oni, and she reeled an arm back. "I'm sayin' all that don't mean _jack shit!"_

 _WOOSH._ Suika threw a huge overhead punch with her tiny arm, her whole body thrown into it. Kasen slid back and away…

"...You really…" Frowning at the oni before her, Kasen held up her fists. "Why can't we just talk!?"

"Ha!" With an almost incredulous face, Suika bellowed back at her, gourd tight in one hand and her other in a fist. "Words, wo~rds, _words._ Ya'd think wit' how many _books_ ya read, ya'd know s'more ta a conversation than _fancy words_ ta hide behind! 'Er maybe, tha's the otha' way 'roun'..." Looking lost for a moment, Suika looked to the side, before shaking her head and slapping on a grin, her chained ornaments dangling. "I'mma beat ya up, 'cause ya pissed me off!"

 _Crack._ Cracking her one arm's knuckles, Kasen adopted aggressive footing. "If there's no other way…"

…

Sendai had her arms up, ready. ' _I haven't really had a need to quarrel with oni. It takes a lot of care, normally…'_

...Her eyes meeting the shrine maiden, Suika began to beam. "He~y. Y'ever tangle wit' an _oni_ 'fore?"

"...Once or twice." Sendai kept her response concise.

Nodding her head exaggeratedly, Suika held up her gourd. "Hehehe~. A'right, lemme jus' take a swig 'a my _'lixer_ here…" Tilting her head back, she took one big gulp. "Mmgh…"

...Sendai took this moment to lower her guard slightly. ' _She shouldn't be too hard to lure around. She's hammered off her-'_

Ripping the gourd from her mouth, Suika tilted her whole body forward-

 _FWOO~M!_ A jet of flames roared from between her lips as she held her mouth open, a swath of flames stretching to meet the miko. ' _Woah holy shit…!'_

 _Bam!_ Snapping her limbs up to block the flames, Sendai felt herself slammed by the fire itself, sent sliding across the soil-

"Engh…" Rolling onto her back and flipping back up into a standing position, she stared down at her flaming sleeves. ' _Fire…!'_

"Ooo~hahaha~!" Guffawing gloriously from the hill's base, Suika began to march forward. "Hoho- ya fell for the _ol'est_ trick in tha' book! Ooh, this's gonna be _fun!"_

 _Spla- splash…_ Flailing around a vial of magically generated holy water, Sendai quickly extinguished the violent flames...

" _Suika!"_ Yelling at her fellow oni, Kasen moved into the way. "Really!?"

"Ge' outta my way!" Suika practically fell forward towards her, before entirely losing her balance-

 _BOOM!_ A wake of rocks and dirt kicked up as Suika slid across her stomach towards her-

"Hup…!" Sailing over her, Kasen held her arms down. "Gaia Bloom!"

 _Fwoa- fwoa- fwoash._ Airy, musty sigils of earth magic lit up around Suika's form.

As the little oni stood up again, she snorted. "Oo~h… huhaha~! Ya little _candy ass_ drowsy magic ain't gonna work on me! Here's a _real spell!"_

 _WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH._ Rolling her arm back repeatedly, it began to glow with amber light-

 _FWIIOO~SH!_ What she lobbed made Sendai furrow her brows. ' _What's that…? It's eating light…'_

Sounding akin to a falling mortar, it accelerated to an awkward stop before Kasen as she dove out of the way-

 _KABOOM!_ The black hole exploded into a huge blast of flaming orbs and rippling air. Once the magma-esque gush of orbs plodded into the floor with all the grace of anvils, they became a house-tall inferno…

Standing along the side of the blaze, Kasen clapped her hands once. " _Tornado~!"_

 _FWOO~SH!_ Sendai stepped back, as a similar-sized whirlwind enveloped the small oni, throwing her clothes about.

"Oo~h…!" In the loud, raging wind, Suika spun around as her balance betrayed her-

Gliding her hands along an invisible pane, Kasen barked another spell. " _Spectrum!"_

 _Fwishishi~ng…_ A rainbow-colored vortex expanded around Suika's form-

The blow it incurred- if any- didn't seem to have any active effect on Suika's form as she spun around. ' _This… is gonna be tricky to even jump in on. I can hardly see what's going on in there.'_

Suika finally tipped over-

 _ **KROO~M!**_ On her impact with the ground, a massive grey blade of stone erected from the soil beneath Kasen. " _Ah…!"_

As it slowly continued to erect, Sendai ran into the dying whirlwind to engage the oni. ' _If she's casting that big thing, she's vulnerable…!'_

The wall-esque, crude blade of stone had risen to about tree size, standing rigidly where Kasen used to be.

Kasen herself was now floating down beside it, only a little scuffed. "What was _that?"_

Suika sat up in the crater she was in. "Aa~h. Ha~h, yeah, the rocks up 'ere kinda _suck_ don' they…"

 _Bam!_ Sendai's sandal met the back of Suika's head.

...Suika slowly turned to look up at the miko. "Oh, there ya are! Though' I scared ya off!"

' _Not even a reaction…'_ The miko began to step back-

 _WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH…_ "Where ya goin'!?" Snapping into a standing position, Suika rolled her arm back once again. " _Le's fight!"_

 _FWISHOO~!_ She lobbed the unnatural black hole-esque projectile forward.

' _What…!?'_ It flew forward, accelerating past Sendai faster than she thought possible of it.

 _Boom!_ She stomped against the ground, whirling ahead of the soon to explode mortar lob-

" _Think fasht!"_ Suika lobbed her arm a second time, and a ball of fire as big as her spawned from it, soaring linearly out towards the miko.

' _Ah…!'_ She channeled her darkness to her limbs as it silently flew to meet her-

 _KABOOM!_ Sendai shut her eyes for a moment, the orb meeting her entire body as an explosion. "Ahu-"

 _KABOO~M!_ The mortar exploded behind her, as she flew back-

 _BAM- BOOM- BOOM- BAM!_ Each napalm-esque clump of fire magic became a violent reaction of its own, the miko sent hurtling over the blaze as she curled up into a ball. " _Nh- ha~h…!"_

As she burned and the world spun around her, she searched her sleeves feverishly for water and a yin-yang orb. ' _Ooh- nh- sh- should be able to stop spinning-'_

Kasen caught her mid-air, holding the miko upside down. " _Stay strong!"_

 _Di- di~ng…!_ A complex, floral vector pattern expanded twofold around the burning miko-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ She felt her flesh regenerate as she burned. " _Hh- aa~nh…!"_

' _Wha- what even got hurt…?'_ Pain blossomed across her body in tandem with the healing sigil's pleasure and the unique sting of counter-burning. ' _Fu~ck…'_

The miko felt herself get planted onto her feet, and stumbled to stand. "Wh- well, okay…"

"My healing magic has blessing properties." Kasen informed her. "Once that fire goes out, it should stay out…"

' _Once it goes out!? You mean-'_ Drawing a holy molotov, Sendai chucked it into the air. " _Hyd- Hydro Storm!"_

 _Kra- koom!_ Once the molotov was obscured by the day's light above, clouds snapped in at the miko's request…

 _Pap- patat- pss~h…_ Sizzles and thumps were emanated from all around her, as the rain began.

The infernos Suika made began to dim, as she marched through one to reach the two girls. "Heheheh. Tha' fact ya needed ta _heal_ meansh, ya _already_ lost!"

Sendai exhaled. The throbbing, blistering sensation of burns still speckling her body as the holy water put her out. ' _If what she says is true, this fire magic should be less of a problem now. I didn't expect an oni to use magic at all…'_

Once the miko looked stable enough, Kasen patted her on the back. "Make sure you don't get hit."

' _Fucking, sure._ ' Sendai shot her a dry glare-

 _WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH._ Suika rolled up another mortar toss. " _Pai~n train!_ Comin' _ri~ght up!"_

Sendai waited…

Suika threw her arm-

She sprinted towards the oni. ' _Now-'_

 _BWOMP._ The black hole mortar slipped out of the oni's hands, awkwardly whirling in place above her without going anywhere. " _Whoops!"_ She grinned at her error-

Expanding a yin-yang orb, Sendai slid to a stop well before the blast radius-

 _KABOO~M!_ The mortar blew, a geyser of magma-esque orbs raining down before the miko-

Sliding out from the blaze, Suika had her head tilted back and rested upon one arm, chugging from her gourd as she reclined and moved at the same time-

 _Bam- bam!_ Sendai punched the orb she'd used to defend towards the oni. On impact, all it did was tilt her head back.

Her gourd flew from her mouth, but it hung to her neck by a thick, white rope. "Hoo~!" Her mouth was still open wide as she leaned back…

Taking a look around, Sendai saw Kasen running up-

Suika thrust her entire upper body forward, faceplanting her head into the floor before herself-

 _BAM._ "Agh!?" The gourd whipped over her head in the process and slammed into Sendai's-

 _THUD._ "Nhn…!" -in turn slamming her into the mud face-first by the impact's force. ' _Holy… shit.'_

 _BAM!_ Kasen's leg met Suika's head as she rose it back up, sending the little oni sliding away. "This is _stupid!"_

 _THOO- THOO- THOOM._ Suika snapped back into standing, stumbling with inhuman speed to a ground-shaking stop. " _Yo~'re_ shtupid!"

...Plastered with holy mud, Sendai glared up at the oni as she rose again. ' _She's... right; this is fucking stupid…'_

While the two oni stared one another down again, the miko wiped mud from her face. ' _If regular hits don't work, speedier but weaker hits sure as hell won't either. Then, there's that holy talisman…'_ She grimaced at her tattered sleeves...

 _WOOSH- WOOSH._ Suika began to wind her arm up again-

 _BAM!_ Closing the distance, Kasen delivered a palm to her face. " _Not_ again…!"

" _Hah…!"_ The blow sent the small oni reeling back on one heel… "Jus' now showin' yer claws…"

She sprang back-

 _BAM- BAM!_ Both of Kasen's palms thrust into her face as the small oni moved to headbutt her gut-

 _BOOM!_ "Ugh…!" Kasen staggered back, her arms and legs giving at the oni's headbutt anyway-

 _BAM- BAM!_ The smaller oni flailed into her friend's legs with two slap-esque blows, staggering her back further. As she began to slip and stumble-

 _BOOM!_ "Ngh…" Kasen's head tilted back as the result of an abrupt uppercut, and she began to slide sadly to the ground-

 _BOOM- THOO~M…_

Suika fell over after her uppercut. There mere force of her body slamming down knocked Kasen _back up_ into a standing position, allowing her to slide away with an enduring look... "Re- really…"

 _Fvhi~r…!_ Equipping her holy talisman, Sendai unevenly took towards the fallen oni like an animal, hunched and primal. ' _Let's see how this works…'_ The moment she equipped it, the serious headache and throbbing burns went away, as did her bodily awareness as a whole.

"Cure!" Kasen thrust her arm up-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Her body glowed as healing energy coursed through it…

Suika sprang into a standing position-

 _Woosh!_ Turning her back to the miko, she snapped up towards her position with unbelievable velocity, stumbling fast enough to kick mud in her wake, her chains rattling akin to a bicycle with the ferocity they shook as she came-

Sendai slammed her limbs forward on impulse. "Ha~h!"

 _Fvhou- fvhou- fvhou!_ Sparks and fluctuations of uneven, randomly dispersed holy magic slammed into Suika as she whirled to face the miko. "Whoa~h!"

 _PLAP- PLAP!_ Stepping back in the mud, Suika felt at her arm, holy magic flooding her system. "Hoohehe~! Some freak out ya had-"

 _Pap!_ The miko thrust her left palm into the oni's gut, but Suika only slid back in the mud-

 _BAM!_ Countering with a jab at nothing, the oni's gourd slid forward through the air and pounded Sendai's nose, rattling her head and disorienting her vision. ' _It's fine…!'_ Wincing from the _implied_ pain, she brought an arm up to flail-

Suika had closed the distance to retrieve her gourd, even though it was tied to her hand by a string-

 _Wham!_ "Hoo~!" Suika flew into the air, letting the slap carry her. "Where'd _tha'_ come from!?"

Feeling confident in this change in tempo, Sendai scrambled after her-

" _Spectrum!"_ Kasen whirled up behind her, staying behind the miko-

 _Fwishishi~ng._ "Wau…"Suika's momentum was halted in the air by the rainbow-colored beacon that erupted from her form… "Dinky _tirin'_ magic…"

 _THOOM._ Touching down unceremoniously and shaking the ground, she reeled up her fist. "Y'never _learn…"_

Still shambling up to her like an awkward doe, Sendai nearly fell onto her arms, before springing off the ground-

 _Pap!_ She jabbed a shimmering, bright fist into the oni's face-

Frowning, Suika threw her one fist forward-

 _ **BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!**_

"Aa- aah…" Sendai felt herself step back, after her entire body vibrated from the gut blow-

" _Eah-_ ow, ow…" Kasen was on the ground behind her. " _Ble- bless!"_

Di- di~ng! The floral pattern formed around herself, as she scrambled back…

While the pink-haired woman behind her healed, Sendai rigidly trodded forward. ' _I... feel weird…'_

Suika's eyebrows were raised. "Hoho, wo~w…! I a~h… thought ya were gonna do a pussy teleport outta tha'. Good on ya!"

...Sendai jerked her entire body to look behind herself-

A splatter of blood was on Kasen's form, and Kasen herself was singed, clothes burning and body charred. Beneath her, a line of solidified mud left a trail of the force of Suika's explosive punch.

...Knees buckling, Sendai kneeled down involuntarily. ' _What's-'_

"He- heal!" Kasen practically fell towards her. "Heal, heal…!"

 _Fwoa- fwoash!_ Uneven, sloppy pulses of colorless healing energy penetrated the miko's form, and she found strength in her limbs again. ' _What the fuck's going on!?'_

...Suika blinked her eyes, and from a glance Sendai could tell her lids were heavier now than before. ' _Is she getting tired…?'_

...Popping a grin, Suika took this idle moment to pop open her gourd again. "A'right. Chee~rs!" Tilting her head back, she chugged. "Mmgh- mmgh, nnh…!"

" _Heal more!"_ Kasen's hands were on the miko's sides-

 _Fwoa- fwoash, fwoash…!_ Clumsy clouds of white, luminescent magic surrounded the two as they healed together unceremoniously.

 _Gulp, gulp, gulp…_ Quieter now, Suika focused entirely on her gourd for the moment.

Sendai stood again, the waterfall of blood from her torso ending. "So- so… ho- how ba- bad was it?"

"It wasn't. You're fine." Kasen's reply didn't instill confidence in the miko. "Um- stop her from drinking!"

" _Fwa~h…"_ Parting the gourd from her lips, Suika beamed at the miko before herself with new vitality, her eyes surprisingly alert for being hammered. "Sto~p me from _whoa~h?"_

Kasen sprang to Sendai's side. "Use water on her! One of those glass things now!"

Sendai reached for her sleeves clumsily. ' _Okay…!?'_ After missing twice, she managed to get her hand in-

"Wha's tha _difference…"_ Pouring a stream of sake into her hand unevenly, Suika held it up for everyone to see, some of it spilling everywhere. "Batween _you_ 'an _me?"_

Sendai drew her holy molotov with a tight grip-

Like this, the molotov had a yellowish, golden coloration instead of the lighter blue it usually had.

' _Let's just item crash it…!'_ In anticipation of whatever the oni planned, Sendai thrust this new, more bulbous bottle up. " _Elixir of Life!"_

She cast it into the air-

 _Woo~sh…_ From above, a column of golden light shined over her-

 _Shi~ng!_ Then, it was gone. ' _...Wha- what?'_

...Looking up, she saw a halo over her head. ' _You're fucking kidding me.'_

Baring her teeth, Suika flung her open hand forward-

 _FWA- BAM!_ The handful of sake particles hit the miko like a shotgun spread, sending her onto her back. "Wo- woah…"

' _Shit, this isn't good…'_ Rolling over, she scrambled back up-

" _Manzairaku!"_ Kasen kneeled, pressing her palm into the floor.

" _Ya shtill dunno!?"_ Suika stepped forward with actual steps, her fists glowing with red hot power-

 _FWUU~SH!_ "Uwah!?" Then, she was thrown off her balance, because a seal erupted from the mud beneath her.

 _Boi~ng!_ She'd tried to retaliate, but her arm met a beach ball that'd erupted under her, and the force of it simply sent her sailing into the air. "Wohoaa~h…!"

...Kasen let out a shuddering sigh. "Tha- thank you, Manzairaku."

" _Arh, arh…?"_ The seal looked over towards her casually, the clear blue water it rested in visibly out of place from the actual floor.

"Renew!" She flicked an arm out as she rushed up to the shrine maiden. "Also- move, from above!"

 _Fwoa~sh._ The doile-esque healing spell engulfed Sendai's form, and she snapped her gaze up…

 _...FWSHIOO- SHIOO- SHIOO~...!_ Black holes began to descend from the air above, raining down on the dirt and grass around the two girls-

Manzairaku the seal descended into his water pool, which closed out of existence.

' _Oh, shit…!'_ Sendai quickly turned away, realizing what this meant-

 _KABOOM- BOOM- KABOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ She and Kasen ran in the opposite direction, as a small tidal wave of magma-esque danmaku gushed from the earth, Suika's black hole mortars rending the path before them.

' _I thought this was just gonna be a really dumb fist fight!'_ Sendai ran as dirt and rock fountained up behind them, propelled by flames and chaos...

" _Gather Sign!"_ As Suika descended, she held her arms up. " _Mount Togakushi Toss!"_

' _Danmaku's so much easier to deal with than-'_

 _KROOM- CRAM- BAM- KROOM!_ The massive stone blade she erected earlier broke into many smaller boulders, and all of the rocks and fallen trees from this day and previous days of combat snapped into her grasp within a single, loud second.

' _You're… shitting me.'_ Her gaze met the shrine-sized boulder of doom.

 _ **WOOSH**_ _._ The ball of cobblestone sailed forward with scary might-

Sendai curled up into a ball-

Kasen leapt into Sendai's way-

 _ **KROOM- BOO~M!**_ As soon as it struck the ground before them, Kasen was slammed into the miko. " _Engh!"_

... _THUD!_ Sendai was squished against a tree somewhere well far from the shrine's grounds. ' _Oni are this powerful…!?'_

...Kasen almost fell from her after a moment, before taking a breath. " _Bless…"_

 _Di- di~ng!_ The pink and white, floral magic beset her form once more as she stumbled forward, clothes tattered and hair unkempt.

 _Fwoa~sh._ While the energy audibly restored her, Sendai looked around as she parted from the tree. ' _Since when could oni fly, either!? That feels like cheating!'_

 _THOOM._ Suika landed on the dry grass of this new locale they found themselves in, between the shrine hill and the Misty Lake in the background. "Now _that'sh_ a _shpell!_ I _told'ja_ tha' sword washa _better shphe~ll!"_

As they decompressed from the remaining rocks and the tree behind them, Kasen turned to Sendai, looking worn. "Okay- don't _ever_ let her take a long chug. She gets a lot braver when more drunk… and- and I'm pretty sure it cleans her of things."

' _If drinking beer healed_ my _status problems…'_ Sendai shook her head. "I~'m... no- not leavin' this... holy form. Bet I'd bu- be doubled over in _pa- pai~n..._ right now…" ' _This makes me talk weird. Lungs are probably stressed...'_

...After a still moment, Suika threw her arms out wide and began to joyfully romp towards the two. "C'mere gu~ysh!"

Kasen moved into her way. " _Suika!_ No more! We're not putting up with-"

"Whoap!" Slipping on the grass as she bounded forward, Suika faceplanted-

 _Kroom!_ A spike of rock jutting up before the little oni's clumsy landing "Ngh…" Kasen staggered back, having been clipped up the leg by it...

Drawing her rebound stones, Sendai decided to experiment. ' _Let's flood these with magic…'_

" _Judgment!"_ Compulsively, she kneeled down- more so fell down- and slapped the stones onto the floor-

 _Fwish._ Slowly, an octogram began to draw itself in the soil beneath the smaller oni…

Suika slowly stood, while it spent a good few seconds initializing. "Hoo~... y'know ya _really_ shouldn' knock it! Tha' whole drinkin' as ya fight thing-"

 _Fwroa~sh!_ A small, condensed pillar of pure holy energy erupted beneath her-

"Uwo~h!" She soared into the air, aided by the force from it. "Tryin'a _weaken me_ wit'cher _holy magic,_ are ya!? Hahaha~!"

 _THOOM._ She touched down near Sendai-

Balling her left fist again, the miko strafed as she channeled magic into it… ' _Is she just invincible, or what? She can't keep this up forever…'_

 _WOOSH._ Suika threw her gourd-

 _CRACK!_ It hit the tree Sendai used to be pressed against, denting the bark.

" _Bless!"_ Displaced and distanced from their exchange, Kasen pressed her hands together-

Di- di~ng! Sendai received a perhaps less than needed heal from some healthy, pink energy. ' _Alright…!'_ Green magic tinted her body some time after, as she continued to charge her fist with black magic and wind…

Seeing this, Suika let the chain that her gourd's rope was tied to lower, before swinging it up-

 _WOO- WOO- WOO- WOOSH…!_ Spinning it around with enough velocity to make it blur, Suika slowly drifted into the air using the chain as a propellor. "Yahoo~!"

 _Fwoom- fwoom- fwoom- fwoom._ A spiral of warm fire began to whip from her heli-chain as she drifted only a few meters off the ground-

Sendai didn't catch on fire, and she wasn't sure why-

 _Fwam- fwoom- fwam- fwam!_ -especially considering _all_ of the foliage around her burst into flames as a result of this seemingly innocent fire spell. ' _What…'_

 _THOOM!_ Suika landed on both legs. "A'right! If all ya's gonna do's _pussy foot_ around…" Suika began to raise her gourd again-

Her unholy amalgamation of elements ready on her fist, Sendai galloped towards the oni, only needing one motion, vaguely thrusting her pained arm-

 _BAM!_ Her combination met the oni's gut as she began to chug, the fist's impact only beginning to spark a violent reaction. ' _Didn't blow. Guess I'll hold it there..._ '

"Pft- whah…"

Suika sputtered out just a little of her sake, and her eyes widened.

...The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

" _Rhaa~h!"_ Then, Suika began yelling at her.

 _Pap!_ Sendai slapped her in the face with her off-arm, half on accident-

 _BAM- CRACK- BAM!_ Two plain jabs met Sendai's chest, and she could hear things snapping and ripping. ' _Holy crap-'_

 _BAM- BAM- CRACK!_ Two more jabs tore into her, each punch sinking deeper into her flesh as she steeled the fist she had in the oni's gut- ' _I'm dying-'_

Raising both arms, Suika readied to slam them down-

 _FWA- BOO~M!_

"Ghuh…"

Suika staggered back, the wind, dark and holy cocktail piercing her form with an event horizon of dark purple. Frayed wind danced around their forms before expanding into a shockwave, and blotches of foggy holy could be seen beginning to travel the oni's form.

Thud. Unable to stand anymore, Sendai fell on her side, her body no longer responding. ' _He- hey… I can't say anything-'_

" _Bless!"_ Kasen yells out another healing spell from the sidelines-

 _Di- di~ng!_ Sendai kept trying to move before the spell actually initialized. ' _I must look fucked up. This sucks…'_

 _Fwoa~sh!_ ...Sendai slowly began to raise with the healing magic's aid-

 _Cra- crack!_ ' _That's good for me.'_ Sendai felt brave enough to look down- or, compelled to.

 _Shunk._ She could see panes of her flesh click back into place, flushing out blood that'd surfaced over them, as well as cloth and spandex that became intermingled with the flesh. ' _Yeah, it's fucking bad. I can almost feel it like this, so it's pretty bad.'_

There was a hole in Suika's shirt, as well as a smouldering, grey and black mark where the miko struck. Her gaze was resolute, but she was grinning widely.

"Hah." She let out a little laugh. "Tha' was _almost_ an _oni~_ punch…!" Beaming victoriously after this statement- "Mghuh-" -she took right to her gourd, chugging it down.

Kasen ran up to her. "Stop! Stop drinking!" Once she was in range, she moved to swat the gourd-

 _BOOM!_ The ground shook as Suika's leg met her gut-

 _KABOOM!_ Kasen rolled away, the impact resulting in a literal explosion. "Augh…!"

"Ree~la~x." Smacking her lips, the little oni lowered her gourd. "Wasn' gon' keep fightin' a' this rate anyway. Can' barely match me _two on one_."

...Once again, Sendai exhaled, this time subconsciously; the resulting breath ragged and silly sounding. ' _Was the last oni I fought just fucking with me or something? This is… a lot more than I bargained for!'_

"Only one 'ere wit' a pair 'a _balls_ is _her."_ Suika jerked a finger to Sendai. "Might be weak ash glass, bu' she'sh damn strong's far as _humans_ 're consherned…" She smiled. "Hell, purdy much _fights_ like an oni, too! 'Cept she _ain't._ Hahah!"

...Everything done, Sendai decided to remove her new talisman-

 _Fwawoo~sh._ This time, the sustained holy energy left her body visibly, coming off like white smoke. ' _That's… inter-...'_

"O-... _ouch…"_ Tearing up, she fell onto her side. "Nnn…!" Letting out an uncharacteristic moan, she curled up...

Thud. "Um- Tsukiko…?" Kasen watched her fall plainly. "Um…!"

"Oh- hey, watch thish…" Suika held out her arms. "Oni Sign… _Missing Power!"_

Immediately, she began expanding to about tree size. "Hoohoo~ yea~h! Loo' a' me go…! I-..."

 _ **THOOM.**_ She fell backwards, and the entire lakeside shook, a shockwave of wind and earth spreading out from her impact…

...Once the dust had settled, a loud snore came from the sleeping giant.

"Of course the sleeping magic only works _now._ " Kasen huffed. "... _Bl- bless."_ She held an arm out towards the writhing miko-

 _Di- di~ng._ Sendai barely registered the noise in the background, as she pulsed in agony on the floor.

... _Fwoa~sh!_ Her body glowed as the magic set in. It helped a little.

The shrine maiden was crying, her mind aflush with insurmountable pain. A few moments later, and everything became distant from her...

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

...Sipping from her teacup, the miko who came before warmed up under the kotatsu…

' _Not as bad as that time I got nuked.'_ She reflected on how empty she felt before taking a nice sip. ' _Healing magic does bad things to your body. I could eat a horse, now...'_

 _Thwack! Thwack!_ Reimu repeatedly rapped her gohei on the back of a stout oni's head. Said small oni was leaning into the kotatsu with a warm smile, lazy and covered in ofuda…

Rinnosuke was warily eying the great Hakurei on her throne, Marcus had placed some talismans on broken toaster pieces, and Kasen was looking sheepish across from Suika…

" _What_ was that about the oni being a _non-issue?"_ Seinarubeki shot her mother a level, icy stare.

...Kiyoko was indifferent. "If anything, this aids us. Judgment remains to be declared."

' _Fuck it.'_

Sendai held an arm out. "Gimme some 'a that sake."

"He~re ya go…" Suika traded her the gourd with a carefree smile.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush: Caster - Tengu charging technique meant for casters. While this doesn't innately boost agility, it provides the user with wind blades that increase defense against projectiles and certain physical attacks.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful anymore.

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Wind Power - Constantly enveloped by the wind, Sendai moves far faster and jumps higher than normal. Dark resistance is reduced to twenty five percent, and equal wind resistance is granted when this style is activated.

Airy Pockets - All sub-items are slightly modified by the wind element to perform differently. Most gain different physical properties, as well as exchange power for accuracy. No substantial difference on item crashes, except from adding the wind element to them.

x _Oni Style:_

Holy Power - Engulfed in a shell of holy energy, Sendai becomes immune to pain. She still takes damage like this, and she _will_ feel it later. Incredibly reduces accuracy and evasion, but increases attack power dramatically.

God's Pockets - All sub-items are changed by the holy element to be more powerful, but also more situational. Replaces item crashes and subweapons.

Judgment - Rebound Stone _ITEM CRASH_. Expert holy magic that can be traced back to various prefabricated and god-created variants. This version may weaken and syphons the target. Basically Evil Sealing Circle, but with more remote usage, and less effective radius.

Elixir of Life - Holy Molotov _ITEM CRASH._ Grants auto-revive status to self or one ally briefly. Auto-revive will resurrect the fallen with a fraction of their life. Does not cure status-ailments or unconsciousness.

Diamond Flail - Sendai flings her arms forward on impulse, creating a small holy maelstrom between her and her target. Holy magic which may weaken foes.

Thrashing - Marching up to a target, Sendai jabs into them four times, before slamming down her arms on them. Based on a similar technique from an enraged Suika…

Combo Punch - Combining all the elements into her fist, Sendai unleashes a powerful blow into a foe. May weaken and curse foes. May stagger foes. Breaks the miko's hand, reducing her attack power for a little while. Requires a short charging period...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(2x) Potion - Low tier health restoration items. Quickly but steadily restores health of an ally on use.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(eighteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Grass Grease - Magic which wets the target with magically charged wood paste and chlorophyll, leaving them vulnerable to increased and stronger burning.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non-Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

=o=

 _Kasen Ibaraki_ , the One-Armed, Horned Hermit

STATUS:

Immune to earth and wind magic.

Resistant to holy, dark, water, thunder, and bomb magic.

Weak to ice and poison.

Immune to tiredness, syphoning, dispel and instant death.

WEAPON:

Unarmed.

INVENTORY:

Ibaraki Box of One Hundred Medicines - Endless supply. Heals the target to full. Cures all debuffs and status effects. If the drinker's already healthy, their personality becomes oni-like and they gain superhuman strength. Actual healing from the box turns the user into an oni, depending on how much it's allowed to restore the body.

Shackle of Devas - Extremely durable metal shackle. Grants immunity to tiredness. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

SKILLS:

-o- _Summons_

Koutei - Summons her juvenile pet green dragon, Koutei. Targets all foes with powerful mixed water and wind spells. May wet targets. May stagger targets. Buffs the evade of the entire party by fifty percent.

Manzairaku - Summons her pet seal Manzairaku to erupt underneath a foe. Water attack which launches targets and wets them. Also unleashes a beach ball upon the world.

Houso - Summons her pet tiger Houso to maul a target. Powerful non-elemental attack which cuts.

Kanda - Summons her eagle, Kanda, to gain a height advantage. Allows her to unleash aerial attacks with her legs. Otherwise, the eagle uses wind magic and debuffs accuracy. Dashes towards foes to hit them for accurate non-elemental physical damage.

Raijuu - Summons her pet Mukou, to charge one of her melee strikes with electric magic. Moderate thunder magic which debuffs both accuracy and evade, and tires out opponents.

-o- _Magic_

Cure - Heals self or an ally for some health. Heals most humans fully.

Curaga - Heals self or an ally for all health. Costly.

Renew - More natural healing than the Cure series, but is slower and less powerful.

Bless - Heals self or an ally for a lot of health. Blesses the target. This blessing prevents all bad status effects from being incurred, including death and dispel (but not straight up stat debuffs incurred on the body or mind). Doesn't remove anything currently active.

Miracle Heal - Heals everybody for immense health, over a large radius. Costs a lot of mana to use.

Spectrum - Expert multi-elemental magic. Kasen creates a rainbow-colored vortex in an enemy's form, damaging them directly with raw mana. Element and effects depend on current weapon. Vortex persists harmlessly to be used as a beacon for her eagle, but will be overwritten if Spectrum is used again.

Light Orbs - Holy orbs that Kasen can create and control. May weaken foes.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Gaia Bloom - Advanced earth magic. Creates multiple earth sigils in an opponent's form and initializes them, increasing earth's pull on them. Tires the target out.

-o- Other

Rapture - Air-based eruption which targets a wide area with a devastating upward draft. Legendary multi-purpose attack. Costly. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Monkey's Paw - Non-spell version of the skill. Sending out a dark hand, Kasen

Monkey's Paw! Crush My Enemy! - Spell card. Kasen crushes an opponent with an arm made of spiritual energy. Dark attack. Depletes eighty percent of Kasen's mana.

Hawk Sign "Hawk Beacon" - Spell card. Throwing her arms out, Kasen creates a massive rainbow multi-vortex, pounding the enemy with a massive storm of magic. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Dragon Sign "Dragon's Growl" - Spell card. Shifting her bandages, Kasen makes a cannon from them and blasts the enemy with powerful holy magic. May weaken foes.

Warp Sign "Prosthetic Arm Proteus" - Spell card. Powerful bind which crushes the opponent, before slamming them away.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

suika fight

wasn't sure about the structure but after revising i think it's cool - w -

we don't spend the whole time fighting suika either! just half of it. the other half we give sendai another new 'style' and also introduce the good party member

keine would've been nice but there's something fitting about pairing a hakurei with an oni; one wouldn't understand without really consuming all of my works but hoh

also kasen's got some good reasons to try and get to the bottom of this; while keine would be fun to travel with them, kasen's _got the good healing magic_

of note also is that kasen's noticeably weaker than suika - w -

this is because kasen's less physically focused as a whole, and suika and yuugi are kinda notable among onis as the biggest bruisers

ironically of the four devas suika'd probably be the tank mage, and yuugi'd be the _other tank_ , and kasen would be the healer for obvious reasons

they do have a dps person but y'know we'll get there maybe maybe not

sendai's been experimenting more with her magic than she's ever had a need to! of the hakurei maidens she's probably had the lowest starting power by comparison to her mother and daughter, having entirely walked parallel to her holy powers and therefore pretty much only benefited from like… the hakurei body, which is just a bit better than a regular human body

it also makes sense that trying to compare her to them makes for a rather strange time - w - although now that we've got _kasen_ seein' this who knows how that's gonna play out yo

sendai is to a normal human as suika and yuugi are to normal oni

so when you try and compare them in brute force it ends up being _pretty obvious who wins that_ ,and suika has the precarious art of total density manipulation also making her a damn good mage despite everything

so at the end of this arc, sendai quickly got some tengu wisdom and oni direction on her side, some healing items again, marcus got a couple useful new spells, and rinnosuke learned some fun status debuff things and got even more disciplined by the harshness of war

we're on the way to the plot boys oh boy oh boy lemme TELL YOU SON-

as always, see you all next time!


	30. INT - Fallen Blood I

Warm from the few drinks she had, Sendai leaned into the kotatsu. ' _That's… enough insanity for today. Last night, and today… I need a moment to just sit and not care about life.'_

"Really…" Reimu had stolen a kotatsu space once she was done with the physical portion of Suika's discipline. " _Why?"_

"I~'m an _asshole,_ dash why…" The little oni gave her a stupid grin-

Fwa- fwa- fwap. More talismans met her face softly, and she shut her eyes from the gentle impacts.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault…" Also seated at the kotatsu was Kasen. She stared down into it mournfully...

"It's not your fault that Suika decided to pick a dumb fight." Not comfortable with her logic, Reimu continued to be uppity. "...It's not really like you to just be all down on yourself, either. I figured you'd be lecturing her with me..."

...Offering nothing in response, Kasen simply shifted her gaze about.

' _Kinda pissed about that fight… but she's one hell of an oni. If I wanna fight her again, I'm really gonna have to think outside the box. My body couldn't handle her with a bunch of health support and pain immunity. Kinda figured she was gonna… use fists, not_ magic. _'_

"Mmgh- gugh, mmh…" Drowning herself in her gourd again-

 _Thoom._ Suika flopped over onto the floor, still under the kotatsu.

' _I'm not very appealed by the idea of being powerless against someone who hangs around the shrine.'_

While Sendai mulled over her sour, painful and messy experience, she began to lean back… ' _Think I'm just gonna take it easy tonight. Set up some things to hit later… and I haven't done my daily exercises yet. That's gonna be important.'_

Stepping from the kitchen nearby, Rinnosuke brought a mandarin with him to the main room…

' _He looks nice and casual. Maybe I won't let_ him _take it easy…'_

In the onsetting vague silence, the miko's gaze turned to the sun on the paper panels of the shrine. ' _Maybe I'll do that training now. This whole scene is surreal...'_

"...You've been at that chair since I _left."_ Turning a sardonic gaze to the seated great miko, Reimu criticized her. "Don't you get cramps, or something?"

...Kiyoko offered her no reply, not dignifying the comment with a response.

' _Maybe tomorrow we can head down to the village again and help Keine with whatever insanity's going on down there. And… I'm not really sure where to go regarding who revived or killed me. We've got_ some _information, at least. Maybe I'll ask Reimu, since she seems to know a lot of people now. Things got complicated really quickly.'_

Turning her gaze to Kasen, she looked her over… ' _Except, we've got a healer now. That makes everything half as crappy.'_

"It is to my belief that my daughter will have the necessary supplies in order shortly." Suddenly, Kiyoko spoke, rousing the room's occupants from their thoughts…

"...Supplies?" Sendai was the only person who decided to evaluate her stern statement.

"I also take it that you're both ready, now that you've returned here." Without answering her question, Kiyoko continued talking.

' _Wasn't mom just here a moment ago? What could she be getting from the kitchen?'_

Getting up from the kotatsu, the big miko simply romped into the kitchen in her socks…

Inside, Marcus was also eating a mandarin. He gave her a wave as she looked around.

' _No, mom's not in here either. What even.'_

...Letting her arms drop to her sides, she progressed back into the main room.

"You just here to eat my food, or what?" Still seated, Reimu turned her criticism to Kasen next. "This place just got like hextuple the people it's supposed to have. Ah, that reminds me..."

...Slowly standing up, Reimu called out to everyone lazily. "Got an announceme~nt. If you want a futon, you gotta buy your o~wn…"

 _Thump_. She softly sat back down, and rested her upper body into the kotatsu...

' _Should be a good enough reason to hit the town tomorrow.'_

"...I only got two, one for me an' one for mom." Looking over at her mother, Reimu gave her a nod. "...If you want your friends to sleep over, they're taking the floor."

"That's fine." Sendai volunteers her friends to the floor. "How's, uh, _grandma_ here been?"

"Boring." Reimu summarized, expression plain. "We had an argument about danmaku, and then she stopped talking to me after a little. She started it too, so it was especially annoying..."

' _Yeah, that kinda thing sucks. Grandma's an ass.'_

...Turning to said grandmother, the elder miko propped an arm on her own hip. "You're not going senile on us, are you?"

...Kiyoko just returned her a level glare.

' _Guess not.'_ Slowly, Sendai panned her gaze back around to Rinnosuke, who was finishing his mandarin…

After one final swallow, he patted his hand off on his semi-tattered clothes. "...I'm not sure how I should about sleeping on the floor. Especially in _this shrine_ in the middle of winter."

"Proud." Reimu recommended. "Pack a futon next time," and bluntly gave him some advice.

' _I just realized… Kourin's glasses are fixed. I remember them being broken after last night.'_ The miko raised a brow at this baffling oddity. ' _Must keep spares on him. Especially now...'_

' _Let's do something, actually. Too boring just sitting around.'_

Moving up to the hermit-revealed-oni, Sendai beckoned for her to follow. "Quit wallowing and come with me. We're gonna train in the backyard."

...Only turning to her a fraction, Kasen blinked owlishly. "Huh…? Wha- right _now?_ I mean- _"_

"Nah, next week. C'mon." The miko continued to rouse her up, standing behind her. ' _Can't just let her be all depressed about that powwow she had with her friend here.'_

while the oni- or hermit, she wasn't sure which she was more or less of- began to get up, Sendai moved to slip on her sandals. ' _And, while I'm at it…'_

Next, she gazed into Reimu's stare, meeting it. "You too. Come on out with us."

"Too cold." Reimu shook her head-

"You're cold?" She smiled at her daughter. "Y'know, exercise is a great way to heat up."

...Very quickly, the youngest miko had adopted the most jaded of expressions.

"Don't stare at me like I kicked you." Moving for her, Sendai readied her arms… "I'm takin' you with me."

...After a moment, Reimu realized what she was trying to do. "What? No…"

Fwa- fwap, fwap. Some ofuda haphazardly slapped onto Sendai as she plainly made for the miko.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

INTERMISSION 6 - Fallen Blood I

Now outside, a slight overcast began to overtake the midday sun…

Reimu had her arms folded, as Sendai slipped her out from under her arms and put her down on the grass. "Why…? I just want to _relax._ I already proved I can beat you up. I can do it again, too..."

"That'd probably be _more_ effort than just going along with this." After criticizing her daughter's logic, she began to move along the hillside. "...Also, you got any wood around? Beams, logs, sticks… anything?"

...Curious as to where she was going with this, Reimu began to look around too. "Well, this place just got thrown back together… so someone's gotta have left some garbage nearby. They usually think I won't find it… and I don't, so it works out."

' _Good…'_ With this information, Sendai turned her gaze to the back of the shrine. She began moving to the side, strafing to evaluate the exterior.

Kasen was on the lawn too, staring up into the air. ' _Thought she didn't follow us out for a moment, but she's just being quiet and sad again.'_ She was behind Sendai the whole time, so her presence was a little surprising.

"...They really remade this place to a T, huh." Once Sendai had strafed the perimeter of the shrine for a few moments, she spotted a pile of stacked wood around the back of her daughter's room. "Perfect."

"What're you gonna do with a bunch of _wood?"_ Floating alongside her, Reimu stared at the pile skeptically… "Are we just gonna hit it and break it?"

"Not without shoving it into the ground and making something, first." With this disclaimer, the elder miko moved up to the wood piles… "You think you can lift any?"

' _Looks light enough to carry a big clump. There's some big beams that I'd have to carry individually, but there's also some planks and stuff.'_

"...If I wanted to actually get rid of this, I'd probably just ask Suika to chuck it into orbit." Reimu landed as she gazed at the pile of lumber… "You're not gonna make me move this, are you…? The most I could do are those little planks."

"Nah. But- since you can move the little ones, do that." Sendai moved to lift one of the beams in the pile. They were rather thin, but also as wide as thirty feet.

"Hu~p…!" Channeling darkness into her limbs, she hoisted one into both arms.

' _My muscles could carry more, but my hands are only as wide as one of these, so that wouldn't be great, or really necessary. Weird size for beam things, but it's fine...'_

...Furrowing her brows, the smaller miko began to lug up some small boards. "Nngh…" Except, she tried to lift too many at first...

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

"I've only just recently realized what you've been doing." Kasen was staring on at the two in vague befuddlement.

 _Bam!_ Black pulsed into the board the miko struck. For lack of a hammer, she had a smooth stone from the nearby hot spring. Yet, she had found nails despite the tool shortage. ' _Didn't leave me a hammer, but they left me nails. Then again, oni could probably just use their fists as hammers.'_

"Yeah, where were ya?" Sendai spoke as she lined up the second nail, ready to embed it in one strike again-

 _Thunk._ She jabbed the nail into the board, embedding it halfway. Bringing her rock hand back-

 _Bam!_ The board vibrated and the wood cracked, splintering from the force of her bash and the nail's insertion. ' _Good enough. Just a training dummy cross, so whatever.'_

Reimu was lying on the grass nearby… "Why eve~n…"

"I was… in my thoughts." Kasen responded to the question from earlier… "That should be behind me, now. Anyway-"

"Yeah, the hell was that about?" Stepping away from the third training dummy- each comprised of mixed beam parts and planks- the miko approached her new oni friend, marching up some of the steep hillside to be closer to level with her. "You two have some history, don't ya?"

"Yo~u could say that…" Kasen nodded- "Wait, I mean, no. We just kinda- mmrm…"

"Too late." The miko grinned at her. "...I know _fighting's_ like… not _necessarily_ your favorite thing, but you've picked the wrong people to group up with if you're skittish about hitting people."

"She just doesn't… it's fine- we really don't need to worry about this." Shaking her head, Kasen regained a focused expression. "We need to worry more about your progress- the both of you."

Reimu snorted from the floor. "Yeah, that's cool. Advice from someone who can't even work out a friendship with an oni."

...Not replying to that, Kasen simply cringed a little.

'... _Well-'_

"There are some things discipline can and cannot do… and this is a situation where it couldn't do anything in relation to the outcome." Shaking her head, Kasen closed her eyes. "Suika and I have fundamentally different understandings… of what, perhaps _communication_ is."

Spreading out her limbs, Reimu stared up into outer space. "How about you just realize you guys talk different, and talk with her... just, with her. Be happy."

Proceeding up to the dummies- which were genuinely just a vertical post with a horizontal post nailed near the top- Kasen looked at their cross sections...

"We know each other's sentiments quite well." She ran a hand across the clumsy woodwork. "We don't hate each other. We just… don't _see_ things the same way. This conflict's merely part of our nature towards one another. It has to be this way."

'... _I can kinda see that. You're not like other oni, for sure… aside from that one time you summoned a dragon on me. That was probably to balance out defying your species your entire life. Just my luck that you took out your anger on me.'_

"Suika'd say that sounds stupid." Reimu closed her eyes, shifting her arms behind her head...

"...Yeah." Kasen agreed simply…

...As more silence set in, Sendai began to smirk. ' _She's been fooling with the wood there for a minute or two now.'_

"Like that craftsmanship?" The miko took the moment to plug her own wood smashing skill.

The oni girl snorted. "...Yes, it's quite elegant. I don't imagine these things will very strongly withstand anything we have to throw at them."

"It's gonna be less about outright smashing them, and more about reflexes." Sendai explained the intent of her setup… "I used to train by bouncing around off wood boards. Awhile ago, I'd have also cut some bamboo from the forest, and built stuff with it for my balance. Unless you've got any bamboo around, we can't really do anything else…"

' _I practice making traps, and I practice hitting things and memorizing the repetition of movements, so that I can pull them off on instinct when it matters.'_

 _Thu- thu- thunk!_ Barely accenting her fists with black- just enough to not damage them from hitting stuff- she punched the wood dummy in a three strike succession, making it wobble. "...It's pretty primitive _now_ , but it helps practice motions way more than you'd think."

"I'd imagine…" Considering this, Kasen began to circle around slowly, getting a better look at them. "Perhaps I should be practicing motions, too. What about the guys inside…?"

' _Ah, crap. Forgot to tug Rinnosuke out here. Maybe…'_

"...They're more about _magic_." Furrowing her brows, Sendai shook her head. "The only one who can fight physically might be Rinnosuke, and he'd really need to start with strength training. I'm not sure how strong he is, but I'm gonna say _not very._ "

...Bringing a finger to her lips, Kasen nodded. "I don't think he's weak exactly. But, he's definitely not much of a fighter…"

Pivoting around, Kasen began to move for the shrine. "We should start with stamina and agility. Both for him, and also…"

Stopping, she turned pointed past Sendai's shoulder.

The miko trailed the direction with her gaze, and saw her daughter asleep on the hillside behind her…

' _What, how.'_ Sendai rose her brows…

"Be right back…" With that, Kasen jogged up to the shrine behind them.

…

Sendai stepped up to her daughter and crouched down, before rolling her over-

"He- hey, woah woah…!" The littler miko flailed her arms, rustled by the disturbance.

"Hi." Sendai looked down at her as she rolled onto her side. "Wakey wakey."

"I- I wasn't _asleep_ in the first place…" Getting back up onto her legs, the miko brushed the back and side of her clothes off… "What's so important about me _training_ anyway? I've fought, like… _everything._ I love that you're back and everything, but... _"_

' _We haven't really had a heart-to-heart in a long time. Like… probably sixteen or twenty years for her. When we get a moment later, I need to just sit down with her.'_

Rising into a stand next to her, Sendai propped her arms on her hips as she formulated a response. "...Might as well do it _now._ You can sleep it off later, and while I'm doing my own things. Really no reason _not to_ , since your body's the thing in the most need of work. Wouldn't it be nice to get punched by an oni and _not_ die?"

Reimu rolled her eyes. "It'd be nice to not be punched by an oni. And, if one did punch me, I'd probably wanna be dead. Speaking from experience..."

' _You have experience with that…?'_

...Unable to let this go, Sendai tilted her head. "Experience? What kind?"

"Let's just say Marisa carries all the potions, and our trip to the underground was _weird."_ Turning to the wood dummies, Reimu cast her arm towards them. "Anyway- what're we doing here? Blowing up wood…?"

' _Trip to the underground? ...She says weird things every time I talk with her. It's more reasonable than breaking into hell as a kid, at least.'_

"Well, I'm probably gonna move these things around, first." Sendai gestured to the wood things she'd made. "While you guys are doing your stamina training, probably."

"I've _got_ good stamina~." Expression flat, Reimu leaned to the side… "I can see strength, but I'm good at dealing with getting hurt, and getting hit by stuff."

"Only because you're being force fed potions." Her mother refuted equally plainly. "...Or not getting hit at all, which works, but it's not always reliable."

"You'd be _really_ surprised." Reimu shook her head at her…

...When the elder miko moved to lug another post from the nearby pile-

"We're ba~ck!" Kasen romped outside, pushing a very reluctant Rinnosuke along as she did so.

Stumbling along, he looked tired. "I- I'm not really _sure_ about this…"

Sendai grinned. "You're not sure about many things. This is gonna help."

...Looking the standing wood dummies over, he slouched. "So… am I gonna be hitting these things?"

"Not yet." Shaking her head, the shrine maiden gave him new instructions. "...You're gonna run around for awhile. Laps around the shrine grounds."

...He smiled, giving a nod in vague satisfaction. "Actually, yeah. I think I can do that."

' _At least he's confident…'_ Pleased by this, the miko looked over at Reimu… "You're gonna run at him and beat him up while he tries to run laps."

"What- _why?"_ Rinnosuke instantly objected. "But, running ra- laps builds stamina…!"

"Not agility, though." Pointing around the left side of the hill, she gave them instructions. "Basically, it ends whenever Kourin gives up, or I say stop. Reimu, you can't fly or teleport into him either."

"Wha~t?" At that, Reimu was the next to object. "But that takes most of the fun out of it…"

"Should be more fun running him down, _without_ crushing him into paste by warping on top of him." Sendai criticized her daughter… "Also, this is probably obvious, but no blowing him up with orbs or danmaku, and no flying by making an orb fly and holding onto it. Just your legs and your fists, and maybe your gohei if you want it. Actually, yeah, use that."

"Fi~ne…" Taking in a deep breath, her gohei summoned from parts unknown, the smaller miko began to stretch a little… "Guess I can do a _little_ physical activity today. Kourin's big and slow, so this should be easy…"

"I'm not quite as awkward as I once was." In a rare show of confidence, Rinnosuke pointed a thumb to himself. "I've become really good at knowing when to run away!"

"We'll see about that…" Crouching down just a little, Reimu spread her legs to her sides slightly too. "...We starting now, o~r…?"

Sendai shrugged. "...Sure. Make sure you-"

Reimu bolted towards the shopkeeper, gohei brandished over her head. " _Hya~h!"_

 _Woosh!_ Rinnosuke almost fell out of the way, as the wood stick came down behind him. "Oah- ah…!"

 _Fwish!_ While he bolted, Reimu spun around, the gohei's tip grazing his back.

 _Pap, pap, pap…!_ He began to go full sprint down the hill, with the alarming speed allowed to him by the amulet he wore. He'd accelerated to the point he moved too fast to keep his shoes on the grass, and it transitioned to falling diagonally towards the ground.

"Wha~t…!?" Running after him, Reimu slid on her sandals down the length of the hillside… "Get back here!"

' _Should be good.'_ Watching them roar off, the elder miko donned a big smile. ' _Probably can't make it a routine yet. Since we've got some things to do- murder mystery and village crap- but this'll be good.'_

…

' _Time to move this wood around.'_

"Shouldn't we be doing something more important…?" Kasen gave her a smile of her own. "Forgive me for my fickleness already, but… we don't know _very much_ about who revived you, or why you died."

Picking up a dark wood beam, she looked up at the oni… "I've been doing important things for a few days now. I'd like to pretend I'm back in my routine for an hour."

The oni-hermit was placated "...Fair enough."

' _You bet your little buns it's fair enough. You'll be changing your tune the next time we fight a stupidly big horde of people.'_

 _Thunk!_ "Hrah…" Sendai jabbed the wood beam into the floor, her arms wrapped in darkness as she embedded it into the grass.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Along the hillside, Sendai now had ten or so cross-shaped dummies set up. ' _Looks as much like a graveyard as it always does. A really badly laid out graveyard.'_

"I guess this works." Tilting her head back and forth, Kasen wasn't sure what to make of the small graveyard of posts. "I still think they're gonna be too flimsy. At least, for me."

"Probably." Sendai conceded. "...It's not _quite_ so important now that I've had _innumerable fights_ since getting here, but practicing my motions should still be important."

"Certainly." Giving her a nod and a plain smile, Kasen moved with her down the hillside… "I've been a little out of practice myself."

In the background, Rinnosuke hobbled by, jogging at what would normally be running speed…

"Ha- aah, hah, aah…" Reimu sprinted after him, waving her gohei around superficially. Then- "Ha- ah!"

"Uuh- auha…!" Rinnosuke fell out of the way, landing on his knee before springing back into a run-

 _Fwish!_ Reimu barely missed his back again. "Ge- get back here…!"

Focusing on the dummy ahead as they passed, Sendai closed her eyes… ' _Alright… let's see…'_

 _Pa- pap!_ She met the midst of the structure with two jabs-

 _Pap!_ -before following up with a palm strike to the top of the cross post, making the entire structure wobble.

...Nearing one herself, Kasen decided to throw and underhand punch at it. "Hah!"

 _Crack!_ The post snapped in half from her fist's impact, before flicking back into itself, still attached by wooden strings.

"...Oops." Her smile became awkward…

' _Too much.'_ Ignoring that, Sendai focused on her cross again…

"Hua~!" Leaping into the air-

 _Bam!_ She pushed her heel into the top of the post, allowing herself to flip backwards after stunting it into the floor.

Landing with her hair in her face, hips taking the impact-

 _Bam- CRACK!_ Her leg slid from her side into a kicking position, smashing the post's upper half clean off, sending it soaring into the distance. ' _Couldn't resist.'_

...Kneeling down, Kasen pressed a hand into the earth below-

 _Kroom!_ From nowhere, a palisade-esque log shot up under one of the dummies-

 _Thunk._ The cross post was uprooted entirely, and the log sunk back into the grass, leaving a hole in the dirt.

...Sendai turned to her. "Is that the 'create a safety hazard' spell?"

Smirking, Kasen clarified… "I just kinda came up with it on the spot. It doesn't seem very useful."

' _...Two of ten down._ ' Stepping up the hill, the miko positioned herself between two…

"Hup!" Leaping, she kicked at the top of one-

 _Thunk!_ -before bouncing off of it, and-

 _Crack!_ -striking her sandal down onto the one behind her.

 _CRACK!_ Sailing forward off of _that_ one, she destroyed the post directly before herself with her new momentum. '... _I think my problem is that I'm used to either fighting a lot of weaker targets at once, or slowly whittling down big things.'_

She landed smoothly...

Once again, Reimu and Rinnosuke began to pass by behind her-

 _Whack!_ "Nhaha~...!" The shopkeeper scrambled away, springing off all four limbs after Reimu'd finally caught up with him…

"Stop _running…!"_ Tired and messy, Reimu eagerly chased after him-

 _Whack! Whack!_ "Ngh…!" Somewhere between incredulous and exhausted, he held his arms over his head as he continued to power forward…

' _Maybe I need to improve my rigidity. Or, start wearing armor.'_

...While Sendai considered this, she looked up, sensing someone on the approach…

Her mother touched down before her, arms full with two large stone buckets. "...Wrap up your play time, Tsukiko-chan. I've returned with supplies."

"I'm _practicing."_ Sendai countered. "...Kind of. Having people around at the shrine's kind of distracting. We'll get there."

The stone buckets in her arms had superficial, bland designs on their sides. They were too big to see inside from over where Sendai was. ' _What's with those?'_

Seinarubeki smiled at her. "Practicing…? Hmm. Normally I'd leave you be, but this is too important. Your daughter must attend, too."

Propping her arms on her hips, Sendai took a breath. "...Attend _what?"_

"We're contacting our god tonight." Seinarubeki revealed. "It will know just what to do."

...Sendai blinked. "Contact…? You can… just do that?"

"I don't believe I properly taught you _how…_ " Shaking her head, the shrine maiden tilted forward a little. "In this case, this will most likely be you and Reimu's first time meeting them."

'... _Didn't even really know it's supposed to be our thing to contact it. I mean… it's a god. It probably doesn't have a lot of faith, however…'_

"... _Should_ we be summoning it?" Sendai asked a perhaps rude question.

Seinarubeki's smile became slanted. "What kind of question is that…? Yes, yes we should."

...The miko took a glance at a now very antsy Kasen.

…

"Where's your daughter, anyhow?" Seinarubeki began to look around-

"Nh- huah…! A- aahh…"

Rinnosuke hobbled along the hillside, having found an optimized strategy to scale the perimeter that looked a lot like falling over repeatedly and repetitiously.

Reimu was a few tiers down the hill, running after him. "When you _slip!_ I'll-...!" Then, she began to roar up the hillside with renewed vigor, hauling it towards him.

He couldn't bear to glance back as he shambled ahead, fleeing as well as he could-

"Oof…!" Then, his sandal slipped into the dirt hole Kasen left from her log attack, and he fell softly onto his face…

...Stopping near him, Reimu threw an arm into the air. "I-... I _won!"_

' _That's absolutely adorable.'_ There was no way Sendai _couldn't_ smile at something like that.

Seinarubeki snorted. "...Looks an awful lot like _playing_ to me. But, I cannot blame you. We're at the dawn of a new era. A strange, but new era."

...Reimu lurched up to them, sweaty and out of breath. "I- I've… I'm done."

Sendai gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job. Anything burnin' yet?"

Reimu grinned, shaking her head. "I've had to do things way harder than that. Exhausting, but not really _hard."_

At that, Sendai looked thoughtful. '... _Guess I'll have to up the intensity next time.'_

"Follow us, Reimu." Seinarubeki turned up towards the shrine ahead… "We will be talking to the Hakurei god tonight."

...Reimu blinked. "Wh- what?"

With that, Seinarubeki began to walk up the hill, her arms still full with the big grey pots she held…

...The youngest miko looked up at her mother expectantly, and Sendai gave her a grin. "I'm as new to this as you are."

While the two continued towards the shrine ahead, Kasen had slipped away to help Rinnosuke out of the hole he tripped over…

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Inside the Hakurei Shrine, Sendai and Reimu stared down at the grounds of the shrine's main room, the kotatsu slid aside and out of the way.

"Should I… be here…?" Rinnosuke looked apprehensive and sweaty. It was hard to tell which was more prominent.

...Sendai wasn't sure. "I have no idea."

"It _should_ be safe." Kasen spoke resolutely.

...Her statement was also brief, and left Sendai with questions. ' _That's not very confidence-invoking...'_

Small, runic boxes of yellow energy sat at the floor, tilted to random angles. Around these relics were two or three candles which burned with pure white energy. At the moment, a hexagon was drawn on the floor, with these relic and candle arrangements at each point…

"Next." Kiyoko was standing, overseeing this.

"This is much, for a standard prayer…" Protesting this, Seinarubeki pushed a palm forward, five more groupings of relics and candles rotating out to make the shape even more complicated.

"Our faith is strong." Kiyoko countered her protest promptly. "We need direction now more than ever."

...Casually, Marcus meandered past the circle towards the maidens he knew. Letting out a whistle, he nodded vigorously… "Geesh. The _mana~_ off this…"

' _I'll bet it's something else…'_ As the amount of runes, lines and candles stacked higher and higher, Sendai felt weird…

"We summonin' yer aunt or somethin'?" Marcus jeered at the process.

' _For all we know…'_ Sendai wouldn't _discount_ that idea.

"Probably." Reimu vocally agreed.

...Once all the holy objects were place, the final symbol was more akin to something beyond a decagon.

"...This is silly." Seinarubeki stared at her mother curiously. "I cannot connect a line so-"

 _Fwish._ Kiyoko drew her katana from the air itself-

 _Shi- shi- shi- shi- shi~ng!_

...Everyone had tensed up at the rapid, violent slashing of the blade against the wood ahead, a motion that had happened at a rate ignorable by the human eye. ' _What…?'_

Thin, magic lines, some messy and some misshapen, all connected the myriad points, revealing the final shape to be something strange and uniformly parallel-

 _FWOA~SH…!_ Then, the intricate lines vanished, replaced by a thick circle, runes visible in the magic itself.

...As quickly as it began, the magic's hum became total silence as the runes were obscured by the circle's movement.

Before everyone, a translucent figure formed.

' _What… is this feeling?'_

...Before Sendai, the being gained definition. Light filled the room from the being itself, its appearance soft, with tint along its edges that could be judged as some kind of light blue.

Kiyoko kneeled before her god.

...Sendai looked to see if her mother was, to see that she was. ' _...Should I be-'_

Then, she realized she already was. ' _Oh. Wait, hold on…'_

"Uh…" Reimu was too, to her own confusion.

Rinnosuke's eyes were shut, and he looked away, blinded.

...Marcus looked around the circle with furrowed brows, his gaze darting about as he traced the mana, but saw no figure, the room alive with a flush of holy.

Kasen stared straight ahead into the center of the circle.

'... _It looks like… a shrine maiden.'_ Sendai saw a pitch white shrine maiden.

"We seek your guidance." Kiyoko spoke in the isolated silence of the shrine. "In this audience… we humbly request direction and console."

…

"You are all here." Sendai heard a distinctly feminine voice. "Such a showing is to be expected."

Kiyoko bowed her head once. "Yes. Though our lives are returned, we only predict your intentions."

"I've slept for decades." The Hakurei god spoke with no accenting motions. Sendai couldn't tell if it had a mouth to move. "Watching you. All of you."

Sendai felt as though she was staring straight into its 'eyes', even though it should be facing Kiyoko…

"This realm of our own divining has become complicated beyond the clan's initial perception." As it spoke, the room seemed to glow brighter. "...As peace grew and the clan reached near annihilation, I'd resigned to extinction. Your presences signify, however… that my final hope has realized fruition."

Its form became absolute again in Sendai's vision, as it seemingly panned its head around the room, pure orbs of bluish-white magic unblinking. "Peace has no inherent demerit. Yet, there is hostility all around the land. The Hakurei are the least welcomed beings in this engineered domain, and as such, the destruction of all of you has become an observable inevitability."

Shivering, Rinnosuke held himself, form aglow with white, flowing energy.

"That will change now." The deity decided. "Gensokyo cannot be trusted to be just on its own terms. We will craft peace."

Sendai wasn't sure what to say.

"It is understood." Kiyoko bowed her head once again. "...What would you have me do?"

...After a moment of complete silence, the god passed judgment. "Before greater injustice is sanctified… you must act with cautious patience. You seek to massacre the youkai and bring light to them, like the days of old. Even this ambition is impossible if you do not listen carefully."

"Yes…" Kiyoko once again bowed her head.

Sendai blinked-

She saw a panoramic view of the Human Village square.

"Light must be first brought to the fringes of humanity." The Hakurei God declared. "The vying grasps of irrelevant faith seek to help, and yet provide a constant source of confusion. With this variety of voices, youkai have intentionally destabilized the populace. It is no secret to the Hakurei of the new era, that this settlement serves as a method from which to harvest the human mind.

"Your directives are as follows. Burn out the corruption, cease the induction of fear, and create a monument to our faith at the heart of the settlement. Defend it at all costs."

In Sendai's vision, she saw the village's square, with a small stone tower erected in the midst, holy energy pulsing up its form. ' _This is…'_

The image in the miko's mind faded to black, and then she was back in the shrine.

"...For peace to succeed, faith must be restored." The god cast two arms forward-

 _Fwhoom._ Before itself, in a swath of floaty white flame, stone talismans were created in the air. Yin-yang shaped symbols on the front face of each simple symbol relic glimmered bright white. "These will be the keys to every pinnacle. Once inserted into the center of each, their power will activate. They may appear meager, but they are important. Treat them well."

...While Sendai gazed at them, she blinked again-

Her gaze centered now upon a rocky island, located amidst a sea of clouds. "The mountain." The god prefaced. "Once the nearby settlement is secured, measures will need to be taken to dull the blades of the youkai on the mountain. Their kind are many and varied, and it is undoubted that they will be the first to find fault in the new Hakurei presence. You will reach the top of the mountain, and create a monument there. Defend it at all costs."

...As the miko's vision changed to realize a monolith there, she wasn't sure if she was furrowing her brows or not. '... _How does a-'_

"The monument's presence there is important, to destabilize organized dissent. It will also quell all opposing faith for as long as our ambitions still flow." The Hakurei god spoke as the vision of the mountain faded to black. "It will be a greater task than the village's purification by far, but it is still what needs to be done.

...Somewhere dark and devoid of light met the miko's vision. Sendai couldn't see anything but subtle, unplaceable luminescent glows of some kind of magic.

"The enchanted forest." The Hakurei god informed her where this was. "While unable to organize advanced or meaningful assault, the village will not be able to recover if a temporary occupation is not instated upon the wilds. This is the land's second greatest refuge of youkai."

Once Sendai's vision shifted again, the magic forest's core was exposed to dim light, as the Hakurei monument was superimposed in again. "Likewise, construct a monument here, and defend it at all costs."

...The human shrine maiden's vision transitioned to one final visual.

A scarlet clocktower stood over a moonlit lake, cast in shade. "The common youkai look to the great western residence as a monument to their power, and the insignificance of humanity. A monument built atop their greatest immediate structure will provide a constant drain to the morale that drives them, and will shut down another source of invasion upon the village. Defend this at all costs."

…

Sendai was back in the shrine, and her head felt dizzy. ' _This… power…'_

"We cannot do more until our resources are greater… and until the four of you have grown to be able to withstand the true might of opposition." The room dimmed, as the Hakurei god began to ascend, closing its 'eyes'.

"The day peace truly returns to this land is both far and near. I do not wish cruelty on you; my daughters. I seek to extinguish the cruelty that has, and will continue, to befall this land under the greed of others. This road takes sacrifice. Your journey begins at sundown."

...Kiyoko gave her a vigorous nod. "Understood."

"I will enlighten your road." As the god's form began to fade out and disperse across the shrine's grounds, Sendai felt her body grow warm. "You will face challenges now, for even daring. Monsters birthed from the dread to take your heads."

"By your hands, this land shall be protected."

 _fwish_

The Hakuri god flickered out once more. The magical circle slowly began to dim, and the candles were completely expended.

...Sendai regained control over her legs. ' _That was… something else.'_

As she stood-

' _Holy Fire.'_ ...Suddenly, she realized something. ' _...Ah?'_

She cast her arm forward, but nothing happened, as she expected. ' _I just saw something, too. Some kind of… holy fire magic.'_

"What…" Reimu rubbed her eyes with one hand, before casting her gohei out-

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwoom!_ Holy, pure white flames of an ill-defined sort splashed out from the tip of her gohei, in a whip-esque motion. "Woah…"

...Kiyoko marched into the room's midst. "Our journey begins at sundown! Few hours from now!"

'... _I think we can assume the um, Hakurei god's responsible for the whole revival thing… or, maybe not. No one really answered that, and… she seemed sort of grateful we'd come back at all. Not really befitting of someone who did the reviving.'_

"Wha- what… happened…?" Rinnosuke looked miserable, as he held his head. White magic was whirling around his form, vague and flowing…

Marcus was keeping perceptive, still looking around as if the god was still there. ' _I don't know if he saw it or not…'_

"As all of you have been to the village except for _I_ , it would be helpful to hear a status report." Kiyoko announced a request. "What can we expect?"

"Villagers are all really weak." Sendai decided to blurt out what came to mind. "...Look out for arrows."

"Some of the guys are creepy." Reimu cautioned her. "Most of the regular folks are okay, though."

"They attacked me with projectiles, mistaking _me_ for youkai." Seinarubeki's expression was a margin more rueful. "Even with the application of Hakurei technique, they still scorned me, and attempted to harm me."

...Given all of this information, Kiyoko looked to the walls of the shrine, in the direction the village would be. "This will be the chore before our true trial, then. We still mustn't grow careless."

Reimu leaned to the side lazily… "It's just the _village._ And… I'm not _really_ sure about this whole-"

"Carelessness brings about death." Kiyoko stated sternly, frowning at her.

...Furrowing her brows, Reimu frowned back at the taller miko. "What's that supposed to mean…? Coming from you-"

"It means that, whenever you're inevitably _mauled_ outside my reach, I will not be there to save you." With her rebuke, the great miko turned to the door. "...Though we support one another, it is only through our own strengths that we can even do so much. It's a selective balance of sacrifice. You give yourself for others, but one does no good for others when they've nothing left to _give_."

…

She grew idle once she was finished. "Do not stare at me so expectantly. I am already ready to voyage. We'll accrue fortune through our occupation."

' _That's nice.'_ Unsurely, Sendai looked over at Reimu…

Reimu gave her an awkward look of unassurance back. ' _Yeah.'_

"Wahauh…" This entire time, Suika laid along the edge of the room, beneath the pushed-aside kotatsu. She was still passed out.

...Once Sendai sighted Kasen, she beckoned for some people to follow her. ' _Let's pretend we're going to the kitchen to grab mandarins.'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Her, Reimu, and Kasen had rushed into the kitchen first thing after the meetup.

Marcus had returned to relaxing by the now nearly empty bowl of mandarins. "Hehehe~..."

Sendai would find that humorous if she wasn't thinking of a lot right now. ' _First thing he does after a religious experience is laugh at mandarins. Whatever- I'm really not totally certain about our god's words. She- it, whatever just seemed… not really 'anti-youkai' but, she- it seemed pretty old school, too…'_

Reimu was less moderate in her opinion of the god. "This is gonna screw up _so much._ I'm supposed to be _solving_ incidents, not _making_ them."

...After a moment of consideration, Sendai spoke as she leaned onto a nearby counter. "The god… didn't seem _vehemently_ anti-youkai."

"Really?" Scoffing, Reimu shook her head. "She seemed pretty power hungry to me."

' _...That's just it, though.'_

"Never once did she like… _incite_ slaughter." Sendai supposed. "Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of stirring the pot for the sake of it. She still wants us to capture stuff and build crap..."

' _Guess we're just calling it a she now.'_

...Walking into the kitchen, Rinnosuke interrupted the conversation, everyone becoming momentarily skittish from his presence; if only because they'd thought he was one of the other Hakurei women.

Casually, he strutted up to the table. "Mandarins…?"

Marcus shook his head, the bowl now empty. "Nope."

...He slouched. "Darn."

"Her idea of peace…" Kasen decided to speak up, leaning against a tall shelf by the counter. "I would say her evaluation of what…" She raised her hands for air quotes. "'Youkai' tend to do… is probably more _direct_ and less broad than it might seem."

"She called out all youkai." Reimu considered… before backtracking. "I think."

"While her communication was flawless, the insinuation was clear." Nodding in an attempt to drive home her point, Kasen moved from the shelf before the two. "You know. She-who-must-not-be-named?" She gestured to one of her buns, then drew a circle around her own head…

This hushed speak of the certain youkai made Reimu step back in inconvenienced distaste-

She bumped the table. "Ah…"

' _Yakumo.'_ Shaking her head, Sendai let herself accept this. ' _She's up to some fucking bullshit, then. We need to do something about her, if she's this old and prevalent, and… if her motives can be mistaken for 'all youkai', then she's doing something pretty fucked up. Not that youkai are always bad, but how they were made to be in the conversation, and then replacing them with just Yakumo… it's telling.'_

"...Should we go along with it for now?" Sitting on the counter behind herself, Sendai took in a breath…

...Looking back at the empty mandarin bowl, Reimu's frown grew much deeper. "This whole plan really sucks. I mean… assuming it even goes _right,_ it's going to screw up _everything._ "

' _It's really very heavy handed.'_

...After taking a glance around the room, Kasen focused on Reimu again, moving between the two Hakurei to reach the other side of the table. "Well… I've never been entirely _trusting_ of the… 'youkai' method of establishing peace. I will not lie, Reimu… but it's sort of a hard deal. It's the way things needed to have been."

"You think I don't _know_ that?" Sliding a chair back, Reimu immediately reconsidered sitting down, and simply stepped forward. "I've spent my, like… _whole life_ maintaining this peace. It's gonna be in a _really bad place_ if we just go around _taking over_ things. It's one thing to oversee the land, and it's another to _take it over._ "

...Kasen brought a hand to her chin. "I don't think it will be _that_ far. Trust me on this. ...And, if anything, I think we can all agree the village needs to be fixed."

Reimu nodded very compromisingly to this idea. "Oh, definitely. It's bad."

"We'd better go too." Sendai announced. "Not something we wanna leave to _Kiyoko."_

This was logic Reimu couldn't argue with. "...Eeh. Yeah. I _guess_ I'll be there for peacekeeping. She'd throw half the thing into a meat grinder otherwise."

...Once they'd stopped actively talking, Kasen moved for the shelves, and began to open them. Reimu took notice of this…

The brown and orange glow of the dying day definitely made the kitchen feel like some kind of back room, at least to Sendai.

"The worst part is that I'm debating with myself if this is a good idea or not." Moving for a chair-

 _Shoo~f._ She grated it across the floor, before plopping down in it.

' _I tend to avoid being truly uncertain about things, but this is uncharted territory. Back when I was alive, I had to commit in life choices and fights… but this political 'capture and hold' crap isn't really my thing.'_

"We'll see." From the shelves along the kitchen's back wall, Kasen drew some food…

...Approaching the table, she set it down.

Reimu looked intrigued by the slice of a cheese wheel. "...I don't think I bought that."

...Tearing off a chunk, Kasen took a bite, and chewed. "...Mmm!"

' _We've still got a few hours before we gotta get down to business. This is gonna be a hell of a mess. ...Maybe it'll turn up with some answers, at least.'_

"Wild and nutty flavor." Kasen nodded at the cheese in satisfaction, before sliding it across the table. "Here."

...Picking off a small chunk, Reimu began to chew it.

"Wild and nutty, ah…" Marcus grinned over at it. "...That was _somethin'._ Seems like you girls were listenin' to a conversation I wasn't!"

"I'd imagine only those of inhuman- or Hakurei- vision would be able to see it in its present state." Kasen explained how it worked… "It doesn't have enough faith as of currently. Yet, its power is still… something to behold."

"Eu~h…" Reimu didn't like the cheese, grimacing fiercely after swallowing. "So- so _strong…"_

...Sendai claimed the cheese after her daughter pushed it away. ' _Wild and nutty…'_

"Where the heck'd this come from." She looked around to see who'd bought the cheese…

"I think your mother bought it." Rinnosuke guesstimated, as he sunk into his chair he'd claimed… "She got some wheat, too."

' _Wheat.'_ Sendai stared down at the cheese. ' _...Wonder why she bought these. I don't really remember them. Things've changed in the village, so maybe she's just buying new things entirely.'_

Sendai took a direct bite of the cheese wedge.

' _...Wha- what part of this is nutty? Ugh… way, way too sharp.'_

Swallowing it down, she gave it a pitiful look. ' _Kind of a waste.'_

...After channeling her mana into it, she stood, casting her arm into the air. " _Cheese Wheel!"_

 _Fwi~sh!_ Soaring up, the wedge glowed, before expanding into a rounded wheel shape once more, becoming a holy white-

 _Fwoa- fwoa~sh! Fwoash, fwoash- fwoash!_ ...The five people in the room all had healing auras run up their bodies.

"Woah…" Rinnosuke returned to half-consciousness, temporarily distracted from the holy energy still permeating through himself…

...Reimu wasn't sure what to think, but she smiled involuntarily. "What…?"

"...That restored my _mana_ too." Kasen began to smile… "We should buy more cheese."

' _I'm not even sure how that works.'_ She looked around for the cheese, but now it was gone. ' _I guess I expended it. Sorry, mom.'_

Next, Sendai turned her attention to Rinnosuke's sorry state. "...What happened to him?"

Marcus gave her a reinforced grin. "Ah, yeah. Good 'ol holy weakness. Tha' better question's how _Kasen's_ holdin' up!"

...The miko turned her gaze to the oni, to see that the traces of energy _were_ running along her form too, but to a lesser degree. "Ah. You hardly seem to be slowed…"

She blinked at the miko for a second or two, before "I've got a lot more strength to deal with." Kasen chose her response selectively, for some reason. "I'm also more used to this sort of thing..."

"Let's see what time it is…" Pensive, Reimu sprang from her chair and scuffed up to the 'secondary front door' of the shrine.

Upon sliding it open and looking out, she saw the sun just beginning to set. "...Ah."

' _Almost time already? That meeting must've ended pretty promptly near nightfall...'_

…

' _I think I'm ready, though.'_ She began to stand preemptively-

 _Bam!_ Kiyoko slammed the door open, marching inside. "...Come. We journey now."

' _That was fast.'_ Stowing away a grin, Sendai began to slide her chair in. "Alri~ght…"

Once she pivoted and stomped away, Seinarubeki took her place, drifting into the room and towards the counters and cabinets near the back.

"Half-youkai." Once in the room, she crouched down-

 _Cla- cla- cla- clack!_ All the cabinets slammed open. "You will carry our things. Tampering will not end well for you; compliance will be mandatory."

...Rinnosuke drowsily looked up from his chair. "Yo- you mean me…?"

...Seinarubeki slowly turned to him, and nodded as if it was a simple matter. "Yes. Yes, I mean you."

"...O~h. Okay…" He was completely out of it, at this point. "Yeah."

Hesitating for a moment, the elder miko took some awkward glances between him and the air before the shelves, before actually looking through them. "...We're missing a cheese wedge."

"Rats must've stolen it." Sendai blatantly lied. "Don't worry about it; happens all the time."

"...I detect _no rats."_ Seinarubeki shook her head. "They haven't even reason to habilitate here. Even _then,_ I'm sure our _god's appearance_ would have been way more than they could handle."

' _You can detect rats? What kinda skill…'_ Shaking her head, Sendai defended her position. "Just trust me on this one."

"It was a big one!" Marcus helped from his seat. "Like _this_ big…!" He held his arms out as he stood up…

"Really big." Reimu was the most helpful, monotonic from the doorway.

...Shaking her head, the elder miko grinned. "Well. I guess it was a _really big_ rat. We're going to start moving now."

Floating from the counters, sealed stone bottles, cheese chunks and wheat stalks drifted toward Rinnosuke.

...Once they got in his face for a moment, he began to freak out. "O- oh, geez- what…!?" Getting up, he started attacking the wheat that got in his face…

Sendai moved to help him. ' _Oh, good…'_ Then, she froze, and turned to her daughter. "...Reimu, don't you know that _cleanse spell?_ "

"That'd ruin the fun." Reimu grinned back at her…

"Wha- what's going on…!?" Retreating to the front of the room, Rinnosuke held his arms over his head. "...No~...!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Now on the path before the Hakurei Shrine, the maidens gazed across the forestry around them in the setting sun…

Vaguely rejuvenated, Rinnosuke hung behind the now armored miko and her daughter, along with everyone who wasn't the two maidens mentioned. His pack was now twice as large, and about three times as heavy. "Uhu~h…"

' _It'll be good for him.'_ Sendai ignored his whines of displeasure.

In the flighty, windy evening, the four marched down the path away from the shrine and to the village, standing six members strong as they progressed.

The piercing breeze through the trees flowed through Sendai's open clothing, making her body tense. ' _Getting a little chilly. Still feels alright… especially compared to yesterday. Water's something else.'_

"We'll get Aunn something while we're there…" Seinarubeki saw this fairly casually, apparently. "Tsukiko-chan. Do you know of any pet stores…?"

"...Nothing for a _person-sized_ pet." Sendai returned the question as she walked.

' _Thought she'd be stiff about this like granny there, but it also makes sense that she just doesn't care. Pretty sure anything that needs to be done there, granny'll do it. We're just there to make sure she doesn't go overboard.'_

"...That's funny." Seinarubeki lagged back a little, and smiled at her. "Especially since we have one with us right now."

Sendai didn't follow. "...Okay?"

Reading her daughter's lack on the take, her smile became more smug. "I mean _him."_ She offhandedly gestured to Rinnosuke.

"...Yeah." Grinning at him, Sendai nodded vaguely. "At that point, you oughta buy him a kennel."

"...I may do that just yet." Amused, the elder miko gazed ahead again…

' _Not very kind to him.'_ Slowly, the miko fell back towards Rinnosuke, to meet his unenthused expression. ' _Guess it's just gonna take awhile. If Aunn's somehow an exception, it'll probably just take time. Not sure about grandma.'_

"What _is_ her problem…?" He wasn't in a very apt mood to receive degrading humor…

"You know what." Speaking lower, Sendai sated his ire. "I think she'll come around."

He snorted. "...Right."

' _I know people have a great track record for that sort of thing, but… she's my mother. I feel like I can get her to turn around. Again, grandma's just totally out there. Too much culture, too much personal drive. Probably seen more than me, too...'_

"So…" Reimu spoke up, moving ahead towards the person Sendai was just thinking about. "About this whole… 'capturing the village' thing-"

"We're under _divine direction."_ Kiyoko whipped her gaze to the smaller miko, looming over her as they progressed. "Our orders are _very clear._ I can reiterate information to you if you're still too young to fully understand, but I cannot, and _will not_ argue with you. Considering _your_ record for truth to our faith…"

"Don't kill people." Reimu laid down the first ground rule resolutely.

"Did what was spoken not reach your _ears?"_ Slowing down, the taller miko got into Reimu's face. "The words gifted to us clarified everything. I know where we stand now."

...At Reimu's disapproving gaze, the miko turned away from her again. "If you truly doubt _my_ take this much, why not ask your _mother._ "

...Slowly falling back again, Reimu looked very discontent.

' _This is gonna end well.'_ Sendai could only hope.

It wasn't too long until they reached the village's gates.

The one and one half stories tall gate now had men once again positioned before it. Armed now with longer blades, some with what looked like guns, this eastern face of the village stood fortified.

Archers lined the wall, and the men present had white and black suits. Around them were an exterior layer of shielded guards, these shields now akin to thick walls of faded green steel, the outside bearing imposing brighter green and gold sigils that even expanded off of the base metal.

' _...This is more than I expected.'_ Sendai's brows were raised as she took in the entire fortification. ' _This is fifty men- in guards. Even more with these suited idiots…'_

 _Fwi- fwish, fwish fwish…_

As the Hakurei party neared, some implements lit alive with various tints of magical energy. Shields glowed, and a few men- and the occasional suited woman- lit alive with protective energy around their forms.

" _Youkai maidens!"_ A voice was heard over the crowd. "We know of your plan!"

 _Cli- clank, click._ Wading from the front guards, sergeant Takei Haru marched into the front. His nose had a large bandage over it, and his eyes were hard.

Following behind him, the robed guard captain stood tall, looking tired and depleted, but resolute.

...The girls waited while Kiyoko stepped forward.

Haru marched up to her, his sword ready and already glowing. Almost hyperventilating, he lowered himself into a ready stance, before yelling. " _Long live_ , the _Human Villa~ge!"_

He began to sprint-

 _ **SHI~NG**_

...A wide, flashing glint of bluish white passed almost everyone's vision. Haru stopped, his new, mirror-esque shield ready-

 _FROOA~M!_

The ground beneath the gate itself exploded, a huge, column-esque shockwave of dust roaring into the air-

 _KRA- KRAANG…. KRA~CK!_ Men, shields and steel rained down from the wall, as the archers and priests began to slide off. The gate had been cleaved in two, folding inwards as the architecture crumbled, and the ground became too uneven for anyone up there-

Turning back to the miko, Haru rose his blade, determined to end this himself-

 _Cra- crack…_ The ground beneath Kiyoko itself began to crumble, as she'd gained a new, shimmering, polygonal arm in her empty socket. It was simply two squares fed into one another, engorged and bloated with expanding holy energy.

Carnal emotions set in, and Haru did the very best he could. " _Behold!_ The- the _skill of legends!"_

 _Bwo~mp. Bwo~mp. Bwo~mp._ Her reflective, growing monstrosity of a holy limb began to pulse. Unearthly, echoing shockwaves began to emanate from within, and Sendai could feel it where she stood. ' _Uhm…'_

While she focused, Haru attacked-

 _Cli~ng!_ His blade met her katana as he drew it down. Sliding it back, with almost inhuman force, he tried to cleave it back up in a jabbing motion-

 _Clang!_ Kiyoko's blade easily diverted it away with a seemingly awkward motion.

"Hrr~agh!" Roaring, the valorous youth gave everything he had, bringing his sword back-

 _Click- click- pap- click- pap!_ He jabbed straight into her armor, meeting the broad steel pieces, achieving little but creating sparks and noise.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash!_ Protective energies ran up his form, as the villagers on the ground came to the miko.

 _CLA- CLA- CLANG!_ Arrows shot with piercing velocity cracked and exploded against her armor, swaths of flame and spark running across her form. Whatever was targeted at the growing holy bomb she was concocting was vaporized on entry.

" _Temper!"_ The village's priests all thrust their implements into the air-

 _FWOOSH!_ A collection of sword-shaped emblems obscured Haru's form. When they faded, he was left glowing almost neon red, his blade great and curved.

" _Hehaha~h!"_ Body shaking with insurmountable- by comparison to his old standard- power, he held his blade overhead, as it glowed of pure magic, becoming pink, then white. " _Now!"_

The blade came down like a violent energy storm, crackling and violent-

 _SHI~KRING!_

...Having shifted herself to the side, Kiyoko's armored shoulder piece took the ground-shaking blow. Holy energy had flashed off of her form for a brief moment, and she barely so much as cringed back from the impact.

...Haru blinked, stepping back-

Kiyoko thrust her holy nuke outward-

 _ **FWOOAA~SH!**_ _KROO~M_...

Blinding white filled Sendai's vision. The white energy had spilled out and encapsulated everything in the area, seemingly. Yet, she hadn't felt anything herself. ' _What…'_

The tremors from the attack stopped a few seconds later.

...Once everything became dark again, Sendai saw the results.

Not one individual was left standing in the wake of the light.

"Nnh…"

"Anhu- anh, haa~h…!"

" _Help! Help!"_

"I- I…"

No one was visibly dead, fortunately. The gatefront was still impacted by the holy energy; bodies lying luminescent on the ground as they shook and writhed, and the entire atmosphere was tints brighter than it used to be.

The human village gate, which had previously been cleaved in half, had now been launched a little. Pieces splayed out across the beginning of the dirt road ahead, uneven metal bars stabbing into the ground randomly and fractured wood sunk into the earth in big, dry pieces. Men were scattered just about everywhere.

"Da-... damn it…"

Haru rose from a kneeling position, body almost entirely obscured by gold protective wards, blue and red magical barriers and whirling miscellaneous magic. "We- we can't… we can't die here. This isn't how it's… _supposed_ to happen!"

 _Fwi~sh!_ His blade lit up a dying golden, and his eyes flared with pure, technicolor light from all of the magic infused into his being. " _I am the village's blade!_ Your dark _magic_ will never-"

 _Wham._ Dropping her katana, Kiyoko simply stepped up as he yelled and swung her fist up into his face.

Blood exploding from his nose again, his mouth hung open as he fell backwards.

 _Thud._ He landed gracelessly on his side. "Uu- unh…"

…

Kiyoko rounded his body-

 _Thunk!_ -and gut-punted him while he was down. " _Aungh…!"_

' _Well.'_ Sendai nodded plainly at this display… ' _Maybe they won't fuck with us now.'_

Scratching at her hair, Reimu gazed at the display of power vainly. "This is going to _suck."_

"All that hard work…" Kasen smiled emptily at the complete devastation of the guard.

...Facing the rest of the party, Marcus grinned. "That sergeant boy must think he's got tha' _worst_ luck!"

"He _does_ , though." Reimu countered him with a grin, before floating into the air for no immediate reason. "He looked like a newbie too. I bet he's gonna quit after today…"

' _He should. It'd be nice if the higher ranks were… actually experienced soldiers. Bet he's a politician's son or something.'_

Stepping forward, Kiyoko neared the collapsed structure that used to be the village gate. Its structure had been compromised by the initial slash that hit it, not only bisecting it, but also tilting both segments inwards, ripping them from the other walling further along each side. The final holy blast had then seemingly eroded the inner segments, and the rusty bars of the gate itself were no match for this combination of magic and force, leaving a body-strewn path straight inside.

As such, the armored maiden was able to proceed casually through the almost clean path inside. Sendai and the others followed, glossing over the tilted and faded gate-wall segments in quiet acknowledgement of the scale…

' _This is gonna… take some work.'_ Gazing into the village ahead, Sendai could already feel the next few days ahead of her. ' _At least it's the village. Actually…'_

"How many more strong people like you are in here?" Turning to Kasen as they took in the evening road- complete with craters from the previous day's dragon event ala Kasen herself- the miko surveyed her…

...She stopped gazing into the street lamps, and furrowed her brows at the miko. "Well, I think that… sort of _varies._ I'm not _that_ strong, am I? _"_

' _Great answer.'_ Sendai didn't feel that had helped at all. ' _Sort of implies that there's at least some people level with her, however. Really not sure what to make of that, especially here. I might know how out of place they are when I see 'em.'_

"Once we reach the square…" Facing the girls and guys, Seinarubeki sounded off some instructions to them. "We're going to secure a base of operations. It's an urban environment- which is rather strange for a large scale operation- but we'll do just fine. It's more so that we can sleep and rest somewhere."

"I'm not stealing someone's house." Reimu prefaced.

...Slouching at her, Seinarubeki allowed herself to wander closer as they continued to the square. "We needn't _someone's_ home, just _a structure._ If we do not stick together at rest, we're liable to be singled out. This is enemy territory now."

Despite these words, Sendai was more focused on the shining orange lights of the lamps again. ' _To think this place was getting bombed by a dragon literally last night.'_

Pivoting around, Seinarubeki regarded them hastily, jogging towards her own mother ahead. "Ah- I'll inform you more later. You're both smart enough to learn from observation and inference too, I hope…!" With that, she moved to join her as they neared the square.

...Marcus added onto this sentiment once she was out of earshot. "You guys know how ta _sleep?_ She hasn't gotten ta that part yet!"

The sun had now completely set, and the night had truly begun.

' _...Well. At least this is something to do. Guess we can get our training done on village blockheads. Not too different from wooden training dummies.'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush: Caster - Tengu charging technique meant for casters. While this doesn't innately boost agility, it provides the user with wind blades that increase defense against projectiles and certain physical attacks.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful anymore.

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Wind Power - Constantly enveloped by the wind, Sendai moves far faster and jumps higher than normal. Dark resistance is reduced to twenty five percent, and equal wind resistance is granted when this style is activated.

Airy Pockets - All sub-items are slightly modified by the wind element to perform differently. Most gain different physical properties, as well as exchange power for accuracy. No substantial difference on item crashes, except from adding the wind element to them.

x _Oni Style:_

Holy Power - Engulfed in a shell of holy energy, Sendai becomes immune to pain. She still takes damage like this, and she _will_ feel it later. Incredibly reduces accuracy and evasion, but increases attack power dramatically.

God's Pockets - All sub-items are changed by the holy element to be more powerful, but also more situational. Replaces item crashes and subweapons.

Judgment - Rebound Stone _ITEM CRASH_. Expert holy magic that can be traced back to various prefabricated and god-created variants. This version may weaken and syphons the target. Basically Evil Sealing Circle, but with more remote usage, and less effective radius.

Elixir of Life - Holy Molotov _ITEM CRASH._ Grants auto-revive status to self or one ally briefly. Auto-revive will resurrect the fallen with a fraction of their life. Does not cure status-ailments or unconsciousness.

Diamond Flail - Sendai flings her arms forward on impulse, creating a small holy maelstrom between her and her target. Holy magic which may weaken foes.

Thrashing - Marching up to a target, Sendai jabs into them four times, before slamming down her arms on them. Based on a similar technique from an enraged Suika…

Combo Punch - Combining all the elements into her fist, Sendai unleashes a powerful blow into a foe. May weaken and curse foes. May stagger foes. Breaks the miko's hand, reducing her attack power for a little while. Requires a short charging period...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(2x) Potion - Low tier health restoration items. Quickly but steadily restores health of an ally on use.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(3x) Super Sharp Human Village Cheese Wedge - Wild and nutty cheese with ultra flavor. With the potency, it heals some mana upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Cheese Wheel - Heals all party members, and restores some mana.

(5x) Wheat - Whole grain and healthy. Just, not as it is right now. Can be used to bake cakes, make bread, and a whole lot of other stuff.

(2x) Holy Candle - Enchanted wax from parts unknown. Can be expended to cast Holy Fire. Used in many rituals, mostly religious and Hakurei in origin.

(3x) Hakurei Relic - Generic holy relic with the common Hakurei symbols scrawled on it. Expendable to cast Talisman Seal. Works best when used by Hakurei.

Exactly One Cupcake - It got smashed by everything else…

(2x) Stacks of Extra Talismans - Hakurei talismans. They stick to youkai and weaken them. Best when used by Hakurei shrine maidens.

Sack of Potatoes - It's really heavy…

A Brick - Useless brick. Made of solid stone. Non-elemental weapon. May stagger targets.

(no slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Grass Grease - Magic which wets the target with magically charged wood paste and chlorophyll, leaving them vulnerable to increased and stronger burning.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non-Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

=o=

 _Kasen Ibaraki_ , the One-Armed, Horned Hermit

STATUS:

Immune to earth and wind magic.

Resistant to holy, dark, water, thunder, and bomb magic.

Weak to ice and poison.

Immune to tiredness, syphoning, dispel and instant death.

WEAPON:

Unarmed.

INVENTORY:

Ibaraki Box of One Hundred Medicines - Endless supply. Heals the target to full. Cures all debuffs and status effects. If the drinker's already healthy, their personality becomes oni-like and they gain superhuman strength. Actual healing from the box turns the user into an oni, depending on how much it's allowed to restore the body.

Shackle of Devas - Extremely durable metal shackle. Grants immunity to tiredness. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

SKILLS:

-o- _Summons_

Koutei - Summons her juvenile pet green dragon, Koutei. Targets all foes with powerful mixed water and wind spells. May wet targets. May stagger targets. Buffs the evade of the entire party by fifty percent.

Manzairaku - Summons her pet seal Manzairaku to erupt underneath a foe. Water attack which launches targets and wets them. Also unleashes a beach ball upon the world.

Houso - Summons her pet tiger Houso to maul a target. Powerful non-elemental attack which cuts.

Kanda - Summons her eagle, Kanda, to gain a height advantage. Allows her to unleash aerial attacks with her legs. Otherwise, the eagle uses wind magic and debuffs accuracy. Dashes towards foes to hit them for accurate non-elemental physical damage.

Raijuu - Summons her pet Mukou, to charge one of her melee strikes with electric magic. Moderate thunder magic which debuffs both accuracy and evade, and tires out opponents.

-o- _Magic_

Cure - Heals self or an ally for some health. Heals most humans fully.

Curaga - Heals self or an ally for all health. Costly.

Renew - More natural healing than the Cure series, but is slower and less powerful.

Bless - Heals self or an ally for a lot of health. Blesses the target. This blessing prevents all bad status effects from being incurred, including death and dispel (but not straight up stat debuffs incurred on the body or mind). Doesn't remove anything currently active.

Miracle Heal - Heals everybody for immense health, over a large radius. Costs a lot of mana to use.

Spectrum - Expert multi-elemental magic. Kasen creates a rainbow-colored vortex in an enemy's form, damaging them directly with raw mana. Element and effects depend on current weapon. Vortex persists harmlessly to be used as a beacon for her eagle, but will be overwritten if Spectrum is used again.

Light Orbs - Holy orbs that Kasen can create and control. May weaken foes.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Gaia Bloom - Advanced earth magic. Creates multiple earth sigils in an opponent's form and initializes them, increasing earth's pull on them. Tires the target out.

-o- Other

Rapture - Air-based eruption which targets a wide area with a devastating upward draft. Legendary multi-purpose attack. Costly. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Monkey's Paw - Non-spell version of the skill. Sending out a dark hand, Kasen

Monkey's Paw! Crush My Enemy! - Spell card. Kasen crushes an opponent with an arm made of spiritual energy. Dark attack. Depletes eighty percent of Kasen's mana.

Hawk Sign "Hawk Beacon" - Spell card. Throwing her arms out, Kasen creates a massive rainbow multi-vortex, pounding the enemy with a massive storm of magic. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Dragon Sign "Dragon's Growl" - Spell card. Shifting her bandages, Kasen makes a cannon from them and blasts the enemy with powerful holy magic. May weaken foes.

Warp Sign "Prosthetic Arm Proteus" - Spell card. Powerful bind which crushes the opponent, before slamming them away.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

the good chapter

 _AND SO IT BEGINS_

the hakurei god is really a commanding presence isn't it

yeah not a lot of people like to step or bridge that fold but _i decided to yo_

it also singlehandedly changed the entire pace and direction of the story and maybe the fightmanias will be more accurate to what's going on and less people hating sendai for no reason / silly reasons or just feeling like a brawl

i can't say a lot on how the setting itself will change to react to this but _you'll see_

 _you're gonna see everything yo_

no need to spooge my load here…!

but anyway yeah this was nice

sendai got like two seconds to relax for realsies, ate some wild and nutty cheese, and couldn't really focus on her training but at least got a moment to think


	31. 7-1 - Never Had a Friend like Me

It was the beginning of night in the Human Village. The stars had just begun to reveal themselves over the dim settlement, as the blue dusk shifted to a dark horizon.

Kiyoko stood rigid in the center of the village, her blade ready and entire body poised to stand tall.

' _Here we are.'_ Turning her gaze away from the evening stars, Sendai panned it around the curiously unlit village square and roads. ' _Looks like they were expecting us. Seems a little backwards to dim the main lights, when youkai are supposed to be the ones with a darkness advantage.'_

...Turning back to the other women, Kiyoko barked out to them. "How many of them are there!?"

' _I'd say one or two hundred on a bad day. More like three hundred when things get uppity. There's only about… one to two thousand people in the village for the size, I'm pretty sure. Usually they just back down if something can blow up a full-power regiment no problem. That's where I would step in...'_

... _Swoo- swoo- swoosh!_ Twirling around her katana-

 _Shink!_ Kiyoko thrust it into the soil of the town square beside her, before spreading out her one arm and bellowing. "My name is _Kiyoko Hakurei!_ Engrave my body with your power!"

...Her voice echoed into the nighttime air, reverberating slightly.

"I _think_ they got the message…" Positioned next to her mother, Reimu winced as she commented on the anger...

Kasen huffed at this mannerism. "That last explosion probably already dampened their spirits."

"We can't be certain." Kiyoko declared. "We'll wait."

'... _That's great.'_ Accepting this, Sendai faced the devastation left behind them, tilting her head at the ruin incurred from two attacks. ' _...I really don't think-'_

 _SHI~NG!_

...Kiyoko had her blade up, and it was now held ready. Two shredded arrow halves harmlessly fluttered to the ground beside herself.

It took Sendai a moment to process what happened. '... _Oh- fuck-_ '

"Archers, south!" Yelling, Kiyoko pointed her blade down the path she indicated-

 _Woosh!_ Seinarubeki leapt from the path and away from her descendants, flying over nearby rooftops to gain an advantage over whoever shot at them.

' _There's no one behind us.'_ From a glance, Sendai knew that much. ' _...So they should just be coming everywhere but the east, if there are more of them.'_

" _Youkai!"_ They heard the bellow of a soldier come from their right, along the north road-

"File in!"

"Line the archers! No engagement until!"

Bringing her fists up, Sendai hardened her gaze. ' _Are we being surrounded-'_

 _Woosh._ Kiyoko sent her katana alone to the right, into the darkness-

" _Aaa~h!_ Loo- look-"

"Huaa~gh!"

"Look- _Look out-_ nngh…!"

 _Cla- clank- bam!_ Smashing noises came from up the road, and men yelled as the magic sword swept them off their feet with swings and passes.

' _...I guess we're not anymore.'_ She blinked at how fast this had progressed…

...White slowly poured from Kiyoko's empty arm socket-

 _Fwaa~sh…_ The village's square was illuminated. The light rolled out like fog, slowly leaking across everything as it went from energy to untraceable illumination.

Now visible ahead, there was only a thin line of a few pike-wielding men, accompanied by five archers-

 _Clink- CLACK- Clink!_ Arrows struck Kiyoko's armor, snapping or bouncing off on impact…

' _This seems pretty futile.'_ Sendai didn't feel the need to do more than check behind her shoulder. ' _They're all really weak, but they should be just scouts. At least, that's how it works_ outside _the walls. I don't remember anything meaningful happening defense-wise. Youkai either got thrashed by me, were really weak, or just left.'_

At the illumination, the remaining men began to file back in fearful awe of the light. "It's no use…! We can't hold 'em!"

"Let's- let's watch the alleys. If- let's just go!"

...While they ran off, Sendai began to yawn-

 _POW!_ By the sound of a gunshot, she flinched out of her yawn. ' _Really…!'_

 _TINK!_ ...Kiyoko paused as her armor rang. Sparks danced from the solid metal, a bullet having struck her flank and been deflected.

As all of the smaller guards spectated, idled or fled, a small company of different-looking people walked up…

Marching up from the shade of the dismal village roads, Sendai could instantly tell what they were. ' _Random no-name youkai hunters.'_

"Hoo~h, boy…" A grin creeping up his features, Marcus dug his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. "This oughta be good…!"

One blonde-haired man of tall stature strutted forward with a grin, twirling two flintlocks in each hand. "...What do we have _here?"_

A small, lighter-blond mage boy smirked with him. "A buncha smug _cunts_ is whah it looks like."

Marching with a glare to rival Kiyoko's, a purple-haired samurai unsheathed her blade.

...Curious of these new strangers, Sendai moved up towards Kiyoko's position, cracking her knuckles. ' _I wonder how powerful youkai hunters are, now. These guys don't look very impressive so far…'_

Seinarubeki was instantly by their side, appearing out of nowhere. "I'm finished with the archers..."

With the maidens mostly in place, the opposition acted. "... _Fred."_ The purpled-haired samurai's head tilted towards the short mage boy. "Cast from the stalls, focus whoever focuses you."

Smiling widely, the taller blonde man points his guns at the three Hakurei mikos. "I'm assuming I just gotta do what I do best? ...We've got a _strategy,_ after all."

"We aim for the weakest first." The samurai turned her gaze to the left of the Hakurei party… "Albus, now!"

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Meeting her gaze and reacting to the words, Reimu splayed a handful of ofuda out-

 _POW- TING!_

...Instantly, a bullet was deflected off of the barrier she'd summoned, the shot meant for her.

' _Fuck it.'_ Acting on impulse, channeling darkness to her legs, Sendai began to power-sprint towards them, kicking up dirt-

"Oh, shit…!" The mage boy instantly booked it for the stalls, getting out of there.

"Go…!"Leaping, the samurai moved to avert Sendai entirely, sprinting with mediocre speed along with Fred.

Albus twirled his flintlocks around, grinning wordlessly into the miko's determined expression as she dashed up to him-

" _You can't hit me."_

His words seemed to come from all around her, and then he was gone. ' _What…?'_

 _POW!_

She whipped her head to the gunshot noise-

Reimu had ducked pre-emptively, the smoking barrel of a flintlock where her head would be if she was standing normally-

 _Whack!_ She jabbed her gohei up and into the man's face. "Gauh…!"

He vanished soundlessly. Reimu scowled. " _These_ clowns again. Where do they get off with this stuff…"

Appearing behind Seinarubeki, he spun his flintlock up to the back of her head-

 _Whack!_ Then, she was behind him, and struck the back of _his_ head with the butt of her great gohei.

" _Fuck…!"_ His face falling, Sendai saw a devastated expression for one moment-

-before he reappeared around his comrades again. "You need to _cast something,_ Fred! I can't do anything if they're _expecting_ me!"

"He- hey look, picking a target's bloody _hard!"_ Bringing up his staff, the little mage furrowed his brows at the Hakurei company…

The purple-haired samurai had strutted into the middle of the west path, to the left of Kiyoko and Seinarubeki, frowning as she brought her weapon down into a ready stance…

" _Zantetsuken!"_ Acting without her team, the purple-haired, red-white samurai slid forward visually instantaneously-

 _CLACK- clank…_

Her slice had closed the distance between herself and the Hakurei opposition.

Kiyoko made her first move since the aggression began, holding onto the broad of her foe's blade with a gauntlet-clad hand.

The woman's brown eyes were wide, paused before her with her blade trapped. "... _Albus!"_

Appearing from nothing, he was behind his friend, a gun pointed to Kiyoko's face from over the woman's shoulder. " _Dodge this!"_

 _POW- TING!_ ...He'd fired directly at her exposed jaw. She'd tilted her head forward, and the bullet struck the rim of the miko's visor, making her flinch only a little.

 _WHAM!_ Gliding across the clearing and from outside their vision, Seinarubeki took him away with a thrust to the side of his head. "Gh- nnh…" The blow left him whimpering as he vanished again-

 _Thud._ He collapsed on the dirt down the road, sliding to a stop…

 _Cla- clang!_ Kiyoko tossed the samurai's blade to the side. When the samurai tried to part away from her, she thrust her only arm up to grab the smaller girl's arm-

 _Shink!_

The blade of the village samurai slid up along Kiyoko's forearm, between her's and the woman's, and met the very bottom of the plain warrior's chin.

"Uu- uuh…" The woman was left standing on one leg, the katana's force pushing her. She stood with both arms out and on one unsteady leg, tilted like a puppet.

With automatic movements, Kiyoko pulled her arm back before the blade, thrust it up to the woman's exposed collar around the other side of the katana, and latched on. Tugging her over the katana's tip-

 _Woosh._ Kiyoko exerted enough force to send the samurai flying from the sword, flipping forward over it-

 _Crack!_ She landed directly on her back, bouncing dreadfully as her body recoiled to her spine's precise impact with the dirt. "A- aa… nh…"

"How _sad."_ Kiyoko's remark was only contempt.

Albus was before her again, aiming both flintlocks at her. " _Max Shot!"_

 _Fwoa~m!_ From both barrels, a single, whirling ball of sickly brown, black smog expanded, built by both weapons. It rolled forward like a single moving entity to meet her-

 _WHAM._ She sent him flying with a broad swipe of the villager samurai's katana, holding onto the blade to make her swing. He flew away sideways, doing innumerable flips, his flintlocks flailing away into the night air. ' _Holy shit.'_

...Marching from the darkness that rolled into her, she was clad in flickering, unhealthy looking fragments of flickering shade. Unfazed, she flicked her gaze to Fred.

By now, all of the smaller guardsmen had fled entirely. Fred himself didn't look like he wanted a part of anything. "...Mei- Meira… oh, shit…"

...Once he'd backed into a wall, he lashed out. " _Thunda!"_

 _Fwash- thwash, thoom- thwash._ A glorious spread of arcing thunderbolts came down from above, and echoed hollowly off of the steel armor of Kiyoko's.

She held the villager's katana up by the blade, before chucking it his direction like a throwing knife-

"O- oh, bloody-" He moved to block-

 _WHACK!_ The hilt met his face-

BAM. The back of his head met the wall behind himself.

...Thud. The mage named Fred collapsed onto his side, blood pouring from his nose.

' _...Looks like it's all done.'_

No one more dared to match the Hakurei in the square.

" _Come!"_ Kiyoko bellowed for more. " _Take it back!"_

' _Where'd that teleporting asshole go? I'm not gonna calm down myself until I know he's out of it.'_

…Breeze passed through the clothes of the women on the scene. '... _I guess we won't know for sure until he does something dumb.'_

"We're going to have the monument up before the sun." Stepping over to the mixed women and men, Kiyoko held her arm out. In it, one of the shining, holy talismans from their god glowed ominously in the night's light, dimming the few village lights nearby. "Who will build it with me!?"

…

"Shoulda brought Suika." Reimu shook her head. "I don't do rocks and stuff."

' _I honestly don't care about making a big rock.'_ Sendai refused to meet her elder's gaze.

...At the lack of volunteers- aside from her daughter Seinarubeki's- Kiyoko turned around. "Regardless. It shouldn't take very long. Daughter- locate the masons. We need only basic materials and rocks. All else will come."

"Yes, mother." Bowing her head once, Seinarubeki began to dart off, down a nearby main road…

...Then, Kiyoko turned to her granddaughters with a scowl. " _You all_ , as you will not be aiding construction directly, will be occupying the village for the rest of the evening. Find dissent and extinguish it."

"Isn't that what you just _did?"_ Reimu folded her arms at the bigger miko… "This isn't a hundred years ago. I'm _pretty sure_ what you did now was super overkill."

...Not dignifying her with a response, Kiyoko stepped into the middle of the square. " _Patrol the area_ , then. I will not argue with you. By God's concepts, you'll soon see."

' _What the hell's that even mean.'_ Shaking her head, Sendai began to turn away. ' _I might just take everyone to Keine's to sleep. Pretty sure whatever comes at grandma's just fucked.'_

...At Kiyoko's further silence, the party realized it was now their turn to do anything they wanted.

' _Alright, c'mon…'_ Stepping backwards, Sendai used her hand to beckon her party members away silently… "C'mon, come…"

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 7 - In Defense of the Village

STAGE 1 - Never Had a Friend like Me

"Alright…" Suspiciously, there were very few guards near the gate anymore. "So..." Sendai expectantly ran her gaze over her friends.

Reimu leaned back lazily… "I wanna go to be~d…"

...Rinnosuke already looked half out of it. "Mrrm."

Marcus was ironically energetic looking, but shrugged wordlessly anyway.

"I'm worried about a lot of things." Kasen didn't look very content with what just happened, having passively observed it all with a mix of disappointment and concern. "We should get off the road and into a house, or something. As in- right now."

' _...Why? Why's she panicked...'_ Sendai turned to her slowly-

" _Found them!"_ A girl's voice rang out from nearby. Turning her gaze, Sendai stared into the darkness-

 _Fwii~sh!_ From a nearby rooftop, a keg lit with a fizzling wick rolled off. ' _Woah- holy shit!'_

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Reimu flailed her arm out, and Kasen stood before the party, extending her body-

 _BOO~M!_ The lit keg exploded into a violent blast of amber flames, some licking past the barrier the maiden and the oni provided for the other three…

' _What asshole just tossed a keg at-'_

 _Clack!_ Sendai whirled her gaze to the left, where she heard the slap of sandals on dirt-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Arrows whizzed by her in a group of three, fired from one bow. ' _We're being attacked!'_

" _Hup!"_ A wild-haired, mature woman clad in ragged, defaced robes cartwheeled back into the night, behind a nearby building.

Sendai caught a glance of the bow she held. ' _That bitch-'_

 _THOOM!_ The ground shook... ' _What now…!?'_

In the middle of the path leading back to the square, a massive, blob-esque being had dropped from above, making the surrounding buildings shudder from the mere weight of the newly deposited being.

" _Oo~nh…"_ The bald, pudgy ball had a large fort of stone mounted atop its head, its looming, shade-cast presence strong in the night. It easily stood to two houses tall, and blocked the entire main road.

"Let's go!" Sprinting towards an alleyway, Sendai beckoned everyone to follow-

 _Thu- thu- thunk!_

"Fhh~...!" Sendai cringed as a three arrow combo-shot met her gut. " _Fuck…!"_

" _Bless!"_ Kasen called out and met her side within the same second-

 _Fwoa~sh._ As the healing energy ran up her body, the miko limped along. ' _Let's just break into a house and duck…!'_

" _Mom!"_ Sprinting up to her, Reimu's mouth was agape. "Wh- whah-"

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish._ More shots whizzed forth-

 _Thu- thu- thunk._ Arrows thudded plainly off of Kasen's body, as she moved to take another combo shot of arrows that was aimed for Reimu's littler form-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Almost falling past Kasen, Reimu aimed a hand down at the alley they were being shot from, firing ofuda down-

" _Aa- aah…!"_ A tall, bobby-haired woman in the same defaced monk robes Sendai saw now staggered about, coated with ofuda-

 _Clo~ng!_

...Sliding along from a deviating alley, a woman with pale blue hair whacked the youkai along the head with a brass ring. Looking up, her face lit up when she saw the party. "Aw, hey!"

 _Fwapfwapfwapfwapfwap._ Turning to the open road, Reimu plainly spread a machinegun stream of ofuda out to suppress any would-be flanking…

"Ichirin, what's even going on!?" Barking at the new woman, Reimu flicked her head to glare back at her. "Are _you_ behind this!?"

"Wha- what!?" Stunned for a moment, the nun cringed back, before pouting at her. "...I'm not behind _anything!_ _You're_ the one who's behind something!"

Sensing where this was going, Rinnosuke looked miserable...

"Really… look- I don't have _time_ for you!" Brandishing her gohei, Reimu glared back at her. "I'll seal you!"

" _I_ don't have time for _you_ either!" Floating into the air, Ichirin held her arms out… " _Divine Fist!_ Hell Thrust from Above the Clouds!"

Reimu vanished.

From behind Ichirin, slowly expanding pink smog began to emanate… and it grew. It grew until it was two houses tall. Then, it kept growing…

' _Holy… shit.'_ Sendai stared up at the slowly enlarging cloud monster… ' _Are you fucking kidding me.'_

"A- aah!" Bringing up her rings, Ichirin guarded herself-

 _Cla- clack!_ A gohei came against the rings as she defended. When Reimu reeled her arm back, she moved to deflect the gohei swings with parries of her own-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Ofuda stuck to her, then Reimu vanished. Ichirin seemed to be trying to ignore the holy magic...

' _I can't just stand around being useless!'_ Eager to help her daughter, Sendai slipped out her new Tengu-based wind talisman… ' _Let's go…!'_

 _Fwish…!_ Wind began to whirl around her form once she'd slapped it on, and then she began to run.

"Tsukiko- wait!" Kasen ran after her as the miko still ran with arrows in her abdomen…

' _Fu- fuck- ow…'_ Ignoring the blistering, throbbing pain from the arrows- knowing full well their effect on her body, she moved.

The cloud behind Ichirin had bloomed over the entire alley system, standing now at five buildings tall, with the face of a weathered, fierce beast of a man.

" _Un- Unzan!"_ Ichirin called out to her mighty familiar. " _Strike down our fo~es!"_

The eyes of the titan flashed, and a great, luminescent pink fist poised itself over the alleys. ' _Shi- shit, shit, shit…! I- I've got to-_ '

"Nngh…!" Leaping into the air with the aid of her style talisman, she cleared a rooftop…

 _Thu- thud._ Upon landing on it, she rolled to stabilize herself atop it- awkwardly, avoiding her arrows if she could. "Ow- nnh…"

Slowly, Unzan began to drop its mighty fist...

 _FWAA~M…_

Beside her, the fist came down onto the alleys. The attack itself seemed to contort to avoid damaging any buildings that it would have clipped, but small things like trash cans were vaguely compressed as a result. A massive waft of air fanned out from the slow, loud impact, which made sound fitting of weather or nature rather than violence; like the blowing of wind, or the rush of the tides.

Speaking of tides, a splash of violent, glaring pink danmaku roared from the ground below, flooding the alleys and seeming to eclipse the rooftops. ' _Just our luck. Ran into one of these kinds of people...'_

Cla- clack- _clo~ng!_ Reimu and Ichirin were engaged in trading blows above-

 _Wham!_ Teleporting in from above, Reimu's sandal met the her forehead. " _Eanh!?_ "

Eyes flaring again, the fist of Unzan grew to manor-sized proportions again, ready to drop down like a meteor…

" _Ca~w!"_

Sendai saw Kasen pass by her, who was holding onto Rinnosuke and Marcus with her arms, while a huge eagle held onto her…

 _Clack!_ "Hu- hup…!" Paying them little mind as they evacuated the next striking area, Sendai leapt up to try and engage Ichirin. ' _Fucking arrows. I hate arrows. I hate them!'_

Thunk! Reimu jabbed her gohei into Ichirin's forehead, focusing on that area in particular. "O- ow, ow…! Ugh- stop that! _Unzan!"_

 _WOO~SH…_ Just nearby of their encounter, the huge meteor of a fist came down-

 _FWAA~M…_ With the rush of air, more huge, luminescent danmaku orbs exploded from the ground below, splashing up-

 _ZAP- FWAM!_ " _Aa~nh…!"_ Sendai let herself get slammed by one as she descended, the blow tossing her up into the air. This let her near her target-

 _Whack!_ Passing Ichirin, she hit her in the side of the head with her leg. "Ha- hah…!"

 _Clack!_ Following up, Reimu teleported in from behind the girl herself, the gohei striking Ichirin in the back of the head.

" _Nch-_ nn- no…!" Now clutching her head, Ichirin floated down…

 _Woosh…!_ Kicking up, her entire body seemingly on fire from the pain, Sendai whirled up to the girl's form. " _He~y…!"_

Ichirin widened her eyes, and flailed a ring out-

 _Clink!_ It nicked Sendai's jaw, and she shut her eyes. ' _F- fuck…!'_

 _Bam!_ Her windy fist met Ichirin's jaw-

 _Pap- pap- pap- pap- pap!_ With all the strength she could muster through the building, blooming pain of the internal evisceration going on, and the danmaku, she threw countless, consecutive lesser punches. " _Haa~h…!"_

 _Pap- pap- pap- pap- pap!_ Ichirin's body flailed about, the many jabs to her stomach, chest and face wearing through her thin defenses and leaving her at the mercy of the strikes-

 _WHAM!_ One final blow sent out a shockwave of pure air, Ichirin flipping away. ' _Go to hell!'_

...With that, Sendai began falling. ' _N- no-'_

Reimu caught her clumsily, dipping down as she tried to accommodate her weight. " _Mom!_ Are you alright!?

' _Hell no…'_

" _Bless!"_ Kasen floated up, now that Unzan was no longer air-striking the world below-

 _Di~ng!_ _Fwoa~sh..._ The floral pattern ran across Sendai's body, before initializing as blooming, healing energy. ' _Oo- ooh…'_

" _Annihilation!"_

Wincing and weathered, Ichirin whirled back up to them, limbs spread. " _Consecutive Hooks_ throughout Heaven and Earth!"

 _Fwoo~sh._ Spreading out, Unzan began to encompass the entire airspace where the three were…

"Le- lemme…" Sendai tried to move from Reimu's arms-

" _Mom!_ Stop!" Her daughter refused. "Those arrows-...!"

...Looking down, the miko noticed the bloody arrows in her abdomen, the flesh around them having both filled in weirdly and were immediately ripped open by her movements. ' _Fucking…'_ Streams of red ran down her clothes and side, the ugly gashes fresh.

"Here!" Kasen whirled up-

 _Pahp!_ -and stole Sendai in one fast motion. "I'll treat her! You-"

 _WOOSH._ Kasen ducked beneath a huge, pink fist.

 _WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH-_

Mirroring Sendai's attack from before, Unzan let out a comparatively slower flurry of huge, meteor-esque fists across the air, whipping currents about-

 _FWAM! BOOM! BAM- FWAM!_ The pink missiles exploded into fireworks of pink and red, as Kasen dipped beneath into the alleys…

 _Thunk._ She plopped Sendai bluntly on a nearby short dumpster, once they'd reached the bottom.

Frowning up at the explosions of magic, Sendai pressed her arms against the dumpster, adrenaline racing. ' _Damn it all. I need to fight. I can't just-'_

" _Tsukiko."_ Kasen spoke to her directly. "...Do you still want to fight?"

"Ye- yes…!" She replied without hesitation. "I can't just-"

"Brace yourself." Kasen slid her bandaged palm back…

While unsure, Sendai did so-

 _THINK._ Kasen jabbed her palm into the flesh where the arrows were, piercing the skin and ripping a huge gash open.

Sendai bared her teeth, shutting her eyes. "Nn- nnn…"

' _Just- wait it out- wait it out- wait it out- wait it out-'_

 _Shu- shunk!_ Clack, clack, clack. Plain steel arrows doused in blood bounced against the ground behind Kasen. " _Heal."_

 _Fwoa~sh._ Blunt white magic began to permeate into the shrine maiden's form, while she jittered in pain-

" _Renew."_ Kasen held her other arm over Sendai-

 _Fwoa~sh._ White, pink and green energy ebbed through her form, past her flesh. ' _Ye~s…'_ She felt herself relax, as if lying on a bed, despite the metal she rested on. "...O- ooh. Yeah…"

...So she took a moment to just relax, and stare up at the pretty pink lights.

…

"A- a healer…" She finally rasped out, "was a _good_ idea…"

Kasen snorted. "Don't thank me just yet. We're not out of it- not by-"

" _Nyaa~!"_ Some blue-haired cat girl leapt from a nearby shadow, claws poised and mouth marred with blood-

 _WHAM._ Kasen's palm met her face, and the cat girl stood stock stiff... before stumbling to the side-

 _Thud._ -and collapsing.

' _It's war out here…!'_ Finally sitting up-

 _POW!_

Kasen flinched at the bullet that patted her knee. "What? Ah-"

Sendai blinked as she sprang off the dumpster, onto her legs.

The gunman villager from before was now before her, flintlock aimed at her face-

She ducked-

 _POW!_ His shot was extremely late, only grazing her hair-

 _WHAM!_ Rising into an uppercut, Sendai sent him stumbling back with her blow. "Fuck _you!"_

The fist to his jaw sent him stepping back with a raw expression-

 _POW!_ Sendai ducked the next, identically poised shot. Standing, she ran at him-

 _POW!_ Crouching down, he immediately followed up with another shot-

 _THUNK!_ " _Oohn!"_ The bullet's force made Sendai wince an eye shut. Her body cringed back at the blow, and she held her gut. ' _Aa- aa-'_

" _Spectrum!"_ In the next moment, Kasen was upon him-

 _Fwishishing- Boom!_ As the magic met him at the midsection, the her foot slid in and whacked him in the face.

 _Thud._ He crumpled from the force. "No- not… yet…" Slowly coming to a rest on his side, he'd dropped his weapons…

Sendai'd recovered from being shot in the stomach well enough. ' _Thi- this… wow.'_

"Bless!" Kasen had her arms on her new friend again-

 _Di~ng! Fwoa~sh…_ Healing magic ran through her body, and Sendai exhaled hollowly. ' _...Good as new. Can't believe I got anything done without healers before…'_

"I'll get that bullet out of you later." Face hard, Kasen patted her shoulder. "You're fine, right?"

"Yeah." Idly, the shrine maiden gave her arms a once-over, examining the green aura that'd been applied to her limbs. "What's this…? The green stuff."

Snorting again, Kasen explained. "Well- it's a blessing. Means you won't be lit on fire or cursed and so on. You should get moving."

' _Ah- shit, yeah!'_ Looking up, the miko saw the action-

"Haa~h!" Ichirin was tossing her rings around like miniature chakrams, trying to clip the miko with them, but Reimu was weaving through them.

 _Zap- zap, zap!_ As the shrine maiden neared, Ichirin's hands glowed with bright, blue, jittering energy-

Reimu curled up into a forward flip, and Ichirin thrust her arms forward ignorant of this maneuver.

 _WHACK!_ Now in a ball with her weapon poking out, Reimu's gohei slammed down on the girl's head-

" _Whua~!_ " Ichirin sailed down even lower, limbs splayed out. "Wha- what- why…"

 _Fwish._ Sendai removed the Tengu Style talisman, and the wind around her dispelled. Despite this, she crouched down-

 _Boom!_ -and damaged the soil below, as she leapt up after the low-flying Ichirin-

 _Pap!_ She caught her boots. ' _Gotcha! Now-'_

" _Angh!?_ " Sendai felt her entire body being pressured. As the world around her changed, she found herself face to face with the fierce, pink cloud being, held upside down, as she held Ichirin. ' _Holy shit-'_

 _Fwa~sh…!_

A flare flew up from below, lighting up the air space. ' _Woah! Kourin…?'_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap._ Ofuda piled onto Ichirin as she was held still…

"Ha- wawawa…!" Freaking out from the building holy sensation, Ichirin began to yell. " _Unza~n! Lemme go!"_

His hand released-

Sendai snapped up her captive's form, and tried to wrap her limbs around her. Quickly, she found mist pouring in from around herself. ' _I have to act now!'_

Thrusting her arms around Ichirin's pelvis-

 _Woosh._ Sendai pumped a leg down with dark energy, and allowed herself to fall away. Unzan's grasp was nebulous and gaseous, slowing their descent so they'd safely glided down towards a nearby rooftop…

And, as they neared-

Sendai flipped her entire torso back, bending backwards-

 _WHAM._ The miko suplexed the nun into the initial edge of a wood building.

Unzan froze.

...

' _Un- uncomfortable…'_ Sendai's body began to fail, releasing the position after a moment or two-

"A- aah…" She fell to the ground, away from the one-story rooftop-

 _Thud._ Her chest met the dirt. "Anh…"

'... _Everything about tonight sucks. Except for that. That was okay.'_

...As she got up, she looked around, but saw no one. ' _Guess everyone's busy. Good thing I'm okay enough, even if that landing hurt.'_

Looking up, she saw Unzan now at least six times smaller, snapping to carry an unable Ichirin…

"I- I'm… sorry, evehry~ body…" Ichirin was done, grinning through a messy, tired face for now. "I'm pulling out…"

' _Go fuck yourself.'_ Sendai doesn't want to get involved with anything tonight has to offer. ' _Coming up and attacking us. We should find where she lives.'_

...Walking into the back alleys again, the miko readied herself to leap onto the roofs-

"There you are…" Reimu floated down to join her. "Nice job on making her screw off. Was gonna take awhile for the seals to fully kick in. Nuns are really annoying…"

' _Did nuns always summon fucking genie gods? I feel like that's not an inherent trait of nunhood.'_

"Yeah." Sendai had to agree anyway. "How're the guys?"

...Reimu took a moment to process the question, before realizing. "O- oh, right. Uuh. Let's _check."_

' _Ah, shit._ '

==== Sendai Hakurei no MIko Mode: _Misc. Overworld_ ====

...Coming up to the alley segment where the two guys were, Sendai stepped over a myriad of youkai and human unconscious forms…

"He- hey…" Rinnosuke initially aimed his gun at her, before lowering it. "There you are."

Marcus took a swig from a mana potion he had. "Haa~h. Haha~! Don't even remember the last time _this_ much hell was raised…!"

"Be careful." Immediately, Rinnosuke began waving his arm down the alley. "Really weird yukkuri thing up ahead."

' _...What the hell's a yukkuri?'_

"...Okay." Reimu was indifferent. "Let's go blow it up. I feel like spending energy…"

"To- to the left-" Pointing ahead, he flinched and aimed his gun-

 _shlick- shlick shlick…_

From the crossway of dirt alleys between decrepit, wood box houses, a black ooze marred ball of pudge slinked forward, the pastry entrails of the creature being tracked behind it. On the top, instead of hair of any sort, canisters of open, glowing green ooze were visible. Large chunks of stone with inhuman faces were sunk into the flesh, along with stones with runic carvings.

The monotone yellow eyes peered out from the dark ooze as it rolled forward. ' _What the fuck is that.'_

"What…" Reimu's eyes were wide. "That's awful…"

" _brupbupbupup"_ Bubbly, carnal noises came from the flowing slime, as it smiled at them.

 _WOOSH._ It leapt in place, pulsing up into the air, before-

 _SPLHA- THOOM._ Upon impact with the ground, everyone stumbled except for Kasen and Sendai. Glittery red pastry particles floated into the air of the alley. ' _Ew. What the hell…'_

 _Woo~sh!_ Marcus thrust his hands out, a tornado swallowing the unhealthy red glitter before it could get too close-

" _Spectrum!"_ Kasen thrust a palm out-

 _Fwishishishi~ng!_ A rainbow-colored vortex erupted inside the oozy sludge yukkuri, and its eyes drooped pathetically…

"Here!" Reimu cast a series of three yin-yangs to the air, and they expanded, hurtling into the ooze-

 _SPLAT- SPLAT- SPLAT!_ Upon impact, they burned the goo, holy sizzling and parts white, parts black smoke billowing into the air…

As the alley-filling ooze shook, it eventually leaped again-

 _WOOSH._ This time, as it took to the air, the canisters atop it shook differently from before-

 _SPLHA- THOOM._ It struck the ground again-

 _Spla- splash…_ The green ooze atop it splashed out wildly, coating itself with toxic sludge.

 _Fwoa~sh…!_ This procedure actually healed it, causing the sickly, pasty sponge that comprised the cellular membrane of the yukkuri to regenerate.

"Nngh…" Expression dismal, Rinnosuke dug through a nearby dumpster's surface contents. "Come o~n…"

"Where'd this even come from!?" Reimu firmly shook her head at the toxic abomination. "I'd _really rather not_ use a spell card on a big dumb yukkuri…"

Kasen huffed. "We could just ignore it…"

"And let _this_ slide around and eat people? This is the most evil thing ever!" Reimu objected to the idea of abandoning it...

...From the nearby dumpster, Rinnosuke drew a bundle of red cylinders. "Why does no one discard anything _useful?_ "

' _I think you just answered your own question…'_

"I'd punch it, but I'm not willing to die again that soon." Sendai exemplified her inability to fight giant toxic goo monsters. ' _I'd need a strong hit, and no guarantees I won't be horribly poisoned and have to take forever being sick. I mean, Kasen would help big time… but I don't wanna get punished horribly just because of this thing. I could just toss molotovs into it-'_

"Actually, this'll do." Changing his mind about the cylinder bundle, Rinnosuke was curious to see if it works. "Marcus, I need a light. On the wick, or we'll all die."

Sendai doubletook at his bluntness. ' _Wait- now hold on here…'_

"Ooh, sure thing…" Marcus flicked his finger over his thumb, and made a small flame. "Here ya go."

Nodding, Rinnosuke lit the wick with the candle flame. "Alright."

 _Sss~..._ As the wick began to fizzle down, he reeled the bundle back, and chucked it.

 _Clo~ng._ It thunked against one of the toxic canisters atop the oozy nightmare, before becoming embedded in the top…

" _Let's go!"_ Yelling out, he ran for the nearest corner. "It's gonna _blow!"_

' _Blow!?'_ Eyes widening, Sendai reached out-

"Hey…" -and grabbed Reimu, before sprinting down the backroad, Marcus and Kasen hot on her heels.

...Once they were around the corner a good ways-

 _KABOO~M!_ The ground shook. ' _Holy crap!'_

Seconds later, the shaking from the blast stopped.

... _Thunk!_ Before them, one of the toxic barrels embedded itself in the dirt. The green slime within ceased to glow, fading to a dim, ugly grass green instead.

 _...Spla- splat- splat, splaht- splack…_

Mixtures of stale red frosting, black ooze which evaporated into mist, and pasty pudge rained down around them, onto the nearby alleys and houses.

 _Splat._ ...A glob of red frosting hit Sendai on the arm, and it immediately started to itch. "U- uhm, hey guys- help with this…"

" _Cleanse."_ Reimu and Kasen exclaimed some healing spells at the same time-

 _Fwoo- woo- woosh!_ Immediately, the pastry faded to brown as the holy energy coursed through her form. ' _Disgusting.'_ Using her hand, she flaked it off, to find the skin beneath red and irritated. ' _The village is so fucked.'_

 _Thud- thud._ Two of the three yin-yangs Reimu sent out smashed into the ground near them, stained with luminous green and shimmering, worrying red glitter…

"...Someone threw out perfectly good explosives." Rinnosuke commented on what he'd found…

' _Makes more sense than everything else.'_

Now that they had a moment, the miko was also able to think about what they were to do. ' _...We were_ going _to Keine's, but… we'll still do that, but we sure as hell can't sleep with all this carnage. There's usually a ringleader that needs to be beat up, but with the powerful freaks roving, it's hard to tell who it would be...'_

"It's a good thing we're all already here for this…" Frowning, Reimu looked the party of older people over… "Why're the _buddhists_ here? Uu~gh…"

"We should be moving." Kasen looked around warily…

"C'mon." Sendai began to march for Keine's home… "We're gonna pick up some help first."

' _She probably won't know what's going on either, but we might as well make sure she's okay, and beat up some no-names on the way…'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Kiyoko Hakurei's Perspective_ ====

 _Cla- clank, clack…_

Seinarubeki hadn't taken a long time to assemble some masons and generic hands involuntarily. Mostly middle-aged men were hunched over some stone and rocks, toiling away quickly to her demands.

" _Four squares!"_ Her orders were repetitive but concise. "Do _not_ slow!"

They returned scowls, and some shook their hammers at her, but none dared to defy her- especially the ones who tried before.

Meanwhile-

 _SMAAA~SH!_ Her fire banner raised, Kiyoko swung her blade wide-

 _SPLA- SPLAT- SPLAT…!_

The colossal, fortified pudding being slid back. The entire top-half of its body, the one bearing the stone fort, sunk back, while the lower half splayed forward-

 _FWUU~SH…_ As the being collapsed, a thin cream poured out, roaring towards the town square and gushing onto nearby property-

 _SWISH- SWOOSH- SPLASH...!_ Kiyoko began swinging for the incoming pastel wave.

With each left and right slice, a blast of force sent the creamy substance back, until it'd spread out enough to not be inconvenient, flowing out and meeting her ankles…

The masons cursed as the cream seeped into their trousers and boots. "Aah, what the _fuck…"_

...A particularly skinny one grinned and shook his head, before looking up at one of the stockier men expectantly.

...At his stare, the bald man exhaled. "If we _die_ here, I'm gonna be _really pissed."_

"Less talking." Her attention gained, Seinarubeki stepped over to them. "The sooner you finish, the less risk you will face."

...Some distance away, a massive, fierce pink cloud loomed over a random portion of the village. ' _The apprentices at least see themselves useful.'_

All around the clearing was the unconscious bodies of youkai, of countless types. Humans and youkai alike lied peacefully in the now nougat-colored goo that drifted across the dirt grounds-

" _Nyaa~h…!"_ Frantic cat girl noises began to echo from the fort that was now rested upon the dirt.

...Facing the fortification again, the great miko began to raise her blade-

 _Thwash- zap- thwashthwashthwash!_ From seemingly nowhere, a storm of lightning took upon the fort, the bleak light blaring down the village road, and into the square. It didn't come from Kiyoko.

' _There.'_ Lowering her sword again- someone else doing her job for her- she looked past the fort, as cat girls leapt from it and into the village, fleeing from it. ' _More monsters are coming.'_

" _Nyaa~!_ "

" _Look out-_ aebaba- nh… _"_

" _Aaa~h!"_ The noise of frantic cat people filled the air for some time, as the fort ahead slowly decompressed…

 _Bam- BOOM!_ _Thunk- thud- thunk…!_ The top of the clumsily crafted stone architecture was smashed apart, a boat fit for a few people plowing through the bricks and sending them tumbling.

"Do- doth not _zap me,_ imprecise lout!" The pilot was a grey-haired woman, with a small blue eboshi atop her head. She was distracted, yelling at her co-pilot…

" _Look forward!"_ A ghost with green-hair- and a green dress- hovered onboard behind her, hands alight with spheres of pulsing electricity, pointing them forward like guiding lights.

Snapping her gaze forward, the eboshi-toting girl sized up the armored miko below, as her boat came to slow… "There! I've located the defector!"

"You mean- _we_ found the _enraged psycho."_ Her light-green haired companion scowled at her. "Don't show off or screw around. We're-"

"Stow it!" The boat captain barked back at her promptly. "I do not take orders from _thee_ on how to conduct siege!"

"If you think we can just wing this, you're a damn fool!" The ghost yelled back at her as they slowly coasted to an actual stop… "Just _look at her!"_

"Pftah!" The boat pilot exaggeratedly jerked herself back. "If thou'st consider our tactical prowess _inferior_ to a berserked Shinto _wench,_ then we may proceed meekly. All we need do is _attack, cripple_ and _react!"_

"When has Seiga _ever_ told us the full story?" Her green companion continued to bicker. "Do you honestly believe-"

" _We charge!"_ The boat's underside began to whirl with windy energy, as the captain pointed her oversized sleeve off the edge. "To victory!"

" _Idiot!"_ Scowling, the ghost brought her arms up as they accelerated-

 _Fvhi~r…_ The green-haired ghost's body charged with luminous, red and yellow electric energy, her hair and clothes floating into the air...

Tracking their movement through the air, Kiyoko knew where they were going. ' _They plan to move around me and harass the monument. One is a ghost that will pass through surfaces, and the other is magic-oriented. Wind, water, fire affinities._ '

...As the boat sailed overhead, moving to pass the miko-

 _SMAAAA~SH!_ Kiyoko whipped her glowing, crackling holy sword overhead-

 _CRACK!_ The boat promptly exploded into two pieces, which began whirling away.

" _Hwaa~h!"_ The grey-haired girl who captained it was sent flipping into the air, along with the front half of the boat.

" _Uu~gh!"_ Frustrated and angry, the remaining spirit began to hover down.

 _Zap…_ She slapped her sleeves together-

 _FWA- BAA~M…_ Kiyoko twitched, an explosion of electricity enveloping her entire form and frying the raw paste on the ground beneath her.

...Walking from the smouldering goo, Kiyoko stomped through the rest of it, slowly treading towards the spirit.

' _It only uses electricity.'_ Kiyoko brought her blade up.

...Eyes wide from the lack of a reaction, and the crackling of the blade-

 _Fvoom._ The spirit brought her hands up, creating a visible electromagnetic storm around herself, solid translucent spheres of yellow snapping into shape from uneven blobs around her. One enveloped her form, and the rest simply remained around her.

' _Defensive.'_ Kiyoko began to tilt her open armor socket towards her. ' _Testing syphon.'_

 _Fw- fw- fw- fw- fwap!_ A spread of inaccurate, bullet-fast ofuda poured from the miko's empty arm hole, splashing the spirit with a sudden, wild spread.

"O- oh, damn…" Despite enduring the impacts with her electric fields, the spirit found the energy leaving her hands. Her clothes remained charged with the power she imbued into them-

 _Fwoa~sh._ The passive static in her clothing recharged and regenerated her, but the talismans continued to work. "Good grief…"

While she drifted further back-

 _CLANK!_ Kiyoko held her arm up to stop the oncoming boat fragment from smashing into her helmet.

"Hup...!" Doing a flip off of the boat's surface, the grey-haired woman nimbly landed before the miko-

 _WHAM!_ Kiyoko simply kicked her, in the stomach.

" _Gufhu~...!"_ The girl's eyes bulged at the impact-

 _Thud._ -and she flopped onto her back, mouth agape.

" _Get the hell over here!"_ Her ghostly friend called out to her.

Bringing her katana close, Kiyoko held it before herself-

 _Fwi~sh._ A yin-yang shaped magical circle appeared before her, before vanishing.

As the eboshi-hatted girl began to scramble back-

 _FVHOOM- KROO~M!_ A massive, holy blade of pure white emerged from a series of circles in the air, embedding itself between her legs, just short of her actual flesh.

" _Eee~...!"_ The girl practically rolled away as she took to the air, flailing her limbs.

"You _fucking_ blew it." Her friend was disappointed. "I hate you, Futo."

...As she stabilized in the air, the grey-haired girl- apparently Futo- wrinkled her nose. "Thou'st _instrumental_ by comparison, surely! Drifting there knave-like, indulging in rejuvination…!"

 _Fwoa~sh._ On cue, the ghost experienced a pulse of regenerative energy from the electricity in her clothing…

"I can't just _slap her_ \- she's- she'll _kill me_ at melee range!" The spirit snapped back at her, face lowering… "Toss me a _panacea-_ actually, no don't-"

 _Fwi- shi- shi~ng!_ Amber liquid splashed into the ghost's form, after Futo automatically chucked a panacea into the air.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Kiyoko immediately followed up with a random spread of talismans-

"Eep!" Futo ducked, and drew a big plate from nowhere, shielding herself.

The spirit was covered again by papers again, however. This was to replace the talismans removed from her body by the panacea, immediately sealing her again. "... _Damn."_ She simply held her arms up in aloof disgust… "Nice waste of a panacea."

...Discarding the plate and the ofuda on it, the girl glared at her companion. "...Look- we'll _traverse_ her perimeter, equally distracting as well as disrupting, toil with the monolith and flee. Stupid yes, yet potential."

The green ghost opened her mouth-

" _Do not complain."_ Futo got into her face… "You rejuvenate so this plan favors thee. I am gracious and brave."

"I think we should just run." Her companion contested… "We _can't_ -"

"Not by that temperament!" Bouncing forward, Futo held out her arms, gliding into the air. " _Heaven Sign!_ Iwafune Ascending to Heaven!"

 _Fwishing!_ Her boat reformed beneath her in a flash of light. " _Go go go~!"_

The green spirit pivoted around, and whirled down the road…

 _Splaa~sh!_ As it roared forward, diamonds of ocean blue danmaku splashed from the air around the boat's wake, as if she was sailing across a sea towards Kiyoko. " _Heheha~!_ I shall _traverse_ over thee!"

 _Splii~sh…_ As the boat rocketed over the town square's air, splashing up water-

 _Fwaa~m!_ Abandoning her blade, Kiyoko spun around as she threw herself nearly straight into the air.

With this height, she stopped her ascent just past the tip of the boat, facing Futo.

She gave Kiyoko a vicious grin in return, intent on provoking her. " _Hahah-"_

 _Clack._ Kiyoko's palm met Futo's forehead, fingers wrapping around the rest. " _Ee-_ eah…"

 _...Thu- thunk._ The spell card immediately stopped, the boat dropping from beneath them and clattering against the soil below.

"Nn- nnh…" Flailing her limbs-

 _Tink- tink- tink- tink…!_ Futo rapidly kicked her wooden sandals against armored legs and chest of her opponent as she dangled, achieving very little.

"You are… not quite human." Kiyoko regarded the woman she held in her grasp.

"Thy loss is… inevitable!" Futo exclaimed her glee, despite her predicament. "Humankind ill needs thee! Thy objective forsook!"

"Your ally fled." Kiyoko gave her the blunt news.

…

Sighing, Futo shut her eyes. "Bloody _fornication._ Betrayed, in the end… once _again._ "

Continuing to be concise and blunt, Kiyoko tightened her grip on her skull. "Who sent you."

...Letting herself dangle limply, the girl beamed as well as she could past the palm and the fingers. "I've taken this mission in the light of the crown prince, and our faith. Thy actions most vile have alerted our ranks…"

' _Crown prince?'_ Kiyoko had a strong suspicion. "You belong to Shotoku."

Futo's breath could be felt against the miko's palm as she breathed deeply… "Th- thou may tell? Ngh… her might rests far beyond thine or thy. _Divine_ , even!"

' _I will find him.'_ Kiyoko closed her eyes. ' _His power is minimal. For all his greatness and wisdom- as implied by word of mouth- he is a fool to attempt interdiction upon our blood rights.'_

"It will be hopeless." Futo crossed her arms, attempting to be smug despite everything. "The heretical eyesore shall crumble as the crown prince inherits Gensokyo, by the cold hands of the corrupted!"

"Were she great, scouts would not be jeopardized." As she held her grip solid, Kiyoko slowly lowered to the square below… "Unless you're truly expendable. An unfortunate fate for the Mononobe from the fables."

"A- ah…" Twitching in her grasp, Futo struggled a little as the gauntlet remained wrapped around her face, her hat having been abandoned long ago. "Thou knowest…?"

 _Pap._ "Ow…" Kiyoko latched onto Futo's side, and flipped her around, planting her on the floor. The rate at which the girl was turned ruined her balance, but she held onto her arm anyway.

"This pillar is just the beginning." Kiyoko's gaze traveled the finished base of the monument. A few of the masons were unconscious, but plenty still worked nearby, building each individual segment to be hooked up; a simple endeavor considering each component was little more than angled stone fitted with runes inscribed by Seinarubeki's direction. "I will command a great, and terrible army. We will not rest, until the dark flame of every youkai has been extinguished."

...At that sentiment, Futo darts her gaze about it, before responding. "We may… be unified, through common goals."

Saying nothing, Kiyoko watched the pillar's construction…

"Thy lies stain thy holy tongue… yet, it is important for me to note that we who serve under the crown prince- we are humanity's bulwark in opposition to youkai terror." Futo spoke uncertainly to the miko who held her arm with an iron grip.

"What have I said that is a lie?" Kiyoko requested of her…

"Thou hast rallied in the name of youkai." Now more certain, the girl clarified her own suspicions to herself. "It was delivered to us. Human executions were under performance in the square, by Hakurei decree. Fallen heads rolled our way… and thy actions- they bear consequences."

' _They've been provoked to attack us, then.'_ With this information, Kiyoko made her deductions. ' _Pitiable. Minor threats. Sounds like a task for the apprentices. Even the two of them should be insurmountable by Ibaraki's guide.'_

"If they know not their enemy…"

 _Clack._ Latching onto Futo's skull again, Kiyoko began to hold her up. "Their failure is inevitable. Whether they come or not, I will find them."

Futo began to grin… "Hehe… execute me, then. I embrace death."

"This isn't your body." Kiyoko announced. "Who do you take us for?"

...Futo began to frown. "Wha- what? Thou accuse _my name_ of cowardice? I-"

"Yes." Kiyoko spoke over her. "The secret of your immortality. Humans do not live to be a thousand years old. Nor will they be _youthful maidens_ by the time they age. If fooling a bystander was your intention, you've made absolutely no effort. It's almost mocking."

...At that, Futo let out a breath. "We- well? Then there it is. I am immortal. No matter how thy blade vanquishes me, my mind wanders this mortal plane-"

"If you're unconscious, your soul will not be free to resurrect." Kiyoko's response was monotone. "When we come for you, it will be as simple as killing you and tracing the spiritual energy. There we will find what hosts your soul."

…

"Thou-... couldn't." The girl remained stock still, her heart pounding. "I- I'm… my place in this land- it is revered. My departure wouldn't go unnoticed…!"

"Show us to Shotoku." Kiyoko demanded of her. "We bargain your life, for an agreement. It turns out we have similar ambitions, after all."

...Shutting her eyes, Futo compacted. "Damn _everything…_ I've… I've failed."

' _Now… we don't need her at this moment.'_

As the girl's eyes began to redden up, Kiyoko let go of her-

 _WHAM._ -only to deliver the side of her gauntlet to the back of her head.

Mononobe no Futo collapsed into a heap before her, abruptly unconscious.

…

With that, Kiyoko returned to idle watching of the rising monument.

" _Rerr~..."_ This was until the nekomata crowd from earlier began to rev up near the sidelines, drawing her attention.

Automatically, Kiyoko reclaimed her blade from across the town square, and began to step towards them all.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Tsukiko's Perspective_ ====

 _Wham._ Sendai struck an a nekomata to the left of its jaw as it scratched at her cloth apron.

" _Rer- reo~w…!"_ It recoiled, and began to turn-

Reaching out, Sendai crushed its tail with one powerful clutch, accented by dark magic-

" _Reaa~how!"_ Promptly, the cat freaked out, scraping against the dirt until she let go. The resulting force it exerted made it rocket off into the distance…

' _Cats are feisty tonight.'_ Sendai watched it run off plainly. ' _We're just about to Keine's place, now.'_

...Kasen trotted up to her, and waved her hand before the miko's face. "Heal."

 _Fwoa~sh._ The scratch marks marring Sendai's face began to heal. ' _Ah, good.'_

" _Begone!"_ Rinnosuke pointed his gun down a nearby alley-

 _Pap._ He fired one blue danmaku dart down into it. Slowly, an orb of water began to expand, encompassing it as it itself slowed down…

" _Rrr~..."_ At the other end, a blue-haired, barely-clad wild nekomata arched her back at him, pawing about on the dirty alley soil. As the bubble expanded, she lashed out at it-

 _Pop!_ _Spla~sh._ She was promptly soaked-

" _Rher- rah- rn…!"_ The water really freaked her out, and she thrashed about wildly, before prancing away at lightning speed, taking off around the corner.

...Rinnosuke gave this a nod. Staring ahead of the party and into the dark night-

 _Fwa~sh…!_ He aimed his gun into the dark alley ahead of Sendai and Kasen, firing a flare into the darkness. ' _Oh. Keine's house is actually right there. Hard to tell, since all these alleys and houses look the exact freaking same as one another…'_

...Marcus walked up to the party, a band of really tired looking kitty women following him with vain stares.

"...Nice posse." Sendai remarked at these less hostile cat girls.

" _Hii~h…"_ They all hissed in unison.

"Turns out when ya drain their mana, they just _glare_ ya down." He gave her a big thumbs up. "Really beats gettin' yer face clawed off!"

...Disregarding the blonde, silver and black cats, Sendai began to move for the teacher's home some paces away. "Good…"

Floating down, Reimu joined them again. "The villagers… seem safe enough, at least. Doors all locked, and all the crazy youkai only sometimes bust the walls."

' _That's good. Individual people're mostly good at looking out for themselves… and those who can't are okay at hiding. There's a lot more religious and sorta incompetent faces in this raid. I'm more used to actual, like, vague slaughter, or at least mass-wounding. Most of the things running around are ignoring the civvies and just trying to maul me._ '

...Stepping up to Keine's house, she saw a snowy yukkuri sitting on the front porch. It had no distinctive features, but it looked like a big happy snowball. It came up to her knees, almost.

That's when it attacked. Leaping straight at her-

 _Poof._ She punched it, and it shattered into actual snow. ' _What the hell're these little things…? What problem do they have with me?'_

...Slowly grinning, she turns back to her party. "What _exactly_ are these little pudgy things that keep attacking us…? It's cute, but also really stupid."

"Oh." Reimu answered quickly. "They're the yukkuri. I'm guessing some of the other youkai're using them as pack mules and stuff. We did see that giant yukkuri fort earlier… and that ugly abomination- the one with poison waste and unholy rocks."

' _...Okay, then.'_

"If things were calmer, I'd try talking to them…" While they idled on the doorstep, Kasen neared it with the maidens. "They're usually quick to change minds. But no matter how we diced it, that one bloated with poison and viruses had to go."

' _We barely did anything to it. Pretty lucky that Kourin found a really good bomb in the trash. Probably had to divine how to use it, too.'_

 _Knock knock._ ' _That's enough shooting the shit for now. Let's hear what Keine has to say before we lose too much energy. We hit rock bottom now, and we're all passing out on eachother.'_

…

' _Actually, would she even be home right now? I don't really-'_

 _Crea~k!_ The door whipped open, and Keine stood before it, mirror shield and her ethereal, faux blade of Japan raised…

"O- oh, it's you…" Lowering her implements, she exhaled. "Thank goodness you're here. I was just about ready to start my second wind."

"Hey." Sendai greeted her plainly… "Everything's going to shit."

Grinning briefly, the teacher stepped out into the night. "Oh, yes, I'm… very aware. It's hard to go anywhere. It's night, so almost everyone is already indoors to begin with, fortunately..."

Stepping down onto the soil before her porch, she seemed restless, and eager to venture out. "Everyone's with you, too. This is excellent…"

"I don't doubt the timing of this attack was directed." Brows furrowed, Kasen stared down one of the nearby alleys… " _Especially_ with the religious factions in town."

Pressing forward into her yard, Keine glanced at the stars above. "Why would that be out of place? ...They feel obligated to the people of this village, by faith."

"They're attacking _us."_ Kasen clarified. "They've considered Tsukiko and Reimu here to be criminals." She gestured to the maidens beside herself, before checking to make sure they were still there…

Marcus emerged from behind her, holding up his blade of Japan. "Nice sword ya got there…" He used it to point at Keine's magical replica.

...Keine stared at his for a moment. "Oh…? Well, it's simply-... ah…" Once she compared the two blades, she hit an epiphany. "Very funny. Got the idea from me, did you? Where'd that even come from?"

"Ah- that was me." Rinnosuke was the next to appear from behind Kasen, who had now turned to face them… "It's actually the real blade of Japan, by the way."

"...I'll verify that later." Keine shook her head, not willing to immediately accept this. "Right now we have to worry about the village. Let's go."

As she immediately took off into the evening, Sendai moved to follow. ' _Wait- where are we going?'_

...She turned to her daughter, but Reimu just turned to her expectantly as she drifted up to them.

"What was this about the factions, and you two?" While they deviated into one of the alleys near her home, Keine inquired about this loose end. "What reason would they have to attack you? The village may be _less than sane_ , but I've got doubts that they'd stoop so low."

"You know anything about big pink cloud monsters?" Sendai's gaze was drawn to the near pitch black, bleak darkness of unlit house exteriors. "Sorta hard to miss."

Pausing as they moved, Keine asked an innocent question. "...That must have been Unzan. Did you see him and Ichirin?"

"Yeah, up close and personal. I had to _suplex_ a nun." ...Sendai inspected her own rough hands as they moved closer to the main road. ' _Man. First time I've said_ that _.'_

Keine didn't get to see her grin. " _Suplexed?_ So you did fight... _"_

' _Yeah. Glad we're on the same page, now.'_

"...Goin' 'round suplexin' _nuns…!"_ Marcus had to restate this concept…

"Yeah, what- why…" Keine began to smile at her friend as they turned onto the main road.

The village road was coated with splotches of blood, yukkuri paste and implements of destruction.

 _Cra- crack- thud…!_ "Ngh- anh…" Ahead, a mature woman in messy, chaotic robes cast aside her bow, as she took sudden thrusts from an almost cartoonishly wide but stout brown blade.

" _Hra~h…!"_ The village guardsman, clad in similarly clay-looking armor, swung the blade around with one arm-

"Nngh…" As the woman stumbled back, she lobbed small orbs at him-

 _Pap- krack- pop!_ They'd exploded into small firecrackers, and immediately the already scarce clay armor the man wore began to crumble…

 _Fwish- thunk._ " _Aau~gh…!"_ She fell back after an arrow met her stomach, sending her to the ground.

...The average man in clay armor raised a hand to the three archers behind him, and they raised their hands back.

" _Stop!"_ Immediately, Kasen and Keine bolted onto the scene to intervene-

 _Woosh._ Reimu sent one big orb out, and it rolled past them-

 _CRA~CK!_ The clay-armored man brought up his sword to block the orb, but upon impact, both his armor and his sword broke. " _Hua…!"_ He reached out for the lone handle as it flew from him on the way to the floor…

Movements quick, jittery and adrenaline-filled, the archers aimed upon the many girls- and one guy- with hard faces…

 _Fwish-_ _Ti~ng!_ Keine's mirror shield took one arrow, as she made for them-

 _Thunk._ Kasen stopped one with her hand, before flinging it away.

"A- aah…" This was the rightmost archer's turn to face his friend and plot-

-except, his friend was already on the ground, his own arrow reflected back into him. "A-... _Hiroshi~!_ Sh- _"_

 _Wham!_

...Having sprinted up to him, Sendai took him down with a jab to the jaw, sending him to the floor like a rock. ' _Alright. As nice as this was…'_

"We can't just keep screwin' around here." She called out to everyone else. " _Something's_ rallying this charge. It's been an hour, and normally things'd calm down more."

"We won't leave people alone." However, Keine was in opposition. "I'm planning to defend this place until this blows over, and _then_ sort out who's responsible…"

" _You're looking at 'em…!"_

Keine's eyes widened-

 _Bam!_ " _Engh…!_ " Someone struck her, a leg flying past the teacher's shield and meeting her in her gut.

...Reimu ran ahead, gohei ready. "So it was _you!"_

...The blonde-haired girl scratched her cheek. "Ah, yeah, it was me. Wait- no! It was _you!"_

 _Clack!_ Instantly, Reimu tried to swat her with her gohei, but the blonde-haired woman in the autumn dress guarded against it-

 _Woosh._ She'd tried to kick back, but Reimu already darted out of range.

" _Toramaru!"_ Back onto her legs, Keine yelled out at her. "What are you doing!?"

...Giving her a wave and a smile, her lotus-shaped ornament jiggled in her short hair. "Well, Ichirin was havin' a lot of trouble down here, so-"

 _Whack!_ Reimu's gohei met her cheek as she talked-

 _WHAM!_ Her leg met Reimu's cheek in turn, snapping into position. " _Nuh…!"_

' _Fucking, okay…'_ Sendai wasn't happy with this.

...As everybody moved to encroach upon her-

 _Woosh!_ The woman took way up into the air, flipping around before coming to a stop way above the generic house right under her…

" _No~ way!"_ She called back down to them. "Not fightin' you myse~lf!"

" _Cowa~rd!"_ Sendai bellowed back at her from the ground.

' _...It'd be easier, really. Me, Reimu, and the girls make four, and the guys can help too. Six to one- even if they're some kind of supergod- should be pretty quick with this many of us.'_

With that, the tiger-like woman soared across the sky, avoiding confrontation entirely.

...Keine had fully finished recoiling from the gut blow, and scowled up at the fleeing woman. "Wh- why…?"

' _I've learned to stop asking that question.'_

...Despite looking immensely tempted to throw herself straight up at the woman, Reimu glared and shook her head instead. " _Alright._ We're gonna go down there."

"Wait-..." Kasen felt this was too abrupt. "As tempted as you are to take this out on them, maybe we should settle things back here first…"

"Maybe _they are_ behind it." Reimu didn't really care about the village at the moment. "Or have someone who is, and won't tell us. They're also being really stupid. We _might as well_ check."

...Kasen began thinking very strategically. "Well, hold on! They-"

"Who's this _they?"_ Sendai demanded…

...Her arms dropping to her sides, Kasen closed her eyes. "They're Gensokyo's buddhist sect."

"They kinda-sorta compete with me and stuff." Dramatically abridging the relationship, Reimu began to float into the air… "Either they're _really competitive_ today, or we've been set up. Between cloud-lady and that cat, for both of them to think this is _our fault_ means something _really dumb's_ going on. Stuff doesn't just _entirely_ _flip on its head_ overnight here- even during incidents."

' _Sounds like it'll be a good idea to kick their asses anyway.'_ Cracking her knuckles, Sendai nodded. "So we kick their asses."

"Uh huh." Reimu agreed with this plan.

"Well-...!" Kasen was running out of ways to disagree with this plan. Jaunting up to them, she held up her arms. "Maybe we could just-"

"And the _wicked_ shall be _plu~nged…_ into the fiery pit!"

Thunk. Gingerly hunching forward, Kasen frowned and let her gaze fall. A broadsword had hit her in the back of the head, and rested there.

" _Koyo!"_ Keine barked at the old man who struck her. "She's not a bad guy-... person!"

...The old guard captain turned to her. " _Kamishirasawa!_ I request your _aid!_ You are the shield of the village empire-"

Whipping around silently, Kasen gently slid her palm into his face. "Mmgh…!?"

...Slowly, she kept pushing forward-

 _Thud._ -until he fell to the ground. His arms wrapped around her one arm, trying to push it back, to little avail. Once she had him on his back and his head to the soil, she held the pose until he decided to stop fighting.

...Standing back up, she huffed. "Alright, fine, we'll go hit the buddhists. We might even _learn_ something, I guess."

…

Now that their course was set, Reimu turned to the guys. "You guys come too, you'll be the humiliation team."

...Marcus began to grin, while Rinnosuke somehow managed to look more mixed about this.

"We should check up on that…" Furrowing her brows, Sendai looked down the road, to see a stout pillar base in the village square. "Monument thing."

"An' captain crankypants?" Marcus jeered, before rousing himself into motion a little. "'Cause if we leave her alone, y'know…!"

' _I don't really want to, but we have to. She's a bomb waiting to go off.'_

"Who?" Keine wasn't quite up to speed, yet. Her gaze was questioning… "Monument…?"

"You'll see." Reimu and Sendai said about the same thing to her simultaneously…

They turned to each other, blinking. ' _Oh, woah.'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

They'd arrived back at the 'monument'. So far, it was a four-edged base with an empty glass sphere at the bottom, secured into place by curious rings. Along the stone, straight black lines ran up it, only deviating at ninety degree angles.

' _Doesn't look like much other than a funny stone thing at the moment.'_ Sendai didn't really get it, herself.

"Cool rock." Reimu didn't either. "If you killed anyone, we're fighting until sunrise."

...Kiyoko stared down at her silently for a moment, before making a prompt reply. "The pastry youkai do not merit existing. At the moment, it has been advantageous to secure hostages." In response, she gestured to the side…

A grey-haired girl in a blue hat sat, propped up against the finished parts of the monument's base. ' _Funny hat.'_

...Ignoring Kiyoko, Keine hobbled up to the battered looking village masons. "No no no. This is _not_ okay-"

 _Shink._ A blade rested in the floor before her-

 _Ting._ Attempting to pass it caused the teacher to smash her face into a barrier. "Ah- ow…"

"This process will not be disrupted. Attempting to do so will make you our enemy." Kiyoko's voice reverberated from her armor. "I haven't attacked you for your _perceived_ allegiance. This perception changes, according to your actions."

...Keine marched up to her, sword and shield raised. "They're being worked too hard…! And- probably not willfully. I'm not going to let you do this to them. And what is _this?"_ She sized up the stone monument base. "What are you building?"

"A _monument."_ Kiyoko stressed. "To the Hakurei faith. This village is fatally deficient in every way. Once youkai are cleansed from it, and peace, human strength _truly_ restored- will the power of our faith be set in motion."

...Eyes widening, Keine turned to the other girls.

"Don't mind her." Reimu ignored it- or at least seemed it. "She's senile."

"You're juvenile." Kiyoko countered.

"Pfft…" Sendai grinned at the exchange. ' _Good sequence.'_

"What's with Futo?" Reimu gestured back to the resting girl. "The one with the silly hat."

"She assaulted this holy process in the name of prince Shotoku." Kiyoko's response was prompt. "I intend to task you two with bringing him to me."

...Reimu slouched, the evening wearing on her. "Who the- prince _who?_ You mean Miko?"

"...You could say that, yes." The great Hakurei adjusted herself to gaze along the monument. "It should be a simple task. Shotoku leads the greedy and the zealous, and was known for little more than exaggerated fables. It would be of good strategy to make an example of someone who used to be so noteworthy- especially within _this_ realm."

"I won't let you do this. Any of this!" Keine raised her implements. "I… don't know who you are, but I can't let-"

 _WHAM!_ Kiyoko's left leg met Keine's face, before anyone could do anything. Sendai reacted, but even sliding into the way was pitifully slow by comparison to the abrupt nature of the strike.

"Nngh…!" Keine stumbled back, to the side, before righting herself and compacting. "I wo- wo-"

 _WHAM!_ Sendai tried to grapple Kiyoko, but the armored miko had smoothly slid forward and inserted her right leg past Keine's shield, another armored boot meeting her face.

 _Thud!_ This time, Keine slid to the ground- only to immediately float back up. " _I'm not-"_

 _Bam!_ Kiyoko thrust a heel into the ground and bounced up-

 _Shoo~f._ Her red banner unfurled, sliding up along her back, out of the huge box mounted there-

" _Hold it!"_ Reimu moved into the teacher's way instantly. " _Cautionary-_ ah! _"_

Seinarubeki appeared and took her out of the way, transporting her elsewhere.

Aiming her shield up, Keine instantly switched to cowering beneath it. " _I won't lose-_ "

 _BOO~M!_ Kiyoko accelerated into the earth below with the force of a descending mortar.

" _Uah-"_ Keine was launched into the air by the force, even while only near the floor-

 _SMAAAA~SH!_ One of the miko's fists met her on the upper chest.

 _Think!_ Reimu hit the side of her armor with her gohei, but it was too late. "...You _idio~t!"_ She continued to batter the side of the miko's armor in frustration…

 _Thu- thud._ Keine rolled to a stop nearby, twitching in pain. Tears rolled down her eyes as she held herself. "Nn- nn…"

' _I really wanna get stronger just to fuck her up.'_ Sendai wasn't giving her a pleased expression by any means. ' _How the hell does someone this strong even exist…? Is she even human anymore?'_

...With that done, Kiyoko returned to standing seemingly idly.

"That _really_ wasn't necessary." Rinnosuke wasn't going to let that go. "Like… _really."_

Kiyoko didn't care about his opinion, not even bothering to look at him as if he'd said anything.

' _Can't even argue with her.'_

"Why~!?" Reimu screamed up at her. "If you're gonna keep up like this- I'm _really_ gonna stop you. You really don't know what you're in for."

...Kiyoko met her gaze, after a moment of watching the masons around the side of the monument. They were moving another completed segment towards the center…

"Do you think you could best me." Kiyoko met her with her own variant of bluntness.

"I'll get my friends, and we'll _destroy you_ together." Reimu threatened her. "You're not as good as you think."

"It almost seems to be a mistake of me to take you as a shrine maiden of the Hakurei faith." Kiyoko rebuked. "Little girl."

Kasen put her arms between them. " _Look._ We _really_ can't bear fighting right now! Save it for when this is done…"

...At her words, Reimu scowled deeper, but backed off.

"The only useful person here is my daughter." Kiyoko gave a nod in the direction of the forced masonry in the background-

 _Thwack!_ "If you attempt sabotage _again_ , you are being bound before the pinnacle as a _body shield!"_ Seinarubeki bellowed at a gruff, tanned man.

...Standing up from his kneeling position-

 _Woosh._ She stepped back from a swing of his thick hammer-

 _Whack!_ One hit to his face from her gohei made him flinch-

 _Wha- wha- wha- whack!_ Then, when he tried to advance through it, she lifted her legs and slid through the air, sliding back as her great gohei systematically spun against his face, clipping the front of it each time-

"Uu- hnn…" Eventually, he had to relent-

 _Bam- thoom!_ -and Seinarubeki dropped down from above, her landing tilting him back onto his stomach and grounding him. She took a slow breath, now seated upon the defeated mason with her legs crossed...

' _This really doesn't look good for anybody.'_ Put off by the exchange ahead, Sendai felt the urge to get going…

...Reimu shook her head, letting it face the ground. "Ha~h. Fine. I won't forget this."

" _Bless."_ Kneeling over Keine's fallen form, Kasen ran her arms across her…

While Keine healed up in the background, Sendai moved over for her. "Let's just get going."

' _Grandma fucked her up good. Glad we don't have to toss around potions 'cause of Kasen here…'_

In the background, someone stirred. "Mm- mmrm…"

...Sendai took a quick glance up at the grey-haired girl. ' _She's awake, now…'_

At the same time, Kiyoko faced her…

The girl threw her arms up. "A- ah- cr- uh-"

 _Clank._ Kiyoko grabbed her by the side of her head. "Your day is here."

"Uuh- ah…" The girl gave out awkward noises as the single arm tugged her about like a ragdoll, moving towards the girls.

"You two will find the prince." Kiyoko declared.

"Nope." Sendai shook her head casually.

…

After a beat, Kiyoko focused on her in particular. " _You two_ will find the prince."

"Too busy." The mature miko leaned to the side, giving her grandmother a look of indifference. "Got a hot date."

...The returning expression from Kiyoko couldn't be fully seen, her face covered by her metal helmet, only her lower face a visible frown. "I and _Reimu_ will find the prince, then. If my daughter needs me, she will contact me."

' _About that…'_ Sendai turned her gaze to Reimu…

"Well- if _you're_ planning on hunting for her, I might as well watch you." Unlike her, Reimu decided to go along with the idea. "Just so you don't kill anyone or do something really dumb. Seriously- if you go off the deep end, there'll be no saving you."

Giving her no input, Kiyoko slid her metal fist down to Futo's arm, and pressed tight enough to make the girl wince. She began traveling, stomping ahead…

"Re- Reimu…" While she walked off, Futo stumbled to keep up with her, lest she get dragged instead. "I- I beseech thee- help...!"

"We don't really need her." Reimu floated into the armored miko's way. "I know where the mausoleum is, anyway. Just follow me."

"Hostages are an asset." Kiyoko argued.

"And you're a-" ...Reimu refrained from saying anything she didn't want to. "Anyway, let 'er go. We're _probably_ gonna have to hit people, and you're probably just gonna lose track of her anyway. You don't even have _two arms._ "

' _Pfft- wow…!'_ Sendai couldn't restrain a grin at that.

Soon, the three began to distance themselves from the square…

...Keine was on her feet again, brushing herself off with Kasen's help to get back up. "What… _power."_ Her gaze was to the floor. "How _awful…"_

"You good now?" Interested, Sendai approached her...

"... _Physically,_ yes." Resisting the urge to be sarcastic, Keine met her gaze. "But, I'm worried. I- I need to check and see if people are alright. I can't just... mope here."

...While she collected herself-

" _Freedom…!"_ Sendai turned to the loud yell-

Futo dashed past her- having been released from Kiyoko's grasp, apparently- wielding a torch from a piece of makeshift lumber in her hand. " _I- I sha~lt not fail!"_

...Thunk! After a moment, she tossed it against the stone monument, and it just bounced off the exterior.

"Nice one." Sendai gave her a thumbs up in jest. "...You know where we could find the buddhist hideout?"

"...You ask her but not me." Keine gave the miko a dry smile.

' _Like you'd tell me willingly, since we plan to beat up everybody.'_

"I know _too_." Kasen propped her arms onto her hips… "I'm sure Rinnosuke knows."

' _Maybe you would've told me-'_

"Kind of." He was energized by the sudden inclusion, standing up straight again. "Actually, yeah-"

"S'actually right down a road 'er two…" Marcus pointed down one of the main roads. "When ya leave the gate down the south an' go right, ya can't miss the path an' the stairs. Hills an' trees, 'n' stuff."

' _Well, shit.'_ She nodded at everyone. "Oka~y. We-"

"What order doth thou derive of the _barbarians?"_ Futo suddenly pretended she wasn't tossing flaming torches at the stone monument. "They are naught except bad news. Bad news indeed."

"Cool, you can help." Sendai began to move down the south road. "C'mon."

"Help…?" Reluctantly, the girl moved to follow. "I am of little sentiment to thee."

"We're fighting buddhists. You don't like 'em. So…" She rolled her hand to imply the obvious…

"I'm going to go patrol." Keine had enough of the war-room talk. "I'll touch base with you when you're back, and things are hopefully back to peace…"

"Don't worry."

Seinarubeki stepped into the crowd of people calmly… "Things will be peaceful by the break of dawn. You can have my word on it."

' _Still not sure what the point of this statue thing is, but it's whatever.'_

"Good luck with your path, Tsukiko." Her mother gave her a warm nod… "Mother may not be _the most receiving_ of your developments, but I believe you're both- you and your daughter- progressing gracefully."

...Sendai gave her a nod and a smile. ' _Mom's still mom, at least. Sort of jarring to see her be a literal slave driver before walking over here to compliment us…'_

…By this point, Keine had already made off.

Gingerly making his way to her in the idle time, Marcus began to mingle with Futo. "Hey- ya think ya can take us there on that 'ol _stubby boat_ 'a yers?"

...Futo took a moment to wind up, before shaking her head. "It is not _stubby._ But, yes. Considering thy venture's scope, tis no trouble for me to aid thee. Do not take this as a declaration of alliance. Only do we share common enemies, _Hakurei._ "

…

After a quiet moment, Marcus built off of that. "S'a pretty nice boat, too!"

"...Thank you, mister Kirisame." His nonchalant dismissal of her haught made her deflate…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish! Fwish!_

...Looking to the magic noises, Sendai saw her mother raise her great gohei from the ground.

Four spectral, shabby looking 'men' walked from cyan and white blurs of light, metal stub-dotted clubs in their off hands, and chains in their dominant hands.

At their heels, they each had a dog, all identical; fitting as the specters themselves were identical to one another.

"You needn't worry about this place." Turning away from them, Seinarubeki began to slowly pace back towards her construction project. "Do your things, Tsukiko-chan."

' _Phantom dogs…'_ Sendai was captivated by the phenomena of her mother's magic.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush: Caster - Tengu charging technique meant for casters. While this doesn't innately boost agility, it provides the user with wind blades that increase defense against projectiles and certain physical attacks.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful anymore.

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Wind Power - Constantly enveloped by the wind, Sendai moves far faster and jumps higher than normal. Dark resistance is reduced to twenty five percent, and equal wind resistance is granted when this style is activated.

Airy Pockets - All sub-items are slightly modified by the wind element to perform differently. Most gain different physical properties, as well as exchange power for accuracy. No substantial difference on item crashes, except from adding the wind element to them.

x _Oni Style:_

Holy Power - Engulfed in a shell of holy energy, Sendai becomes immune to pain. She still takes damage like this, and she _will_ feel it later. Incredibly reduces accuracy and evasion, but increases attack power dramatically.

God's Pockets - All sub-items are changed by the holy element to be more powerful, but also more situational. Replaces item crashes and subweapons.

Judgment - Rebound Stone _ITEM CRASH_. Expert holy magic that can be traced back to various prefabricated and god-created variants. This version may weaken and syphons the target. Basically Evil Sealing Circle, but with more remote usage, and less effective radius.

Elixir of Life - Holy Molotov _ITEM CRASH._ Grants auto-revive status to self or one ally briefly. Auto-revive will resurrect the fallen with a fraction of their life. Does not cure status-ailments or unconsciousness.

Diamond Flail - Sendai flings her arms forward on impulse, creating a small holy maelstrom between her and her target. Holy magic which may weaken foes.

Thrashing - Marching up to a target, Sendai jabs into them four times, before slamming down her arms on them. Based on a similar technique from an enraged Suika…

Combo Punch - Combining all the elements into her fist, Sendai unleashes a powerful blow into a foe. May weaken and curse foes. May stagger foes. Breaks the miko's hand, reducing her attack power for a little while. Requires a short charging period...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(2x) Potion - Low tier health restoration items. Quickly but steadily restores health of an ally on use.

(2x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(3x) Super Sharp Human Village Cheese Wedge - Wild and nutty cheese with ultra flavor. With the potency, it heals some mana upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Cheese Wheel - Heals all party members, and restores some mana.

(5x) Wheat - Whole grain and healthy. Just, not as it is right now. Can be used to bake cakes, make bread, and a whole lot of other stuff.

(2x) Holy Candle - Enchanted wax from parts unknown. Can be expended to cast Holy Fire. Used in many rituals, mostly religious and Hakurei in origin.

(3x) Hakurei Relic - Generic holy relic with the common Hakurei symbols scrawled on it. Expendable to cast Talisman Seal. Works best when used by Hakurei.

Exactly One Cupcake - It got smashed by everything else…

(2x) Stacks of Extra Talismans - Hakurei talismans. They stick to youkai and weaken them. Best when used by Hakurei shrine maidens.

Sack of Potatoes - It's really heavy…

A Brick - Useless brick. Made of solid stone. Non-elemental weapon. May stagger targets.

(one slot remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Grass Grease - Magic which wets the target with magically charged wood paste and chlorophyll, leaving them vulnerable to increased and stronger burning.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non-Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

=o=

 _Kasen Ibaraki_ , the One-Armed, Horned Hermit

STATUS:

Immune to earth and wind magic.

Resistant to holy, dark, water, thunder, and bomb magic.

Weak to ice and poison.

Immune to tiredness, syphoning, dispel and instant death.

WEAPON:

Unarmed.

INVENTORY:

Ibaraki Box of One Hundred Medicines - Endless supply. Heals the target to full. Cures all debuffs and status effects. If the drinker's already healthy, their personality becomes oni-like and they gain superhuman strength. Actual healing from the box turns the user into an oni, depending on how much it's allowed to restore the body.

Shackle of Devas - Extremely durable metal shackle. Grants immunity to tiredness. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

SKILLS:

-o- _Summons_

Koutei - Summons her juvenile pet green dragon, Koutei. Targets all foes with powerful mixed water and wind spells. May wet targets. May stagger targets. Buffs the evade of the entire party by fifty percent.

Manzairaku - Summons her pet seal Manzairaku to erupt underneath a foe. Water attack which launches targets and wets them. Also unleashes a beach ball upon the world.

Houso - Summons her pet tiger Houso to maul a target. Powerful non-elemental attack which cuts.

Kanda - Summons her eagle, Kanda, to gain a height advantage. Allows her to unleash aerial attacks with her legs. Otherwise, the eagle uses wind magic and debuffs accuracy. Dashes towards foes to hit them for accurate non-elemental physical damage.

Raijuu - Summons her pet Mukou, to charge one of her melee strikes with electric magic. Moderate thunder magic which debuffs both accuracy and evade, and tires out opponents.

-o- _Magic_

Cure - Heals self or an ally for some health. Heals most humans fully.

Curaga - Heals self or an ally for all health. Costly.

Renew - More natural healing than the Cure series, but is slower and less powerful.

Bless - Heals self or an ally for a lot of health. Blesses the target. This blessing prevents all bad status effects from being incurred, including death and dispel (but not straight up stat debuffs incurred on the body or mind). Doesn't remove anything currently active.

Miracle Heal - Heals everybody for immense health, over a large radius. Costs a lot of mana to use.

Spectrum - Expert multi-elemental magic. Kasen creates a rainbow-colored vortex in an enemy's form, damaging them directly with raw mana. Element and effects depend on current weapon. Vortex persists harmlessly to be used as a beacon for her eagle, but will be overwritten if Spectrum is used again.

Light Orbs - Holy orbs that Kasen can create and control. May weaken foes.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Gaia Bloom - Advanced earth magic. Creates multiple earth sigils in an opponent's form and initializes them, increasing earth's pull on them. Tires the target out.

-o- Other

Rapture - Air-based eruption which targets a wide area with a devastating upward draft. Legendary multi-purpose attack. Costly. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Monkey's Paw - Non-spell version of the skill. Sending out a dark hand, Kasen

Monkey's Paw! Crush My Enemy! - Spell card. Kasen crushes an opponent with an arm made of spiritual energy. Dark attack. Depletes eighty percent of Kasen's mana.

Hawk Sign "Hawk Beacon" - Spell card. Throwing her arms out, Kasen creates a massive rainbow multi-vortex, pounding the enemy with a massive storm of magic. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Dragon Sign "Dragon's Growl" - Spell card. Shifting her bandages, Kasen makes a cannon from them and blasts the enemy with powerful holy magic. May weaken foes.

Warp Sign "Prosthetic Arm Proteus" - Spell card. Powerful bind which crushes the opponent, before slamming them away.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

ichirin fight?

while this chapter had a lot of fighting it wasn't really a dedicated fight to anyone - w - maybe this will be ichirin's fight for now

we encountered ICHIRIN and SHOU, and also FUTO and TOJIKO…

also some fun encounters like GIANT TOXIC YUKKURI

ALBUS and the GOON SQUAD

some CATS

some weird rogue-esque youkais in robes who really like bows

buncha dumb guardsmen

hoh hoh

the plot kicking in kind of made this system messy but also fun - w -

i think i've got some dynamic ideas for the later chapter fights and the general state of the village i dunno yo

hoh

oh yeah that reminds me it would be nice to get feedback on like the writing quality

i know the influx of fighting that sometimes gets mechanical drowns people's skulls out of existence; weird thing about that is that whether or not somethin' goes from high-intensity, to okay or bad or horribly mechanical pace also really depends on if the sentiment hooks the reader - w -

some scenes do it really easily, some thresholds of intensity do it really easily, other excuses not so much

at the same time i try to be true to form with this and keep it consistent, and the exploration of fighting styles and combat dynamics can be fun - w - sendai's a good tester zero for fighting everyone since she's so tanky and really has to try to get in range this day and age since everyone and their mother- literally- likes danmaku and projectile combat more

and then there's how much i have people walk about or just kinda be idle in scenes but that's also part of the realism really; not the most ideal for an orchestrated work since that's- unless intentional- a reason the character just shouldn't be there or that something's amiss in _some way_ with their placement

but at the pace these chapters get read it's likely not as big of a deal as i might consider it to be since like a one-two hour read to someone else is like many hours of me staring at the same scene XD

it may not have nearly as many neutral progression moments as my other works, but about _all of them_ have been pretty combat-centric one way or another - w - that's just the GAME IN ME YO

yeah i don't have a lot to say about this chapter in particular right now XD i feel it's pretty self-explanatory

village goes FWOO~M up in flames dude, dust in the wind

 _alright yo maybe not that bad_ but hoh

kasen pulling arrows out of sendai's gut was good though; bodily stuff like that is really sendai's crux since she definitely relies on the more primal, tanky aspects of fighting to get things done- aside from her discipline. that and i really like writing party members getting freakin' BEAT THE FUCK UP

maybe marcus will get his turn to be horribly mangled some day dude; danmaku's let most people spare his squishy old man existence from excess harm

hoh hoh

also minor thing but why're so many people reluctant to favorite right now o w Q

mostly in that like, what bars this story from being there

since i began this i kinda knew the audience would be inherently smaller 'cause seriouser stuff and also not quite what some of my other works are about but even so i wanna hear more boys hit me up in the reviews bashin' my prose or something 'cause right now all i've got are people like _passively observing_ which y'know… tells me they're reading the chapters, which is good but uu~h…! doesn't quite fill that _feedback void_ and my longtime readers know i like to whine and beg for bricks to be tossed through my _proverbial window_

although i do already know there's inherent pace issues here and there and getting hooked on fight scenes can be super hit or miss sometimes

at some point i need to write out a more balanced adventure composition just for the general touhou section - w - i think it'll get a neutral first take since a lot of people don't _quite know_ what to expect from me at this rate

but that'll be after we're _done here_

...and it'll need a plot, though! not that this one doesn't have one, but a more _laid-out proper_ one from the onset perhaps

so basically i'd like it if ya told me what fights you think sucked the most and maybe what you thought was really cool or at least the least shitty and how i might be able to _revise even ooo_ some of the fights of the past

mostly 'cause i'll have a little time this summer and specific revisions might not be the hardest things to do considering the templates being worked with compared to like other things

hoh i think that's everything

as always, see you all next time!


	32. 7-2 - Thousand Leagues under Myouren

...The small boat everyone stood on coasted through the evening air. Standing at the very front, Futo held a torch out for light as the vessel slowly coasted over the bulk of the human village below, making for a blot of black to the southwest of the village's walls…

Leaning over the edge of the small, raft-esque leisure boat, Sendai peered down…

 _Shu- shu- shunk!_ Mechanical launching sounds came from below.

 _Pow! Pow!_ _Clank!_ As they moved, the noise became the sounds of gunfire and bladed struggle…

 _Spla- splat!_ " _Hi- hiya~h!_ Huwa- _yah!_ _"_ The yells and miscellaneous sounds were harder to place, but they were there.

' _What the hell's going on down there…'_ Staring off the boat, Sendai frowned at the sounds of violence below. ' _This quarter of the village sounds bad. Hope Keine'll get there before we're done screwing around up here.'_

"Thou art _heavy."_

...Rinnosuke turned to Futo, who had in turn began to criticize him offhandedly. "Art thy luggage _bricks and stones?"_

In response, he slowly lugged out a large, grey brick from his backpack. "Well, no. I do have _one brick_ , however…"

"It's weighing this vessel down…" As she pouted, Futo proceeded to tap her boot against the inner hull of the ship. "If not for thee, this voyage would be ten decades less…"

Sendai stared off the edge again, at a house that caught ablaze. ' _Uh oh.'_ She looked around for more burning houses, but that was the only one. ' _Well, that sucks…'_

"Ohp- oh, shit…" Standing up from one of the tiny in-boat seats, Marcus held up his expandable magic tube-zooka. "Brace the oa~rs!"

Futo whipped her face to him. "Wha- _hey-"_

 _Fwa- Splaa~sh!_ He shot a wet column from his weapon at the blaze, and the boat began to rock-

While they scaled the village walls, the boat began to arc awkwardly through the air, tilting to the right in response to the shot. ' _Ooo…'_

Futo had one big plate raised between both arms, frowning at him. "...Silly, _egregious_ peddler-"

"Hu- _woah!"_ He flicked his bazooka at the giant plate, as she slowly lugged it down to bonk him-

 _Fwa-BOO~M!_ The amber shot he fired this time exploded on contact, the ceramic plate fragments blowing off into the night sky, glittering. The boat dipped in response…

...Futo's upper body was covered in soot. "...Pftu~h."

Sendai was now crouching, holding onto the boat's sides. ' _Pfft. This is really dumb...'_

Kasen was already sitting on one of the little seats herself. "Careful, now. We're going to be spotted, like this."

...Washing her face off- with water from somewhere unknown- Futo faced her, and frowned. "Spotted? By _buddhists?_ Silly girl. Surely, they too would allocate all resources to offense, except without the cunning we undertook in ours. While it lasted, be it... _"_ She seemed to deflate…

Now well past the village walls, Sendai looked back at the blaze, to see that it was extinguished by the water blast it was given. ' _Oh, cool.'_

...Next, she turned her gaze to the massive, pine woods that formed a hill in the southeast, past the village's walls. As they scaled over and up the hill and woods, she gave the trees a knowing smile. ' _This hill's especially dumb. Whenever the village is under attack, youkai shack up on it. Whenever the village goes on a big hunt, we shack up on it. We should just, make a barracks on it or something. Save everyone the trouble of the 'capture the hill' thing.'_

After some moments of further ascension, the boat cleared a fence-like wall. ' _Wait…'_

"Here." With a smile and a glare, Futo gestured out to the temple beyond it, while they continued to ascend for height. "One may consider Taoism… _heretical_ to the Hakurei. Yet, here is Buddhism's sanctum! Their drives chance even more obstruction, and destruction!"

"...It's not like we're _really_ out to hurt you or anything." Rinnosuke plainly replied to her declaration. "...The armored maiden is kind of crazy."

Sendai grinned at him. "Armored maiden…?"

"I forgot her name." He gave her a thumbs up back. "Anyway- don't take what she says as-"

"Thy words bare _hollow."_ Futo glowered back down at him. "Well, speak _not._ Lest we be…" She held up her hands to air-quote for emphasis. "Spott-"

 _FWAA~M!_ A red-pink beam extended from the temple.

 _CRA~CK!_ One big chunk of the boat was thrown away, a hole blown into the right of it.

" _Eya~h!?"_ Futo threw her limbs up, flailing-

" _Ho~h!"_ Marcus ducked down into the left of the boat, where everyone else now was. "Shi~t!"

While the boat crackled with the familiar, colorful sparks of danmaku residue, Sendai held onto her side now. ' _Uh oh.'_ The boat slowly began to tilt and sink…

Rinnosuke threw himself against the other side hard, to act as a counterweight. " _Oof…_ "

...Kasen gave Futo a dry stare, as the latter began to gather her courage again, bringing her arms up before yelling. "...Ho- how!? How did you know-"

 _FWAA- FWAA~M!_ More lasers began to spatter the air space as their sinking accelerated, the boat beginning to nosedive…

"We're _submerging!_ " Eyes widening-

 _woosh._ Futo abandoned ship, spreading her arms as she flew off.

"C'mere…" Sendai plainly grappled onto Rinnosuke, standing up-

 _Thunk!_ -before flicking a leg into the underside of the boat to leap off-

 _CRACK!_ She accidentally removed the rest of the boat, and Kasen snapped to grab Marcus before he fell. "Ho hoh…!"

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 2 - Thousand Leagues under Myouren's Sea

...Once Sendai had plummeted close enough to the floor-

 _Woosh!_ " _Hyah!"_ She threw a dark-clad leg forward, the black spreading up her legs and butt-

 _Fwii~sh…_ She slid to a stop on the temple yard. Some distance behind her, Kasen landed…

"...I didn' need ta be held, but thank y'kindly anyway…" Marcus gave his savior a nod of approval…

"With how slow you fly, the lasers would've gotten you." Kasen rebuked bluntly.

 _Clack, clack._ Kiyoko was there. She stepped past them, and Sendai double-took. ' _...Hey- wait, what…_ '

"Oh, hey." Reimu brushed past them… "Liked the laser cannon welcoming?"

"... _Yeah."_ Sendai stood up, and cast Rinnosuke onto his legs. "What's… _she_ doing here? I thought…"

"The Taoist mausoleum is in the temple graveyard. Well- a _passage_ to it, anyway. Don't ask." Reimu summarized what they were doing there. "It's a pretty quick way to it. I had us cut through the woods and wait here, so we could take the dumbest route possible."

...Pausing, Kiyoko turned back to her. "If this doesn't _eventually_ lead us there, you're going to be disciplined for stupidity."

"I'm gonna discipline _you_ for stupidity." Reimu bit back at her…

"If you try to discipline my daughter, I'm disciplining you." Sendai marched up towards her in defiance…

"Um…"

...They turned to Futo, who'd descended, taking swigs of a potion to work off the purple danmaku that had somehow clung to her whole body when Sendai wasn't looking. "Not-... to be _rude_ or anything, but-"

 _CHUGGA… CHUGGA…_

Over the temple's top, a slow series of moving boxes could be seen, smoke billowing from two engines on either side. In the midst were three rectangles of steel and metal, the left and rightmost ones faring tiny cannons, with the one in the middle faring one big one.

Futo almost fell over as she sprinted away.

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Reimu threw some talismans out to create a barrier, and crouched behind it.

 _VRRRR~..._ The cannon on top whirred loudly as it slowly adjusted. It didn't point straight down at the ground; rather, it was positioned to lob a shot upward.

 _Vrr- vrr- vrr- vrr!_ The smaller cannons were a lot more direct, however-

 _FWAA- FWAA- FWAA- FWAA~M!_ Lasers tinted the color of dusty roses violently kicked from every barrel-

 _Bam! "Hup!"_ Sendai leapt back, towards one of the temple walls, already poised to avoid the obvious motions-

 _BOO- BOOM- BOOM- BAM!_ The shots roared into the ground, kicking up dust and drilling into the earth. Two were aimed for Kiyoko, while one was aimed for her…

Reimu was now over her barrier, which had eaten enough of the beam to let her escape before it exploded. "Alright… I don't know _what_ this is, but I don't feel like fighting it."

' _...Not like we should. It's just a big series of cannons chained together, basically. If we just go inside-'_

 _SHI~NG!_ Kiyoko whipped her blade to the left, across the pillars along the front face of the temple.

 _PO~W!_ The artillery cannon in the midst fired.

 _KRABOO~M!_ ...It struck only where Kiyoko was, a large spread of giant, amber orbs and red energy crackling out from the impact. Dark grey smoke filled the air…

"Now _that's_ a cannon…!" Marcus complimented the big mobile cannon from the sidelines, the other party members having retreated below where Sendai was perched on the temple gates now.

 _CRA- CRA- KRACK…_

The supporting pillars along the front of the temple began to crumble entirely.

 _CHUGGA…_ The train slowly began to move-

 _THOO- THOO~M…_ -however, it was too late. As the beams crumbled, the front of the temple the artillery train stood on began to give way under its weight, and sink down…

 _KRA- KRING- KRAA- THOOM- THOOM-_ _ **BOOM!**_

The end result was the churning of stone, metal, woodwork, and a series of pink and red explosions which consumed the front face of the temple as it collapsed inward.

...Also, a huge cloud of dust. ' _What the fuck. I think it's actually harder to get inside, now. They had a big front door and everything.'_

"...Oh." Rinnosuke accepted this readily. "I… would have liked to _learn_ about that train."

...Reimu floated up to Kiyoko. "Oh, right. That was a _train._ I remember now…"

 _Clack, clack._

As Kiyoko began to step towards the temple, Reimu floated into her way, snapping her fingers. "Hey, hey, hey. I know you like cutting people and buildings, but _no._ We're going _around_ it."

"...Then _this_ isn't the mausoleum, you're telling me." Kiyoko's voice- inexpressive it may be- was skeptical. "What is this?"

"It's the _buddhist temple_ , you deaf-..." Taking in a breath, Reimu shook her head. "So-"

"The mausoleum is behind it. Let us cut through it." Kiyoko raised her blade-

" _Hohoho~ld it…"_ Floating into her way anew, Reimu held her arms out… "I'm… not about to see if you're really dumb enough to try that. We're not going… _in, through, over_ or _under_ it. We're going… _around it._ Do you understand?"

"You speak as if I'm simple." Kiyoko remarked idly, before facing the left edge of the building… "Fine. I'll leave your _friends here_ to your mother's devices, then."

...Futo stepped up to them with raised brows. " _Oh._ "

...Once Kiyoko began marching, Reimu followed. Only after a moment did Futo stop staring at the maelstrom of danmaku energy that still was the front of the temple, and she darted after them. "Ah- hold! Hold, I say…!"

…

Once they were gone-

"Ah…" Sendai landed on the stone path before the temple, bracing her legs with dark energy. "So… how about we~..."

"I'll _make us_ a door…" Staring ahead at the diffusing, colorful storm of raw danmaku leaking from the blown machinery and wreckage, Kasen proceeded up to one of the less violently reacting odd ends of the building's front. "C'mon."

' _Almost forgot that Kasen's about as, if not stronger than me. Would've sucked having to think of a way past all this crap beyond blowing through a wall…'_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode 

_Boo~m!_

...Kasen marched through a valley in the crumpled stone and wood. "There. It's all set…"

Sendai was the first to jog through, looking around through the interior of the temple with alert eyes… ' _Looks like the interior's gonna… look really samey. Seems like hallways don't do a lot to look different here. As long as it's not more 'bigger on the inside' crap. Everyone does it, and it's really annoying now...'_

"Cleaning servi~ce!" Marcus called out as he marched inside, his tubezooka slung over his shoulder. "Fitty gallons of _pai~n!_ This is fer rippin' me off on those amulets three months ago! _"_

"We don't want to fight!" Rinnosuke prefaced the idea of negotiations as he followed everyone else in…

His statement wasn't entirely true, so Sendai corrected him. "We wanna fight."

"But we _don't."_ He grinned, shaking his head at her…

"But we _do."_ She glanced over at a section of paper walling dangerously. ' _They've got sections of paper walls in here, as well as wood ones. You know what that means…'_

Then, they were alerted by some scuttling ahead.

"Ha- aah, aah…!" A green-haired girl with dog ears romped into the building from a deviating, tiny side door. "Aa- aa…?" Stopping, her breath heavy, she looked back…

...Slowly, Sendai began to step towards her-

" _He~lp!"_ The girl screamed as she ran faster, her voice blaring and bouncing through the halls.

' _Woah. Nice voice…'_ As the girl accelerated, Sendai's own stomps began to hasten, quickening and helping her accelerate to keep up. ' _Come here…'_

 _Thump- thump- thump!_ As they raced down the halls, the dog girl heard the miko gaining on her. " _HELP!"_

...Sendai's ears began to ring. ' _Oh. Ow. Um...'_

Making a turn at the end of the hall, the girl slid on her shoes, skidding to gain traction-

Sendai slid into her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Got-"

" _AAA~H!"_ The dog-eared girl's yell could be heard across the entire temple.

Sendai would know, because her ears were now doing nothing but ringing. ' _Oww! That's… new!'_

Instinctively, the miko latched her hands around the girl's mouth-

-as she slid into the wall, soundlessly if only because the ringing still drowned everything else out.

' _My head hurts.'_ Frowning down at the girl, Sendai let out a breath as she uselessly struggled in her grasp. ' _Wow. This actually rea~lly sucks…! Ow…!'_

Kasen was already by her again. She said something, but Sendai could only see her lips move.

A flower-like pattern formed around Sendai's body, spreading through the air. Then-

The ringing stopped, and the static noise of the temple came through her ears again. Sendai recoiled at the rush of noise, and her head spun. "Wo- woa~h. That's… weird."

"Kyouko- Kyouko- shh~…!" Kasen immediately moved to placate the girl. "Calm down…! We won't hurt you!"

Sendai's balance returned to her, and she stopped leaning on the wall… ' _What the hell happ-'_

 _Crunch._ Kyouko bit down on Sendai's hand, which was still over her mouth.

"Um…" Kasen smiled at her awkwardly.

...Biting her lip, Sendai just blinked at her and nodded. "Real… great."

...Another moment later, and she had to hold her arm out and push Kyouko off. ' _Okay, enough of that…!'_

Kyouko relented easily enough, still looking upset…

Sendai felt at her ears. A swipe at the odd sensation coming from them revealed a small trail of blood, visible from the residue wiped onto her fingers. ' _...She popped my fucking eardrums. Holy shit.'_

"Well, well, well…"

Kasen and Sendai turned to the newcomer…

It was some brown-haired guy clad in monk robes, a wooden tube with oddly decorative components at the butt of it resting on his shoulder. "The Hakurei invaders, is it? I see you've tried to commandeer _Kyouko_ there…"

"Yeah- help…!" Kyouko waved for him. "I'm, um… I'm stuck…!"

"Who's the boss here?" Sendai questioned him, wiping her own blood off on her cloth apron. "We've… got business, you could say."

" _Me."_ He smirked at her. "Of these halls, you could say."

"Byakuren should come out… eventually." Kasen decided to fill Sendai in herself, turning to her. "I don't know where her quarters are, but it's not like her to let her disciples do the dirty work. Well, not too much, at least… especially not here."

" _Hah!_ " The guy barked out a laugh at her.

...Kasen curiously faced him, beckoning his input.

"It's _totally_ like her to let us do the dirty work!" He disputed, letting his wooden bazooka lower… "Really- there's about, like… _nothing_ stopping her from coming out here and kicking your ass herself. Well- besides that whole _train explosion_ thing, and that other shrine maiden psycho roaming around. How about you let Kyouko go and I'll toss you a protein bar or something?"

"...No." Sendai didn't agree to those terms. "Take me to Byakuren."

...Dangerously, he began to raise his bazooka again. "I _said…_ how about you let _Kyouko_ go, and I'll toss you a _protein bar."_

...Sighing, Kasen stood and parted from Kyouko, moving towards him. "Look. We don't want to hurt-"

"I'll rinse you _clean_ you filthy beasts!" Expression flaring-

 _Fwa- Splash!_ He fired a column of water from his bazooka, splashing Kasen in the face and soaking her…

"Woa~h!" Finally rounding the corner, Marcus pointed his own tubezooka at him. "It'sa _soaker war!_ Oh, shit-"

 _Fwa- Splash!_ As he strafed to the side, Sendai flinched back, a gallon of water exploding into her face. ' _Aah- woah…! Ah…_ ' Her bangs drooped over her eyes…

Aiming his own bazooka-

 _Fwa- Splaa~sh!_ Marcus fired an actual water-flavored laser-

" _Wau~h!"_ The guy was launched down the hall from its impact, sent skidding away…

In the confusion, Kyouko romped away, ducking so as to not get nailed by any beams-

 _Fwa- Splaa~sh!_ Marcus shot her in the butt with a thick blast of water-accented energy anyway, sending her sliding ahead. " _Woa~h!_ "

Sendai parted her bangs from her eyes. ' _Who're these clowns running around here…'_ She wasn't impressed by the resistance so far.

...Across the hall, the man stood up again, brandishing a wooden box from his robe pockets. "Captain! Yes- this is Stormy." He spoke into it, and it received his voice. "Why- why the hell _wouldn't_ it be? I'm the only person who uses this damn- right, I'll need a _tsunami_ down hallway H-eight!"

' _Is he talking to someone else…? Backup?'_ At this notion, Sendai began to stomp ahead.

Rinnosuke finally joined them, panting. "Ha- haa~h… haa~h…" Despite his speed bonus from being unarmed, his fully loaded pack still weighed him down as he navigated across the entire temple length to get here.

"...Yes- _H-eight!"_ 'Stormy' retreated as he spoke. "Yes, it's the Hakurei! What do you mean, how am I- hurry up!"

 _Clack- clack- clack…!_ Breaking from everyone, Sendai ran after him, sandals clacking against the wet wood floor beneath herself. ' _I'm not letting him summon more bodies to get in our way.'_

As she rapidly caught up to the comparatively slower man-

 _Fwish!_ A paper wall panel hooked up against a solid wall to the left flipped open, revealing a slide-

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Clear, fresh water poured out, and Sendai dashed through it. ' _Huh...'_

 _Fwuu- fwuu- fwuu~sh!_ All along the hallway, similar processes happened to various sections of the walling, starting a flood. ' _No wonder the furniture is so scarce!'_

Turning around to face her as she charged, 'Stormy' aimed his cannon down the hall-

 _Fwa~sh!_ A flare flew up from Rinnosuke's gun as he aimed it down the hall, and Stormy shut his eyes. "Ghah-"

 _Fwuu~sh!_ A torrent of water blared from his bazooka, approaching Sendai at a weird angle-

Bracing herself, she coated an arm in black energy-

 _SPLASH!_ Thrusting forward with it, she dashed into and through the torrent, managing to push herself aside it. From there, she was able to run ahead towards him…

 _Cla- clack!_ Dropping his weapon, he brought up his dukes. "Alright! Now that you're _all wet_ , I'll stop you myself-"

 _WHAM._ Sendai thrust the arm she used to charge ahead into his gut, giving it a second pump forward.

"Gh- uhk…" Cringing back-

 _Pap!_ She slapped the back of her hand against his cheek, sending him sprawling. ' _...Feels like a human. That's weird…'_

...Once she'd stared at the defeated man for a second, she looked up-

 _FWUU~SH!_ A torrent of water roared down the hall ahead, almost as tall as Sendai. ' _Woah- that's a lot more than-'_

 _SPLAA~SH!_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Everyone was very soaked.

Her outfit weighing down on her gently, Sendai stomped across the soaked wood floor of the temple, holding the monk man by the back of his robe.

"Yeah- take a left…" He spoke plainly, defeated and unable to escape her grasp. It was on her demand that he was leading them where they needed to go.

' _Pretty sure everyone's just gonna jump out and throw us a surprise party.'_ Sendai was immediately very very suspicious of the lack of contact, barring the escaped Kyouko, and now the captured 'Stormy'. ' _Only a matter of when…'_

"Can you, like…" Meanwhile, Rinnosuke was trying _really hard_ to diffuse the situation. "Call up someone? On that talking device…?"

Stormy lazily turned to face him. "...Like who, your _mother?"_

...After a silent moment, Rinnosuke let out a simple breath, dropping his shoulders and nodding. "You know. I don't know why I even _try."_

"You're not the only one…" Kasen sympathized dryly. "This whole situation's one… _really terrible_ error in communication."

Running with that idea, he turned to her. "Someone's got it out for us, at this rate. This is like… the… _sixth time_ , I'm going to say? Or fourth. I- I don't actually remember."

...She simply nodded back at him as they continued. "I wouldn't _doubt_ that."

" _That door,_ ri~ght there…" Stormy pointed up from his stuck position in Sendai's hand, and referred to a door ahead, to the right. "Right inside _there."_

It was a rather unassuming, brown door, mounted in solid wood walling.

 _Cla- clack._ A monk ran down a hallway to the left, drawing everyone's attention, but they were out of sight before they could be seen.

"In this… nondescript door." Sendai observed their destination with skepticism. "In some silly first floor hallway."

"No one said the layout made sense." Stormy countered. "Get the hell in there so you can put me down, already."

"...Are there any magical traps on it, Marcus?" Sendai turned to her magic friend curiously…

"Nothin' real _magical_ about it…" Leaning towards the door, he stroked his beard… "Which is _weirder_ than if it were layered up. I dunno much about ol' Byakuren… so I wouldn' know where she sleeps!"

"We could just blow through everything." Sendai proposed, still sizing up the generic door… "That's probably how it's gonna go anyway. Let's just… start demolishing the place."

"Wait- hold on, now…" Smiling, Kasen furrowed her brows harshly at that idea. "Let's just take this one step at a time. The monks and disciples will back down if they don't think they can fight… and, since none are engaging us _now…"_

' _...Shit, she's right._ ' Pursing her lips, Sendai gave the door _another_ once over. ' _Surprise and intimidation must be in our favor, then. Not that it matters, because we don't know where the hell we are, and this kid's bullshit doesn't mean anything. Hell, it's probably a trap.'_

...Reaching forward, she touched the knob of the door. ' _What kinda trap could buddhists come up with anyway? If it's just dudes with knives, this'll be fun.'_

 _Creak._ She began to swing it open-

"Huu!" -before leaping out of the way, incase the floor gave way or something sprang from the door.

"Ooh- god…!" Stormy swung about in her grasp, eyes widening. "Don't _do that!"_

' _No dumb traps.'_ She peered in through the open door…

The hallway was dim and narrow. At the far end, a door sat, similarly generic. The walls were curiously bland mahogany…

"That's fucking suspicious." Reeling her arm back, Sendai poised herself to toss Stormy inside…

"I don't know about that room…" Kasen moved to tread first at the same time-

 _Wham!_ So Sendai accidentally tossed Stormy into her back. " _Whaugh…!"_

 _Thud._ He splayed out on the ground. "Nngh… fuck..."

...Kasen faced her dryly. "Wha- good…"

' _Whoops. Uh- what the hell's she-... doing.'_

Standing there, Sendai watched Kasen move all the way to the opposite door.

 _Creak._ Upon opening said door, Kasen discovered nothing but blank wall was on the other side. "...Uh huh."

...Furrowing her brows, Sendai latched onto the guy's ankle, and began to step inside. "There's _something_ _dumb_ about this hallway… I mean, other than the fact that it doesn't go anywhere."

"The floor's hollow." Kasen remarked.

 _Cla~ck- cla~ck._ Stomping the wood beneath herself, Sendai discovered this too. ' _Huh, no shit.'_

Rinnosuke marched inside behind them, brows furrowed and expression stern. "I don't think it's really a good idea to-"

 _Shunk!_ That's when the floor gave away.

"Ah- hmm…" Kasen hung in the air.

Sliding down the sharp decline, Sendai stared ahead into the azure darkness that awaited her. ' _Ooo. Comfy for a pitfall…'_

"Aah- oh fuck…!" Stormy was less comfortable about tumbling down awkwardly behind her-

" _Hah- no…!"_ Rinnosuke tried to fumble up as he slid down behind them. "No! _No!"_

...Nearing the bottom of the slide-

 _Bam!_ Sendai stood, thrusting her arms and legs into the side walls, accenting them with darkness.

Ahead of her, was a large, deep sapphire pool. The seams of the wood walls and ceiling paled in comparison to the fluid shifting of aqua lines, light only coming from the dim liquid beneath.

' _...I can't actually see how big the room is. Water's kind of-'_

"Oof." Stormy hit her back, and she didn't budge-

"Uhn…" Rinnosuke bumped into _him_. Still, she didn't move much. ' _Hey guys. ...This situation's kinda-'_

 _Wham!_ Kasen slid into her, sending her flying forward. "Whua- ah…!"

 _Spla- splash, splash…!_ Flailing around, the guys flopped to the water like rocks, while Sendai decided to cannonball in…

Underneath the water, the bottom was a visible, dull grey of wood and debris, which shimmered in the water's refractions. It was also pretty far down. ' _Cold…'_

...Turning under the slightly active waves of the room's artificial water body, Sendai saw Kasen recover Rinnosuke from beneath the surface. Stormy himself could swim, apparently…

 _Spla~sh._ Surfacing, Sendai took a breath. "Hua~h…"

' _...Cool trap.'_ She really wasn't sure where to place this trap on the uselessness scale. ' _Is this the drinking water? What the hell's the point of this room…!?'_

Rotating away, ignoring Marcus's slow descent from above, Sendai gazed across the deep, blue room…

A girl rose from the waves, hiking from the water, and onto the surface. Once no longer submerged, she stood atop the shifting, deep blue body…

The sailor girl marched along the surface of the water, kicking some of it about as she neared the five with a wide smirk.

"Murasa…" Kasen spoke up over the slaps of idle water and the room's creaky, drippy ambience. "I know things _probably_ seem bad, but-"

"That's _captain_ Murasa ta _you!"_ She barked over the waves as she sloshed ahead. "...Thought I was gonna level wit' the whole _family reunion_. Hell's with the lonely old men?"

"...Y'know, that should be a _band name."_ Marcus considered this, standing just above the water's surface himself. "The two _lonely ol' men!"_

"Make it _three."_ Sneering, Murasa pointed over at them. "Far as I know, Ibaraki's got _no business_ here. Whatta _crock._ "

" _I_ want to know what's going on!" Yelling back at her, Kasen jerked herself up in the water a little. "What were you told? There-... doesn't _have_ to be fighting!"

"There's _gonna_ be fighting." Rinnosuke's already got his pistol out. "...I, uh, don't swim. Don't let go."

...Raising a wry brow at the pistol, Murasa didn't seem perceptive otherwise. "Unfortunately, it really don't matter what _you think_ , lassie. I'm sure you Hakurei _dogs're_ givin' the rest 'a the place hell as we speak…"

' _This is gonna be a bad fight.'_ Sendai could already feel it in herself. ' _Between the water, this weird room and the fact she looks like one of_ those _people. Although, with Marcus and Kourin here, our thunder magic should make short work of her...'_

 _Spla- splash- spla- splash…_

Stormy swam across the water, away from the party and towards Murasa. "Haa- nnh-..."

...Once he neared her-

 _Splaa~sh!_ Murasa tugged him up out of the water. "...I _toldja_ that big dumb train thing was a horrible idea!"

...Once he was held up for a few seconds, he replied after finding his breath. "Yeah- well… no- not like I knew they'd blow up the _whole fucking front_ of the temple. I've kind of resigned myself, at this point..."

...Reaching behind herself-

 _Spla~sh!_ Murasa dropped a huge anchor into the water out of nowhere. "Call up one 'a yer silly dingeys. We've got some _bitches_ ta sink!"

 _Beep- beep!_ Reaching into his pockets, Stormy drew the wooden walkie-talkie and mashed buttons…

 _Sploosh._ Then, she dropped him into the water.

' _No time like the present, then.'_ Whipping her head back to her party members, Sendai sounded off. "...Let's go!"

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Minamitsu Murasa ====_

With his hands in his pockets, Marcus leaned back, still standing in midair. "...Do we _gotta~?"_

 _Spla- spla- spla- splash!_ Thrashing through the waves, Sendai moved at an angle towards her target…

While Stormy swam off and away from the fight, Murasa continued towards the four, focusing on Sendai specifically as she neared. "...Should be able t'hold _you_ off long enough. I don't think y've fought in _water_ before, though… have ya?"

' _She's really smug about something…'_ Sendai looked for that anchor from before… and then-

Her form flickered out of reality.

 _SPLAA~SH!_ The anchor erupted from where she was, a geyser of water following it.

" _Hoop!"_ Leaping from where she was-

 _SPLAA~SH!_ Murasa crashed into the water and retrieved the anchor, a massive blue shockwave spattering everything near with white, crystalline shards of liquid…

As she reformed and resurfaced, Sendai felt herself swimming against the waves from the impact. ' _She's certainly not a mermaid…!'_

" _Sleep!"_ Aiming his flintlock out, Rinnosuke yelled a spell-

" _Spectrum!"_ Casting her other arm out, Kasen slung magic with him.

 _Fwam!_ _Fwa- shishishishi~ng!_ Not only did a blotch of earthy green splatter from the pistol, a vortex of rainbow erupted out, both centered on Murasa.

"Hmhm…!" Whipping her gaze to them, she simply sneered. "There ain't no _rest_ where I'm goin'!"

 _Slosh- splash- slush…!_ Working her way through the waves, Sendai neared her again. ' _I should be quick about being near her. She has way above human strength, and that anchor's not gonna be good for me.'_

Eying her as she neared, Murasa turned, and hefted her anchor up. " _Hua~h…!"_

' _Oh, shit.'_ Taking a breath-

 _Fwuu~sh…_ -the miko delved beneath the waves, quickly dipping deeper down.

 _swuu~sh!_ She could hear the roar of activity from the anchor striking the surface, and even feel some of the resulting water pushes, but otherwise kept well out of the way.

Swimming wide, she made to go around the girl and surface, or surface near her when she moved to recover.

Instead, Murasa moved for her, simply floating through the wavy blue. " _C'mere…!"_

' _...Hmm. I want to shock her… but I also don't want to get shocked right now. I haven't actually used that spell in the water before...'_

 _fwuu~sh!_ Charging her arm with dark energy, she uppercut out of the situation.

 _Splaa~sh!_ "Haa- huah…"Taking a breath of the stale yet crisp sub-level air, she kept back-

 _Fwaa~sh!_ Rinnosuke shot a flare into the water. The light that resulted traveled across the whole water body's surface as one sheen, producing a glare that blinded Sendai. ' _Woah…!'_

" _Mmrm…!"_ Beneath the waves, Murasa whined from the reflection combined with refraction…

"Wow…" Rinnosuke blinded himself.

 _SPLAA~SH!_ Shooting up from beneath the waves seamlessly, Murasa held her anchor high. " _Capsize!_ Sinking Anchor!"

 _FVHI~R…!_ Her anchor lit up with neon cyan and azure colors, expanding to twice its normal size…

 _WOOSH._ Holding it out wide, she aimed it at the miscellaneous party members. " _Scatter yer sea~!"_

 _FWUU~SH…!_ The anchor took off from her arms like a torpedo.

Kasen quickly strafed out of the way, liquid parting from her artificial, flighty movements, as well as taking Rinnosuke with her. "Geez…"

As the torpedo anchor bobbed and sailed across the reservoir's surface, the disturbed wake was converted to massive, menacing blue orbs that flowed out along the water's surface. ' _Really…'_

Marcus slowly coasted out of the way, the anchor whirling near him-

 _SHOONK!_ The room's water jittered from the impact against the wall, and an explosion of bright, sea-colored orbs sloshed out from the mighty, wood-splintering blow.

"Ngh- _aungh…_ " His arms held up, Marcus made a sour face as he cringed away from the danmaku. "Damn…"

" _Hahaha~!"_ Laughing over the sloshing of water, Murasa tugged her hand back-

 _SHUNK…_ The anchor parted from the wall, drifting back towards her slowly. Diamonds of solid blue parted from the entire back wall, drifting through the entire body… ' _Fuck me.'_

"You gonna _cry~!?"_ Bellowing over at the cringing mage, she slowly marched across the waves… "Who the hell put you ta-"

 _WHAM!_ Sendai punched an expanded yin-yang into the back of her head at almost point-blank, since she was ignoring her. ' _Fuck off…!'_

 _Spla~sh!_ Erupting from the waves while the anchor was still returning, Sendai-

 _Bam!_ -also delivered a mid-air, palmed blow to her back, at the most accessible angle.

Murasa proved surprisingly sturdy, only flinching from the impacts. "Damn _cow…_ "

The diamond danmaku was now starting to reach the water near Sendai-

 _Splash…_ When she returned to the waves, she began swimming idly to evade the spotty wall of diamond bits. ' _I need one of these spell card things. They seem really badass, considering even the dumbest and weakest get these huge, complicated magic attacks…'_

 _Fwaa~sh!_ Rinnosuke shot another distracting flare that hurt everyone's eyes. ' _Why~...'_

When Sendai looked their way, Kasen was surprisingly close, almost within a leap's distance of Sendai. " _Gaia Bloom!"_

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwoom._ Sigils of old earth magic blossomed in Murasa's form, and she awkwardly twitched. "Hells…"

...Drifting forward, body only mildly spiced with crackling danmaku residue, Marcus frowned ahead at his assailant. " _No fun_ , are ya…?"

"Tch…" Murasa simply raised her brows, almost in disbelief. "Fun…? It's- we're havin' a _war_ ya bloody, senile…!"

 _CLANK!_ Murasa retrieved her anchor.

 _Fwaa~sh!_ Another flare flew from behind her shoulder, and she blinked in dazzlement a few times. "A'right- who the _hell-"_

 _WOOSH._ Rotating with the anchor's midsection as the anchor point, she whirled to face Rinnosuke and Kasen, aiming her implement. " _Enuff 'a that!"_

 _FWUU~SH…!_ The metal torpedo took off again-

" _Thunde~r!"_ Marcus clapped his hands together-

 _THWA- THWA- THWASH!_ Three bolts arced down into Murasa's now unarmed form, and she spread her limbs out. "Aa- _aau- hnaah…!"_

The explosion of electrical magic was almost as dazzling as the huge blue wake that was about to envelop Sendai. ' _Fuck, fuck…'_ She swam around, attempting to distance herself from the mess of blue orbs; that both whirled around Murasa's own form in addition to the massive spreading wake…

Jitting with energy, Murasa pivoted to Marcus before her anchor even hit the opposite wall-

 _SHOONK!_ Which, it eventually did. This wall was very far from anyone, however.

"Tha- the hell was _that!?"_ Rolling up her already short sleeves, Murasa began stomping across the waves towards him. "You _pest!_ Some robe 'n' wizard hat isn't gonna sink _me!"_

 _Vrrr~..._ " _Captain!"_

Sendai snapped to face the oncoming hum… ' _Oh- woah-'_

 _Fwuu~sh…_

Submerging herself, she avoided being run over by the oncoming boat by swimming down. ' _What now…?'_

... _Splash!_ Surfacing moments later, she saw what she dodged more properly.

It was a small, metal raft, with a very rusty, decrepit engine hooked up to the back of it. The monk named Stormy was atop the front edge of it, and behind him were some other generic monks…

A brown cat man- with an actual cat's head- turned to him. "Deploy now…?"

"Send 'em _all out!"_ Raising his water bazooka-

 _Fwuu~sh!_ Stormy launched a really inaccurate shot, specifically at Marcus, who ended up drifting slowly out of the way.

He was now floating at a constant rate, more aware of the possibilities of danger. "Real nice _boat_ there…"

Finally reaching him, Murasa held her arms up. "C'mere- let's _go!"_

' _Ah- shit, shit…!'_ Sendai rapidly paddled towards him, dark energy accenting her limbs…

Mouth ajar, Marcus cast a hand forward. " _Plasma!"_

ZAP- _ZAP!_ The lilac ball of energy pulsed in Murasa's form, and while she vibrated-

 _Woosh- woosh- woosh!_ She rolled her fists forward one after another, in an attempt to clip him. After they'd missed-

 _Wham!_ She finally connected a blow after reeling an arm back and throwing herself forward. " _Hah!_ "

"Nghu…!" Falling back-

 _Splash!_ Marcus fell into the water. ' _No!'_

...As he sunk, Murasa hunched over… "Da- damned _thunder_ magician…"

Sendai swam for him-

 _Clank- clank- clank- clank…!_

From the nearby metal support raft, a dodgy, iron machine swam forward in the water, looking reminiscent of a fish. ' _Fuck whatever that is…!'_

Moving past it, Sendai brushed aside the metal grate it had for a 'mouth' piece-

 _Blub- blub- blub- blub…!_ A powerful current rushed from the device, knocking both the device back and rolling Sendai around a few times. ' _Uu~gh! Fuck, fuck-'_

" _Manzairaku!"_ Kasen thrust an arm out from nearby.

...A moment later-

 _Splaa~sh!_ Marcus was flung out of the water, a beach ball launching him out. " _Ackh- hua- kauf- kauf…!"_

' _I've got to catch-'_

Sendai felt Murasa latch onto the back of her outfit. "Hey, _bitch!"_

' _Oh, what the-'_

 _Fwuu~sh…_

Sendai held her breath, when Murasa submerged her by force. ' _...Someone better do something about this before I start drowning. Or I could… use that thunder magic. Let's wait...'_

...While she was under the water, the iron mechanical fish left her alone, drifting away. It was soon replaced by a copper-colored one, also beset by filth and age…

' _What do_ you _want…'_ Sendai frowned at it under the water, as it threatened to bump into her face…

 _zap- zip- zap_. The outside crackled with energy, for a visible and audible moment. ' _Oh- oh. Shit.'_

...Almost silently, a contained sphere of electric energy seemed to roll up from below, generated beneath the robot. ' _Um!'_

 _wuush- fwuush- wuush!_ Channeling dark energy into her limbs, Sendai began lethargically smashing them through the water around herself as the sphere neared. ' _C'mon- aah-'_

 _Splash!_ Murasa lifted her head from the water-

 _Plap!_ -and smashed it back in. As Sendai dealt with the disorientation-

 _PAP- THWA~SH!_ The electricity struck her form, and her mind went aflush with pain. " _Mghu~! Ghk- hu- uu~...!"_ Rapidly, she began to take on water as her body numbed…

 _ZA- ZAP!_ More electric sounds came from somewhere behind her.

Then, she felt herself sinking… ' _nu- numb…_ '

With nothing but herself and the blue waves below, her heart raced at the accelerating, unfamiliarly contained falling sensation, with no way to stop it. ' _I- I'm…'_

As her vision began to wane, the messy waves of the blue below all mixing together with the darkness-

 _Splaa~sh!_ Kasen had been tugging on her for some time, now surfacing. " _Tsukiko!_ Tsukiko, are you alright!?"

...The noise took a moment to reach Sendai- " _Kauf- kaugh- haau~hk…!"_ -as she coughed the water from her lungs. "Hhk- nnh-"

 _Splap- splash- splap- splash!_ " _Renew!"_ Hugging both her passengers tightly, Kasen continued to run around the surface of the water…

 _Thwash…!_ An electric orb emerged from below, the copper fish following them slowly-

 _Shu- shu- shunk!_ Canisters disengaged from the iron fish-

 _Fwuu~sh…_ -before they accelerated across the waves, homing in on the three as Kasen propelled them along the waves.

" _Drowning Sign!"_ Murasa declared an aptly named spell card. " _Sinkable Vortex!"_

As Kasen's healing magic ran up her body, Sendai's senses returned through the dull, almost drunk sensations that passed over her body from the oxygen deprivation, and the electric's power. ' _Ow- ow…'_

"Nnn…"She whined as she recovered, the magic and combined elements offsetting her something fierce. ' _Punches? ...Okay. Arrows? Fine. Sharp-fibered vines, skin erosion and outright crushing? Sucks, but whatever. Electrocution in water's still one fucking hell of a way to go.'_

Murasa spread her arms out-

 _FWUUU~SH!_ A massive, albeit shotgun-esque spread of droplet-shaped danmaku pellets washed out from her from, encompassing everything.

Dripping wet and body shaky, Marcus thrust an arm out. " _Star Showe~r!"_

 _Patatatat!_ Meanwhile, the nearby metal raft- that sent out the robot fish earlier- slowly rotated around. The cat man now held a wooden box which fired danmaku at a machine gun's pace, powered by a hand-crank on the side.

" _Heal!"_ They had a mage of their own onboard, a little white-haired girl with fluffy cat ears.

 _DI- DING, DING- DING- DING…!_ The massive star shower formed above the boat, ready to crash down onto it.

"Nngh- gah…" Marcus shielded himself with his arms, the red bolts from the danmaku machine gun roaring towards him unavoidably, accented by the massive teal and blue droplet storms…

In this maelstrom of magic, Kasen centered her focus on their main opponent, briefly addressing her newest passenger. "...Tsukiko. Are you okay, now?"

"Ye- yeah…" Her body felt a little unsure, but she was otherwise alright. "Free up Marcus, spam thunder on sailor bitch. I'll deal with the dumb robots. Just make sure _he_ can get hits in..."

Kasen nodded, and let her go.

 _Fwuu~sh…_ Immediately, Sendai dropped beneath the waves. ' _O- oh, god. Can't let this shit weigh me down…'_ Letting go of her recent bad experience, she put her discomfort aside and roared ahead-

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Four iron canisters rolled past her, ignoring her. ' _Keep moving…'_

While she neared the non-evasive, slow metal fish, Kasen was taking Rinnosuke towards the raft.

 _TINK- TINK- BAM- DINK- TINK- BAM!_ The star shower caused the boat to rock, although that was probably the least of the crew's worries.

 _Splash…!_ The cat man was launched into the water, and began to flail as he sunk. " _Mm- nngh- mrm!?"_

 _...Splash_. Kasen dipped beneath the water to save him, because it was pretty obvious he couldn't swim.

"Mrrm…" It's gone unsaid, but Rinnosuke's had to hold his breath every time she's decided to make a daring rescue.

...Simply dropping down to reach him, Kasen roped an arm under his, and began to pull up.

 _Spla~sh!_ It wasn't too long for her to reach the surface. " _Haa~h…"_ Rinnosuke inhaled, again.

Through the spotty vision allowed by the inaccurate but messy water danmaku everywhere, she could make out a few things.

"Da- _damn…"_ The support raft was finished off by that one attack, still afloat but only with Stormy conscious. It appeared Marcus already took care of the raft situation.

 _Thunk!_ Kasen simply plopped the cat man on board- "Kauf- kaugh- augh…" -and while he coughed his lungs out, she scanned the magic in the air, ignoring what pattered against her…

"Rgh…" Marcus was hanging close to the water, blue and teal energy building up on his form, since dodging wasn't his strong suit…

" _Bless!"_ Kasen pumped a fist out.

 _Fwi~sh…!_ The complex, pink and white floral pattern bloomed around him-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ -and then his energy was restored. The energy reversed, and he was left with a green sheen to his form. "...Oo~h!" Now that he was revitalized, has hands crackled with energy. " _Force Blizzard!"_

Murasa was twirling in place, sending out the incessant, crashing danmaku vortex with every toss of her limbs. " _Ha~h…! Huu!"_

 _Woo~sh…!_ The remote blizzard began over her, and she froze in shock. "Ha- aah!?"

 _FWA~SH!_ ...Murasa was frozen solid.

 _Ploop._ Her icy prison bobbed on the water's surface, and all the danmaku stopped.

 _CLA~NK!_ Meanwhile, Sendai smashed the copper fish on top of the iron fish.

"Hup…!" Leaping off of the top one, she allowed herself to flip around, before pouring dark energy into her wet legs-

 _KLABAM!_ She thrust them both down-

 _Fwoom- boom!_ Once both sandals crushed into them, they both let out sad explosions, before coming undone. Slowly, the two machines sank to the bottom…

Except, their mechanical thrusters came off. Their final attack was unleashed, four thrusters wildly floating up towards Sendai-

 _Bam- Boom! Kaboom- Boom!_ They all exploded around her. ' _Wha- ow! The fuck…!?'_ Once their force stopped juggling her, she fell into the mini-sea below-

 _Splash._ The burns and flesh gouges from the blasts were in parts soothed and irritated by the water at the same time. ' _...Well. Not as bad as the other shit…'_

Her gaze centered on the frozen Murasa. ' _...Ice freezes her!? Oh, hell yeah!'_ Eagerly, she began to paddle across the blue, her blood flowing into the water around herself from her superficial blast marks…

As she neared the ice cube-

 _CRA~CK!_ Murasa broke free, stretching her arms out. "Damn your _magi~c!"_

 _PAT- PAP- PAT!_ A whirling mass of cool-colored droplet bullets flourished from her form, and Sendai recoiled at the impact. ' _Ugh- ow! That wasn't even a spell card…!'_

 _Vrrr~..._ While the new current pushed the miko back, she heard the hum of an engine, and turned…

The metal raft drifted up alongside her and idled. Onboard, Rinnosuke held his gun to Stormy's head, as the latter bitterly operated the engine…

Kasen waved down at her. "He~y."

' _Nice boat.'_ Sendai dryly stared back up at her…

" _Harbor Sign!"_ Murasa's anchor finally returned to her from across the room, and began to rotate around herself. " _Eternally Anchored Phantom Ship!"_

 _ **FWASH.**_ All around her form, a circle spread of ten giant, eight foot tall magic anchors formed.

 _FWUU- FWUU- FWUU- FWUU-_

One after another, they came out like a wave, the barrage of anchor torpedos linearly rocketing outward from Murasa's form.

' _It's literally the first card but bigger…!'_ Mouth agape, Sendai moved to strafe between the spreading torpedos.

Marcus flew overhead, and Kasen hugged onto Rinnosuke and abandoned ship-

 _KRANG- BAM!_ An anchor smashed into the metal life raft, and it got propelled away…

"Hau- akh- nngh- anh…" Sendai's mouth took on water as she was tossed about by the violent, danmaku wakes of every anchor. "Ghau- _hau~!"_ Surfacing proper, she gasped out the water she had to, before inhaling…

 _SHOONK- SHUNK- SHUNK- SHUNK-_

The array of anchors procedurally smashed into every surrounding wall of the void of water the battle took place in, making the entire body jiggle and jolt as the room shook…

Blue orbs whirled every which way, the wild tides filling Sendai's vision. Also, they filled her mind with pain. ' _Wha- aaugh- what's going on!? Why'd she save this for later!?'_

" _Force Blizzard!"_ Flinching and writhing in the air, Marcus extended a wet arm as he soared above…

 _Fwoo~sh…_ The snow storm once again enveloped Murasa, and she could do little but watch-

 _FWA~SH!_ -and freeze.

The danmaku didn't dissipate this time, so Sendai sucked it up and worked towards her. ' _Co- come on…'_ As her limbs began to lock up, she channeled darkness to them to work them harder. ' _At least… get to her…!'_

 _KLA- KLA- KLA- KLA- KLACK…!_ The anchors all began to roar back, as if all attached to invisible chains around Murasa, even while she was frozen. ' _Oh- woah! Woaa~h!'_

To avoid being scrunched-

 _Splash- woosh!_ Sendai uppercutted out of the waves, her arm burning from exertion. ' _Haha~ ow- alright…'_

...She passed just beneath the floating Marcus, peering down. ' _Alright-'_

 _KRA~CK!_ The impact of all ten anchors returning freed Murasa from her prison early. " _Not anymo~re!"_ Curling down-

 _FWOA~SH!_ She roared into the air, the anchors revolving around her like a rotating blade of doom. " _Huaheheha~!"_

Marcus flew to one side, while Sendai fell away to the other to avoid being blown away by the oncoming magic steel. ' _Holy crap…!'_

"Hnn~h…!" Charging her aching, burning arm with magical, dark energy- she then reconsidered…

Holding out arms-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Creating two blades of wind in each arm, she sailed forward, into the whirling carousel of anchors. She whirled into the side-

 _Shi- shink!_ She passed Murasa, only barely clipping the edges of the anchors as she cut through her enemy.

" _Thunde~r!"_ Marcus capitalized on the surprise.

Every little clip Sendai made against the handles of the anchors-

 _FWUUSH- SPLAA~SH- BOOM- FWUU~SH!_ The pokes and brushes resulted in explosions, showering Murasa in water, and briefly spritzing the miko as she came to a stop just outside. Hearing her friend's spell-

Her form flickered out.

 _THWA- THWA- THWASH!_ The bolts came down, lighting up Murasa's anchor battlestation with brilliant, white light.

 _ZAP- ZAP- ZAZZAP- FZZT- ZZZ~..._

The reservoir water glowed a shade brighter, the amplified electricity surging through it all for a moment, before dimming.

... _Sploo- sploo- sploo- sploosh, sploosh._ The anchors all fell away.

 _Spla~sh…_ Murasa dropped into the waves, form crackling and convulsing.

…

 _Tick- vrrr- tick tick- vrrr…_

Stormy's now scrunched metal raft pitifully chugged onto the scene, now at about a third of the length it used to be, the front bent in a U-shape.

 _Sploosh._ Sendai fell into the water, and surfaced easily. ' _...We… did it. Ha- haha… hahaha~!'_

"Ptfuh. Da~mn." She gave the water a stupid grin, and spat out some...

…

"Talk about _stress relief…!"_ Marcus stretched his limbs above. "Hot _damn!_ Haven't worked the joints like that in… some time! Healin' magic's _a lot different_ than potion magic, too... _"_

' _It really is. Makes me feel like I wanna vomit less...'_

 _BWO~MP…_

The room's water shook. ' _Wait-... uh.'_

Kasen drifted up to them, still holding onto Rinnosuke… "I wonder how we get out of here."

' _...Just, punch up, and keep going up until we find a room. Probab-'_

 _BWO~MP…_

The room's water pulsed again, vibrating noticeably once. "...Does anybody else hear that?"

"Yeah." Kasen neared her. "I don't know-"

 _BWOMP- fwuuu~ush…_ Somewhere, the echoey noises gave way to a slow flush. The water began to flow idly as it lowered.

' _Feels like it's draining…'_ Sendai furrowed her brows, and looked down. ' _But… why?'_

" _Phantom…"_

Murasa's voice was heard, but she couldn't be seen. ' _Aah. She's still not down.'_

...Everyone looked around, as the water very slowly lowered.

" _Dipper Creeping Close."_

...Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _This is stupid. Where is she…'_

...The room's liquid continued to pulse and jolt as it was chugged down and out, somewhere. Drain noises filled the air, providing constant sound in the background…

 _VHI~R._

A pale green, translucent figure formed in the water before Sendai, bearing a chain wrapped around its leg that stretched down, and an empty gaze that she could peer through.

Before Sendai could do anything-

 _KASPLA~SH!_ An explosion of solid blue came from Murasa's spectral form.

" _Hua~h!"_ Sendai was launched entirely, sent skidding across the water's surface. "Oa- fhuh…"

 _Fwuu~sh…_ She submerged, rolling around.

 _shuuuu~..._ The drain noise was even more audible below the water.

 _VHI~R._

Murasa's vague form blurred into existence before her. ' _Hah!'_

 _woosh._ Sendai punched straight through her face. ' _...Holy fuck-'_

 _KAFWU~SH!_ Once again, Sendai was blinded with pain from a torrential water explosion. ' _Oww~! Alright- let's just- let's go…!'_

Paddling up, before channeling dark energy to make the paddling work faster-

 _Splaa~sh!_ She surfaced-

 _Woosh!_ -and leapt, thrusting an arm coated in black through the air.

 _VHI- VHIR._ Murasa generated behind her, and let out a gaspy hiss. " _Hhua-_ "

 _CLA- SHUNK, CLA- SHUNK, CLA- SHUNK…_

 _Woosh!_ Kicking to distance herself, Sendai soared across the reservoir top. Her hair whipped in the air, her form sailing just beneath the ceiling as anchors of ethereal energy sprang from below the depths. They arced just high enough to attempt to latch on and drag her down, not aimed precisely enough to actually manage at the speed she flung herself.

 _KERSPLA~SH!_ Before her form vanished, Murasa exploded into a raw, massive blast of water once again. This left Sendai to coast back down, her body cold from the speed combined with how wet she was...

 _Fwuuu~sh! Shpla- shpla~sh…!_ The draining of water became very audible, as the reservoir was on its last third of water.

" _Thunder!"_ Marcus threw both arms out again-

 _VHI- VHIR._ Once again, Murasa appeared, this time behind Sendai as she soared. ' _One hell of a ghost-'_

Thwa- thwa- thwash. The bolts missed entirely, passing straight through the target and fizzling lamely against the water's surface.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai cast ofuda behind herself, and they passed through Murasa's phantom form. ' _Definitely one hell of a ghost-'_

 _WOOSH- SHUNK!_ Sendai rolled out of the way of a smaller anchor, launched from the air to her left. As she rolled around-

 _WOOSH- SHUNK!_ She curled up into a ball to avoid another one, this one coming from below-

Her body flickered out.

 _KRA- KRA- KRANG! KRANG!_ A ball of anchors smashed together-

 _KERSPLA~SH!_ Both Murasa and the anchor ball exploded into a massive, watery maelstrom. The mess of real water and danmaku slowly sunk into the already draining water…

 _Shuk- shuk- glugugugug…_

The water was now almost all gone.

Appearing once more, Sendai fell back into the-

 _Thud._ Rather, she landed hard against a wood floor, with a layer of water on top. ' _Fuck- ow…!'_

The room's light source was a series of dim, luminescent metal fragments placed at the bottom; perhaps cobalt, or some other enchanted mineral. Without the water, everything was a clean, dim blue, the wavy effect made by the water's refraction now gone. The room was pure.

 _VHI- VHIR._

Murasa's phantasmal form appeared once more. As Kasen and Marcus landed, she weakly shambled onto her legs…

...Sendai got up, too. ' _Oh- oh, fuck…'_ To her surprise, her body was more worn than she considered, and she fell back onto one knee for a moment. ' _Wow.'_

...Reeling her head back, Murasa's mouth began to fill with blue, bright energy. " _Hhehaah..."_

"Are you _done_ , yet…?" Marching up to them, Sendai exhaled… "I'm gonna _make you_ done, if you… aren't."

" _Bathe…!"_ Raspy and vacant, Murasa lashed out. " _In the cursed oceans!"_

The blue energy began to expand from her mouth-

 _Fwaa~_ _ **FWOA~M!**_ It expanded, the massive blue and white magic roaring out-

 **FWAA~SH!** The element of water itself was unleashed in the form of raw mana, a sapphire mega-flare exploding out from the dread of the phantom before Sendai…

And, it hurt. ' _Aaa~h…!'_

...When color and light returned to everything, the room had a small layer of water to drain again, and everything was even more wet.

Despite the pain, it was over quickly, the magic not quite as strong as the presentation. ' _...Well.'_

Marcus and Rinnosuke would have to take another moment to write it off as Sendai did, however. "Uu- nnh…" Writhing on the floor, the former left his mouth ajar…

"...Gre- great." Rinnosuke was curled up as he tried to get back up…

"He- heal, heal…" Kasen held out her hands as she moved to attend to them…

...Sendai slowly marched up to the kneeling sailor girl before herself, whose form was one again tangible.

"Thi- this… power…" Sendai had no idea if the girl was crying, because water was just everywhere. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to feel dry again for a week. "Yo- you've… buried a _lot_ of youkai, haven't you? Here I am… ca- can't do a _damn thing…"_

...Standing before Murasa, she simply looked over her idly for a moment. Then, she took a talisman seal from her sleeves-

 _Fwip!_ It struck Murasa on the forehead like a bullet.

"Ha- aah…" Murasa was definitely crying. "So- sorry… By- Byak-..."

 _Thud._ She fell onto her side, unconscious.

' _...Not quite the force I thought I'd used. She'll be back up quick enough.'_

"...Ha~h." Sendai exhaled. "...He- hey, uh, Kasen."

"Bless." Kasen pressed a hand onto her shoulder.

 _Fwoa~sh!_ The high of healing energy ran through Sendai's body again, and all the damage she'd accumulated in the past fight was reversed… barring clothing and dampness. "Ye- _ye~s._ Wo~w…"

...While she felt good, her eyes settled on a big chest mounted to the floor, in the very middle of the room, atop a round wood pad that was built into the floor.

' _That shit's mine now.'_ Quickly, she jogged away from the scene entirely, moving up to the big wood treasure chest in the midst of the room…

"Wha- hey, _he~y…"_ Kasen protested this. "I- look, I know this fight was all kinda in bad faith, but- that doesn't mean you've got to take her things!"

"Blood sport's the way it's _paid for…"_ Sendai really couldn't care at the moment, between the pleasure-pain of healing, and all the work she just went through. "Besides, it's probably a bunch of _anchors_ anyway…"

Stomping up to the chest-

 _Bam- clack!_ Sendai kicked it open with a dim-tinted sandal, popping the lock and flipping it open with one move.

Looking inside, she was half-right. ' _...Anchor-esque things. Book thing. A doll. Hmm…'_

Reaching in, she took out a weird, abstract thing that reminded her of a cross between a pickaxe and a gardening shovel and some kind of fancy red glass. ' _What the hell's this. ...I don't even know what this is.'_

Putting it back, she looked through the chest, and huffed. "There's just a whole lotta junk in here. Personal stuff, _anchors_ … a _thing._ Wait…"

Pushing an anchor aside, she saw a small pile of gold doubloons. ' _Ooo~...'_

Now next to her, Kasen huffed. "Don't take the _money_ , either. It's probably not even worth anything here."

' _...She's probably right.'_ Stepping back from the chest, Sendai folded her arms… "There's gotta be _something_ kind of useful in here."

Marcus dipped his hands in from the left. "Wow, what the hell's this thing…? Some strong dark energy pourin' offa' it!"

"That's the _thing I don't know."_ Sendai shook her head at the red-black piece of junk.

...After looking at it for a moment, Rinnosuke divined its origins, peering in from the very right. "It's actually a very intricate coat hanger."

' _Yeah- okay…'_ Shaking her head, she waved her hands at everything. "How about all this?"

...Smiling dryly, he continued to define things. "Well. That book's obviously a diary. The doll is a doll. There's a hidden compartment for clothing on the bottom, those coins were made for Spanish trade- apparently-... the anchors were made for fighting, actually, barring the one in the back, which is an actual anchor, except really small."

"...What the hell's a Spanish." That word stood out to Sendai. "...How good of weapons are those anchors?"

"They're all water elemental." Rinnosuke confirmed. "...Also, probably heavy."

Sendai pursed her lips, and moved to lift one of them-...

' _Oh, yeah. Not… using this… as a weapon.'_ While she _could_ lift it, the question was if she _should._

"Aww- lookit here…!" Marcus took the world's tiniest anchor out of the chest. "Anchors aweigh!" He was able to hold it between his thumb and index finger…

"...That's an earring, actually." Rinnosuke furrowed his brows. "Or, was. It's a pin now."

"Hu~p…" On the other hand, Kasen lifted the anchor without too much trouble. "...Ooo~. This is weird, alright…"

It was big enough to fit over her shoulder, similar to a broad weapon. The cobalt-esque, sea-blue metal shimmered as she held it…

Marcus tossed the anchor pin to Rinnosuke. "Here, catch!"

"Wha- okay…" He took it plainly, receiving it from a cross-chest toss. "...And- since I need _room…"_

Reaching into his bag, he took out a soggy cheese wheel slice, and tossed it away. "There."

"I'm sure she'll enjoy that." Kasen stared at the cheese plainly as it splatted against the ground…

' _...Cheese.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to make of remembering what he was carrying. ' _Freaking…_ '

...Sendai took a sailor hat out from near the doubloons. "I guess this works." Gingerly, she slipped it on over her hair…

Kasen watched her fit it and adjust it into place. "...It's actually kind of tiny, on you. It looks cute."

' _Whatever.'_ Taking only slight pride in that, she moves away from the chest. "Not that I expected anything from this to begin with…"

...When she'd moved back over towards the unconscious Murasa, it'd become evident that she was stirring.

"Oh, hey." Rinnosuke drew another piece of metal from the chest. "...I found a cobalt knuckle duster."

Sendai whipped to face him.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Reimu's_ _Perspective_ ====

With the Myouren Temple in the very near background, the two Hakurei women trodded along on their way to the Mausoleum.

"...Pardon my inquiry…" Futo was gingerly following them along, her pace allowed by Kiyoko's own slow, imposing walk towards their destination. "Would it not be better were _I_ to lead, upon this point…?"

"It's a couple turns and stuff away." Reimu waved her off, giving her a small frown. "I wanna be in front in case granny here does anything sketchy."

' _This whole night's sucked. I don't know how mom just so easily writes off getting beat up like that. I mean… I do it too, but, hrm...'_ After thinking herself into a corner, she shook her head. ' _These two being my only company for the next hour or so… really, really sucks…'_

 _Crea~k._ The small, metal gate to the graveyard behind the temple whined, Reimu easily pushing her way inside through it. By comparison to the lamps around the temple walls and yard, the dim black of the barren, flat graveyard out back left a lot to the imagination.

' _These are the last two people on earth I'd wanna explore a graveyard with.'_

Kiyoko stomped behind, her frown visible beneath her visor. "...There is darkness under this soil, raw and wild."

"Cool." Reimu knew this much already… "It might be night, too. Didja check to see if there're graves around?"

...Turning only a few degrees to her, Kiyoko focused on marching ahead again without comment.

' _I'm gonna make her snap or die trying.'_ Her demeanor was making Reimu go mental at this point. ' _Because screw all of this.'_

Nearing from outside of Reimu's vision, Futo spoke gently to her. "...If thou hast forgotten, the entry lies-"

"I _kno~w_ where the entry is!" Reimu swung her gohei at her to make her shoo. "It's the big dumb pinnacle tombstone over there."

After pointing to it and drifting towards it in the starless black of the graveyard's gloom, she gave it a brisk nod. "Here lies Miko. Lived fast and died a saint. ...Or, used to lay, now."

"...I'd ask thee to refer to the Crown Prince with more reverence… but I know it impossible." Futo shook her head at her…

"Quiet." Kiyoko commanded the both of them, as she neared the flashy tombstone…

"...You be quiet." Reimu didn't appreciate it. "You know how to push a stone?"

...Kiyoko simply faced her, the exposed portion of her face disapproving as ever.

...Reimu tried hard not to grin. ' _Ye- yeah, that was mean of me. Not that I'm guilty, but this is just so stupid. I feel like Marisa right now.'_

"How uncalled for." Futo capitalized on the resulting silence.

' _You're uncalled for.'_

Kiyoko began reaching her sole armored arm towards the stone-

 _Shunk…_

From the soil before the grave, a hand rose, latching onto her armored boot.

...After a short pause, she brought her boot up, tugging the hand and its arm with it-

 _Bam- crunch…_ She stomped down hard, crunching the flesh beneath her, mangling the arm that bared the hand.

"My, my~..."

Reimu whipped to the voice, along with Futo. Kiyoko slowly turned…

A ghostly woman drifted in the air before them, reclining leisurely on nothing. Though she didn't immediately bare anything reminiscent of a ghost, Reimu knew well who she was by now. ' _Seiga~. This is quickly becoming one of my least favorite nights. Like, of all of them.'_

"Here we'd all thought you _royally_ screwed up…" Smiling down at Futo, she switched which of her legs was crossed over the other. "But, in your _delirium_ you seem to have brought the enemy to us. I can see why, too…"

" _Seiga!"_ Futo dashed out to yell up at her. "...We should attempt an extension of peace!"

...Giving her a vainful look, Seiga tilted her head. "Ah, hum. ...Why~?"

' _Oh, yeah, 'cause that'll work. Seiga's curious, for sure… and nothing stops her from being really stupid and annoying when she's curious.'_

"The power…!" Pointing back at Kiyoko, Futo gestured to both the nearby temple and her. "It may be utilized! Then, the understanding of it will be ours!"

...Pursing her lips together, Seiga nodded. "...You know, that's not a bad idea."

...Reimu narrowed her eyes.

Futo blinked. "...Wha- really? I meant- why, of course-"

"But we're not gonna do that." Shaking her head, Seiga declined the peace negotiations. "Because that's stupid. I have a far more _proactive_ idea in mind…"

"Oh, thou art a _bespawling bell."_ Folding her arms, Futo began to round to face the two miko again. "Mind not-"

Kiyoko was already moving for her. "Wha- hold hold- _back-"_

The metal gauntlet came to strike her-

 _KRA~NG!_ ...A tombstone erected in the way, eating the grappling palm unexpectedly. Kiyoko had a fistful of stone in her grasp, as she tore her fist from the midsection.

 _Kroo- kroom…_ The tombstone fell apart from her tug.

 _Shu- shunk…_ _kra- krack- kraa~ck… thoo- thoom…_

All around the graveyard, shambling beings of loose flesh and shaky bones rose from beneath. Climbing from the earth, the undead rose once again to surround the shrine maidens.

"You leave this to me, for now." Seiga addressed Futo, who was already making an escape on her sandals out of the graveyard. "Go ahead and station there. Let me have my _fun_ , first."

"It shalt be _all thy fault…!"_ Futo cursed back at her as she exited the graveyard premises, yelling over the darkness.

' _What is this.'_ Reimu stared at the plain, basic zombies that rose. ' _Seiga's totally just scouting what granny can do.'_

"I'll take care of them!" Yelling over the rising murmur of groans and gasps, Reimu got into Kiyoko's face to convey the urgency of her motive. "You just _stand here_ and _keep safe_ …!"

"That won't _do."_ Seiga was able to read such a sentiment easily. "...I suppose I'm being _disrespectful_ with this showing as it is."

" _Hhu- ha- a- a…"_ A long-haired woman's corpse limped on one leg towards Reimu, raising her one arm to claw her flesh-

Expanding a yin-yang before herself, Reimu thrust it into the shambling woman-

 _Shu- shunk- SHIK- SHAK!_ After spinning ahead enough, the whirling, solid orb tore off the zombie's flesh, black and red matter staining the yin-yang's luminescent exterior. ' _Gotta start using magic. The gaseous ones she sends out will be bad news if we just smash them-'_

 _SWISH!_ Kiyoko swung a katana she drew from nowhere.

 _Thu- thu- thud._ Plain undead crumbled before her, their wounds burning with glowing, platinum residue from the impact.

...Reimu focused on a dead, blue-haired child that romped up to her, its eyes empty. Swinging her gohei like she was aiming for a golfball-

 _Fwoom- Clack!_ Holy flames extended from the wooden implement, and on impact, the corpse burst into flames, and its head fell off. ' _What did-... oh, right. My gohei-'_

 _FWIO~SH!_ The now blue flames roared, violent and wild. " _Hiuhwuaa~au- gh- ku- kha~h…!"_

 _Thud._ The whining, screaming cry of the boy zombie died out as it became a pile of flesh and bone.

' _My gohei makes holy fire, for some reason. I… when did I learn that?'_ For some reason, the memory was hazy in Reimu's mind. ' _Oh, right. The… Hakurei god.'_

"Mass~... te~r…" A loud moan came from beneath the graveyard's surface.

 _KROO~M!_ ' _Here's the big one…'_

Yoshika Miyako shakily towered up from the rock and gravel beneath her, arms outstretched. "...I ss~ee the~m…"

"I'd hope so." Seiga nodded at her loyal servant gingerly. "I've got some help for you, too. Don't expend yourself _too quickly_ , now."

At her words-

 _Kro- kroo- kroom…!_

Raw, ugly masses of flesh with matted fur and numerous visible incisions, serrations and mysterious black markings on their skin crawled from the rocks. They were bears, clad in dead fur and open wounds, jiangshi talismans stitched into their foreheads.

 _KROO- FWOO~M…!_

Reimu whirled to face a column of fire that erupted from the earth near the right edge of the graveyard. ' _This is gonna get ugly…'_

 _FWIOO~!_ From under a bland tombstone, a towering humanoid with iron-addled limbs raised. Fire was visible from within the grateface the ten foot tall thing bared; the man with a furnace for a head lugging a coffin over its shoulder.

"I hope that's the _simple_ coffin, Walter…" Seiga phased up from the floor, rotating around the being. "The _surprise_ would do horribly, here."

" _Nnugh…"_ An almost comically low hum came from the stove man.

Floating up, Reimu escaped the eight or so generic undead that had come for her-

 _KLACK- SPLAT- SPLAT- SPLASH!_ She sent one big orb down into the converging horde, crushing them flat into a paste of bone and flesh. ' _These things always make me sick…'_

" _Rrgh…!"_ One of the fleshy, horrible bears galloped towards Kiyoko-

 _SLASH- SHANK!_ Sliding into it directly, she thrust her blade straight forward into it-

 _CRACK- SHHK…_ The skull congealed inward like jello, black spritzing out.

 _Shink!_ Drawing her blade, Kiyoko swung the jiangshi talisman it claimed until it fluttered off.

 _Squish- thud- thud- squelch…_ The bear fell into a pile of featureless masses of unkempt, marked flesh.

" _Rraghgh!"_ The other one slapped an arm into the ground-

 _fwwsh- SHUNK!_ Kiyoko was only displaced by inches, a shady black spoke matted with cobweb and dim bile rocketing from the ground below to attempt piercing her. It'd only managed to scrape her armor.

Reimu coasted back past her-

 _THUD- THUD- THUD- THUD!_ The furnace-faced man stomped with person-wide strides, sprinting up to the two girls-

Kiyoko turned to it, and it lugged the coffin as large as itself over its head-

 _fwish._ She was now beside it-

 _KROOM- BAM- BOOM- BOOM!_ The huge, black steel coffin embedded itself in the earth, and an eruption of flame gushed past it, soaring into the night sky. Even this barely illuminated the graveyard.

 _Ti- ti- ti- ti- tick!_ Danmaku ofuda poured from Reimu, knocking over twelve or fourteen undead which were building up along one of her sides-

" _Poison Nai~l…"_ Yoshika moaned from atop the tombstone that hid the passage to the Mausoleum, spreading her arms out and waving them. " _Poison Murder!"_

Abandoning her ground position, Reimu took to the air-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ In a huge, dangerous cloud before and around Yoshika, purple and pink kunai danmaku formed. They slowly fanned out like gas, surrounding the two women very quickly…

 _Fwa- fwash! Fwash!_ As she cast her arms through the air, flailing almost comically, the danmaku 'gas' began to spread.

Weaving through the air, Reimu kept an eye on the ground battle, but couldn't help. ' _Ugh! I can't stop them from making granny show off like this…!'_

 _Woosh!_ The undead furnace man sprang from the ground, perching atop the coffin it lugged.

 _Clack!_ The front face of the coffin slammed open.

 _kroo- kroom, kroo- kroom._ Two wiggly, writhing things of chains poured out from within, burrowing beneath the muted grass immediately.

" _Huu- uuaw…"_ Some hooligan-looking villager corpse in sunglasses shambled out behind them, body horribly contorted along the midsection, shirt ripped apart and flesh awash with chain marks and incisions from abrasion.

 _Fhvuu~m…_ A messy organ-chord played from the coffin, and-

 _THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!_ Thrusting itself up and down, the undead with a furnace for a head made the coffin bounce towards Kiyoko, unhealthy plumes of brownish, greenish smog coming from each landing.

" _Spirit Sign!"_ Reimu was currently pressed in the midst of the expanding poison kunai cloud, and _really_ wanted control of the situation. " _Fantasy Seal!"_

The kunai were erased from the air around her, as the seven orbs of neon rainbow light expanded around her, barely lighting up the dim graveyard…

Slowly jogging away from the crushing, bouncing coffin, Kiyoko scanned the ground-

 _Kroom!_ One of the burrowing things erupted before her-

 _Clang!_ Her blade parried the tip of a chain sickle that unwrapped from the messy being. It resembled a tied-up corpse, bound in sickly, glossy grey medical wrappings.

 _fwish._ She moved behind it in an instant-

" _Bwua- ahkugh!"_ The burrower vomited in the direction she used to be, bright, unnaturally red blood splashing out from it like a fountain-

 _Swish._ Kiyoko brought her blade across it…

 _FWII~SH!_ It erupted into a geyser of the same, magical blood as the top of it came undone.

 _Fwam- Bam- Boom- Bam- Fwam- Boom!_ Reimu's orbs mostly exploded against Yoshika, but a few traveled to take care of the cannon fodder below. Each technicolor blast made the air ripple, the echoes of each orb's power visible, even in the mute black of the graveyard.

 _KLACK- SPRITZ- SPLAT!_ One impact from a fantasy orb sent innumerable, brittle corpses exploding into flecks of crimson only a shade away from black.

 _THOOM._ The stove-headed zombie fell off its coffin, an orbs impact sending it whirling-

 _Fwoosh!_ Kiyoko threw herself into a spinning tackle to the side-

 _Kroom!_ A burrowing, matted corpse spiraled from the floor beneath her, soaring from the ground and whirling through the air. Chains, sickles and chain sickles whipped around it as it spun through the air-

 _Thoom. -_ and burrowed again.

 _Kroom!_ Kiyoko spun around as it resurfaced behind her-

 _Shink…!_ She dropped into a kneeling stab as a chain wrapped around her-

 _FWIOO~SH!_ Then, the blast of blood from the skewered being soaked her.

 _Patatatatat!_ Recovering from her stagger, Yoshika created another cloud of poison kunai in the air, which illuminated the mute, greyish black of the graveyard, but once again only barely.

Reimu's face was a deep scowl. ' _It- it… it smells…'_

"Purify." Thrusting her katana into the air-

 _Fwi~sh._ Kiyoko cleansed her own status, and most of the blood that spattered her flesh was gone. This still left her very covered, because she was nearly entirely armor on the outside.

...The t-shirt clad villager in glasses shambled up to her-

 _Swish._ She beheaded him in one casual swipe.

 _FWIUUSH!_ The roar of steam came from the oven-headed giant, as it raised its coffin again.

 _Fwii~sh…!_ White poured from Kiyoko's arm socket, a box of barriers forming to contain the flowing holy…

' _I- I hate Seiga…'_ After Reimu had focused on Yoshika enough, the jarring purple kunai dissipated. ' _I hate this!'_

" _Oounh…"_ Letting out a groan of displeasure, Yoshika's legs buckled momentarily.

 **TING**.

The giant attempted to slam the coffin down on Kiyoko, but her barrier arm resisted the physical attack. And then, it expanded-

 _FWAASH!_ She shot a beam out from between the barriers-

 _SPLACK- BOO~M!_

After the beam's impact created a meaty splatter from the partially metal 'man', it burst into flames, the limb components and innards falling apart into a big, smouldering heap.

Reimu dipped down-

" _Rua- auh!_ " The last undead bear growled at her down there.

" _Woah!_ " She shot back up to stay away. "Ha- haha- no…"

 _Ti- ti- ti- ti- tick…_ She began focusing on it with her danmaku ofuda, building up holy energy on its body…

" _Rrrh…"_ As it began to lock up, it also seemed to grow angrier, baring its teeth-

 _SHING!_ Kiyoko's blade made a flash of light in the clearing, as it came down the middle of the bear.

Reimu saw it split in two, the unnatural, synthesized and maroon organs flowing out like jello, or a spilt bucket. ' _O- oh, my god…'_ She felt an urge at the back of her throat…

This sick feeling reminded her of someone. ' _Where'd Seiga run off to? Stupid, dumb freaking…'_

 _Bambambambambam!_ She flinched at the sudden, oncoming noise. "Ee- aa" ' _Woahwoahwoahwoah-'_

Yoshika bounded up to her-

 _SWISH!_ _SWISH! SWISH!_ -and began flailing her arms, nails out to scrape.

Reimu bumped into a limping zombie that came up behind herself, her adrenaline on fire as each realization built up-

Then, she vanished.

 _SKLACK! Pap- plap…_ Yoshika clawed apart a fellow zombie with one swipe, spreading its parts everywhere. "...Oo~hp… suh."

 _BAM!_ Reimu came down from above, delivering a sandal to the back of her head.

It just made Yoshika stumble forward. "Unh…"

Seiga appeared in the corner of Reimu's vision. ' _There-'_

 _Spla~sh!_ " _Bwuau- auugh!"_

From beneath Yoshika, a vomit-sounding eruption of poison, skeletal remains and bile was ejected from the earth, splashing the zombie and also clipping Reimu.

The clear, pasty sludge was fire to her skin, and she resisted shutting her eyes from the concept. ' _Ew, ew- ugh…!'_

"Cle- cl- _Cleanse!"_ She thrust her gohei into the air.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Flighty, pure holy magic washed up her form, and most of the bile was gone-

"O- okay…" Strafing around in the air, she focused on Yoshika-

 _Fwoash._ -who was healing from the bile that had soaked onto her clothing and skin, her limbs becoming more limber, and her movements more active.

 _Patatatatat!_ Kiyoko fired a wide, messy spread of bullet-fast ofuda off into some random direction. ' _What- what… whatever.'_

Reimu saw Seiga pop up from the ground again. ' _There!'_

 _Patatatatat!_ Kiyoko once again unleashed ofuda, in her direction.

Seiga dipped below the floor, and the talismans all exploded into small holy impacts upon the surfaces they struck.

"Hh~..." Marching forward, Yoshika held her arms up again. " _Poison Na~il… Zombie Claw!"_

...Quietly, her hands glowed with whirling, pink and blue energy…

' _Great…'_ Reimu drew needles from her sleeves. ' _Bombs should make this quick and painless…'_ The implements had yin-yang pads on the ends of them, as handles, with the other end still obviously a needle tip.

 _Bambambambam!_ Yoshika began roaring towards her, legs pounding against the ground with self-destructive force.

 _SWASH- SWISH! SWASH- SWISH!_ With every flail of her arms, a massive wave of pink and blue kunai exploded out; the lightning fast, inhuman flails making Reimu's eyebrows raise…

Ascending to gain distance, she flung her persuasion needles down-

 _Shi- shi- shi- shink!_ They embedded in Yoshika's flesh-

 _Woosh!_ -as she ascended, chasing after Reimu and into the air. " _Hhaah…!"_

Reimu dipped down abruptly-

Yoshika passed her-

 _Clack- WHACK!_ Reimu grazed her stomach with a gohei swipe, and the broad of Yoshika's arm came across her head.

And, with the impact, came a flush of poison kunai, straight into her. " _Aaugh!"_

 _Bam!_ Reimu rolled against the ground, rebounding away. "Nn- ngh…" The fatigue began to set in immediately, so she dispelled it before anything else. "Cle- cleanse…"

 _Fwam- boom- fwash- boom- bam!_ The needles exploded in Yoshika's flesh, engulfing her in holy magic. " _Huua- aghk!"_

...Stumbling out of the blood she'd landed in, Reimu held more needles ready, gohei up defensively. ' _That… that potion better still be stashed behind the Myouren temple. I got careless…'_

...Marching from the dissipating holy pulses, Yoshika hopped along on one good leg. " _Hehh- hekh, heh…"_

"Oh, my…" Seiga was audible from below her. "Fatigued, already? I have a _fix for that_ , you know."

' _When I find you, I'm sealing you away…'_ She glared ahead at her foe… ' _This… this was horrible. What's granny even doing…!?'_

...Turning, she saw Kiyoko simply watching. ' _Seriously!?'_

 _SWISH- SWASH- SWISH!_ Yoshika's barrage came again-

 _Shi- shi- shank- shink._ This time, Reimu deposited her needles, and teleported away.

Now outside the graveyard gates, she made her way to the back of the Myouren temple, which was about under eighty meters from the actual back fence proper…

Back here, away from the battle, she let herself exhale. ' _Alright, now… let's see.'_ Coming up to one of the outdoor lounge stations, she moved behind the counter, and crouched.

' _Cheese, water, rice… cookies.'_

 _Crunch._...She took a bite of a cookie- "Ptfoo." -before spitting it out. ' _Should really, really wash my hands before even touching food like this.'_

' _Ah!'_ She'd found a regular potion on the rightmost corner of the shelf, tucked behind a jar of jelly. ' _Thank yo~u, Marisa. Never thought these really stupid emergency potion places would actually be worth anything. Year old thing better still work…'_

 _Crea~k._ Appearing before the gate again, she marched back into the battle zone, pushing the graveyard gate open…

Immediately, she regretted returning, the foul stench she'd been gradually acclimated to now hitting her at once.

" _Bh- bwaugh…!"_ Lurching over, she spilled her stomach on the graveyard path before herself…

' _I- I… I hate- I hate this…'_

With a new vain expression, she shambled past the pools upon pools of biohazardous plasma, blood of many shades and pestilence.

Kiyoko stood near the body of Yoshika, who was partially solidified from the energy of the holy needles.

...Reimu glared up at her. "I- I… I hate you."

"Despite your _mistake,_ that went better than I'd anticipated." Kiyoko frowned down at her in turn. "You are both more and less capable than I'd imagined. It's a pity you have no self-sustainability."

"It's a pity you're a-... you're an _idiot_ who doesn't _help anyone!"_

...Nothing was said by Kiyoko in response to that. She'd already turned to the nearby tombstone; the one that would lead to the Mausoleum. By the time Reimu got there, it was already displaced.

"Our adversary is ahead. Expect resistance." Kiyoko gave her instructions. "...Or, you could simply go hunt for _presents_ and _supplies_. Your presence is unnecessary."

Reimu wanted to cry through her headache, but thought better of it. "Just _go._ Shut up and go."

...Wordlessly, Kiyoko continued into the shaft leading down.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

 _Tsukiko Hakurei_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Anti-Step - Tapping into dark energy allows Sendai to travel along 'leylines' in reality. When in danger of being struck, this gives her minimal ability to slip out of the way at the last moment. Requires both knowledge of the incoming blow and able reflexes.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable…

Basic Danmaku - Sendai has remembered some of danmaku's basics, allowing her to sometimes throw danmaku projectiles. She stills needs to practice and get used to it, however; especially since she only uses projectiles strategically rather than as her focus.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush: Caster - Tengu charging technique meant for casters. While this doesn't innately boost agility, it provides the user with wind blades that increase defense against projectiles and certain physical attacks.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful anymore.

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Wind Power - Constantly enveloped by the wind, Sendai moves far faster and jumps higher than normal. Dark resistance is reduced to twenty five percent, and equal wind resistance is granted when this style is activated.

Airy Pockets - All sub-items are slightly modified by the wind element to perform differently. Most gain different physical properties, as well as exchange power for accuracy. No substantial difference on item crashes, except from adding the wind element to them.

x _Oni Style:_

Holy Power - Engulfed in a shell of holy energy, Sendai becomes immune to pain. She still takes damage like this, and she _will_ feel it later. Incredibly reduces accuracy and evasion, but increases attack power dramatically.

God's Pockets - All sub-items are changed by the holy element to be more powerful, but also more situational. Replaces item crashes and subweapons.

Judgment - Rebound Stone _ITEM CRASH_. Expert holy magic that can be traced back to various prefabricated and god-created variants. This version may weaken and syphons the target. Basically Evil Sealing Circle, but with more remote usage, and less effective radius.

Elixir of Life - Holy Molotov _ITEM CRASH._ Grants auto-revive status to self or one ally briefly. Auto-revive will resurrect the fallen with a fraction of their life. Does not cure status-ailments or unconsciousness.

Diamond Flail - Sendai flings her arms forward on impulse, creating a small holy maelstrom between her and her target. Holy magic which may weaken foes.

Thrashing - Marching up to a target, Sendai jabs into them four times, before slamming down her arms on them. Based on a similar technique from an enraged Suika…

Combo Punch - Combining all the elements into her fist, Sendai unleashes a powerful blow into a foe. May weaken and curse foes. May stagger foes. Breaks the miko's hand, reducing her attack power for a little while. Requires a short charging period...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

 _Rinnosuke Morichika_ , the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

Health Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

(2x) Potion - Low tier health restoration items. Quickly but steadily restores health of an ally on use.

(2x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(3x) Super Sharp Human Village Cheese Wedge - Wild and nutty cheese with ultra flavor. With the potency, it heals some mana upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Cheese Wheel - Heals all party members, and restores some mana.

(5x) Wheat - Whole grain and healthy. Just, not as it is right now. Can be used to bake cakes, make bread, and a whole lot of other stuff.

(2x) Holy Candle - Enchanted wax from parts unknown. Can be expended to cast Holy Fire. Used in many rituals, mostly religious and Hakurei in origin.

(3x) Hakurei Relic - Generic holy relic with the common Hakurei symbols scrawled on it. Expendable to cast Talisman Seal. Works best when used by Hakurei.

Exactly One Cupcake - It got smashed by everything else…

(2x) Stacks of Extra Talismans - Hakurei talismans. They stick to youkai and weaken them. Best when used by Hakurei shrine maidens.

Sack of Potatoes - It's really heavy…

A Brick - Useless brick. Made of solid stone. Non-elemental weapon. May stagger targets.

(one slot remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Aqua Shot - Magic taught by Wakasagihime. Water elemental danmaku attack, which soaks an enemy by generating a bubble near them and popping it. Wets foes. Deals moderate water 'damage'.

Grass Grease - Magic which wets the target with magically charged wood paste and chlorophyll, leaving them vulnerable to increased and stronger burning.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

 _Marcus Kirisame_ , the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes largely unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- _Ice Magic_

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Ice Shuriken - Spawns a huge shuriken of ice before himself, which spins around and randomly spreads ice danmaku. May chill targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- _Fire Magic_

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- _Electric Magic_

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- _Water Magic_

Balloon - Basic water magic. Generates a magic, glowing water balloon that floats in a stationary position. Pops when an enemy gets close, and starts to home in after awhile. Wets foes. May stagger foes. May stun the feeble.

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- _Other Elemental_

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- _Non-Elemental_

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

Magic Minefield - Creates non-elemental landmines with minimal damage and high knockback, in a spread around himself.

-o- _Ability_

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

=o=

 _Kasen Ibaraki_ , the One-Armed, Horned Hermit

STATUS:

Immune to earth and wind magic.

Resistant to holy, dark, water, thunder, and bomb magic.

Weak to ice and poison.

Immune to tiredness, syphoning, dispel and instant death.

WEAPON:

Unarmed.

INVENTORY:

Ibaraki Box of One Hundred Medicines - Endless supply. Heals the target to full. Cures all debuffs and status effects. If the drinker's already healthy, their personality becomes oni-like and they gain superhuman strength. Actual healing from the box turns the user into an oni, depending on how much it's allowed to restore the body.

Shackle of Devas - Extremely durable metal shackle. Grants immunity to tiredness. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

SKILLS:

-o- _Summons_

Koutei - Summons her juvenile pet green dragon, Koutei. Targets all foes with powerful mixed water and wind spells. May wet targets. May stagger targets. Buffs the evade of the entire party by fifty percent.

Manzairaku - Summons her pet seal Manzairaku to erupt underneath a foe. Water attack which launches targets and wets them. Also unleashes a beach ball upon the world.

Houso - Summons her pet tiger Houso to maul a target. Powerful non-elemental attack which cuts.

Kanda - Summons her eagle, Kanda, to gain a height advantage. Allows her to unleash aerial attacks with her legs. Otherwise, the eagle uses wind magic and debuffs accuracy. Dashes towards foes to hit them for accurate non-elemental physical damage.

Raijuu - Summons her pet Mukou, to charge one of her melee strikes with electric magic. Moderate thunder magic which debuffs both accuracy and evade, and tires out opponents.

-o- _Magic_

Cure - Heals self or an ally for some health. Heals most humans fully.

Curaga - Heals self or an ally for all health. Costly.

Renew - More natural healing than the Cure series, but is slower and less powerful.

Bless - Heals self or an ally for a lot of health. Blesses the target. This blessing prevents all bad status effects from being incurred, including death and dispel (but not straight up stat debuffs incurred on the body or mind). Doesn't remove anything currently active.

Miracle Heal - Heals everybody for immense health, over a large radius. Costs a lot of mana to use.

Spectrum - Expert multi-elemental magic. Kasen creates a rainbow-colored vortex in an enemy's form, damaging them directly with raw mana. Element and effects depend on current weapon. Vortex persists harmlessly to be used as a beacon for her eagle, but will be overwritten if Spectrum is used again.

Light Orbs - Holy orbs that Kasen can create and control. May weaken foes.

Tornado - Advanced wind magic. Summons a tornado around the target's form, attacking them with fierce, momentary wind. May windsweep those light enough. Reduces target's magical defense.

Gaia Bloom - Advanced earth magic. Creates multiple earth sigils in an opponent's form and initializes them, increasing earth's pull on them. Tires the target out.

-o- Other

Rapture - Air-based eruption which targets a wide area with a devastating upward draft. Legendary multi-purpose attack. Costly. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Monkey's Paw - Non-spell version of the skill. Sending out a dark hand, Kasen

Monkey's Paw! Crush My Enemy! - Spell card. Kasen crushes an opponent with an arm made of spiritual energy. Dark attack. Depletes eighty percent of Kasen's mana.

Hawk Sign "Hawk Beacon" - Spell card. Throwing her arms out, Kasen creates a massive rainbow multi-vortex, pounding the enemy with a massive storm of magic. Element and effects depend on current weapon.

Dragon Sign "Dragon's Growl" - Spell card. Shifting her bandages, Kasen makes a cannon from them and blasts the enemy with powerful holy magic. May weaken foes.

Warp Sign "Prosthetic Arm Proteus" - Spell card. Powerful bind which crushes the opponent, before slamming them away.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

murasa fight

yeah, ichirin kinda got gimped that one chapter, between being pincered and everything - w - dunno about clarity issues regardin' her fight but it could happen

i might include her elsewhere again since she got kinda shafted by being attacked by both reimu and sendai at the same time; she's basically like, the myouren temple's main character-type combatant, even if ichirin's probably never gonna star in anything and byakuren steals that role despite being the big boss too

but we'll see yo

murasa's fight was pretty fun to write, had a lot going on which hopefully didn't molest how clear it actually was, but hoh

prior to writing this i didn't know she summoned big beautiful neon anchors of crushing doom but i now know

it's also _really good_

also we see stormy from FG show up as some mook with an upgraded- but still pitifully weak- arsenal

monk mooks dude

and then the fun graveyard scene; that was a lot of fun to write 'cause _BLOOD EVERYWHERE_ which i don't get a lot of typically, and reimu had a fun reaction

reimu's ire for grandma-sitting rises

oh yeah, sendai found some cute things in that chest in murasa's room yo

i wanna start tossing her party some bait to improve with since it's kinda been taking awhile, although now that we're running through the religious factions, the remaining people to have big silly wars with dwindles and we get closer to more concurrent plot execution

although when i think back, i can still actually say other arcs had reasons to exist:

SDM arc was pretty much introducing everything and demonstrating how different the world was from sendai's

the overworld arc probably only needed to be the reimu fight and meeting rinnosuke but there weren't terrible reasons to fight the others

hakugyokurou was the closest thing to filler there was but there was a suspicious lack of yukari after it, and sendai did collect some not-immediately-important things from it

also yuyuko was cuddly

eientei actually slid the now-party closer to finding out what the hell happened to sendai, although i feel like this is where the format actually began to drag on people XD

death council arc introduced the new old maidens and gave eiki and her orderlies the middle finger

the training arc got the party a little away from having absolutely no skills; mostly in that rinnosuke now has even more statuses to work with and marcus gets a few new general spells to fumble with… and sendai got _STYLES_ to cope with the new era

now we have this arc where a lot of shit's happening because the oldest maiden is playing hard ball l :3

so looking back it's hard to say it was all filler and nothing happened but the pace still suffers in places because obviously not every fight's actually essential to the progression of things

when everything's done i should make a redub that limits the fic to actually necessary fights XD and then see how that goes

it wouldn't be terribly hard either since it'd just be filling in some blanks where certain fights would otherwise be and changing inventory amounts to compensate for certain fights not happening to consume items

but for now i'm going the whole nine yards 'cause it's fun for me and the execution's interesting to work with

also responding to the one critiquing guest review here 'cause i _can't have a private PMversation wit' dead guest people dude:_

yeah naturally with a lotta characters comes a _purdy big scale to things_ ; but i'd also say with big scale can come a lotta characters

it's kinda~... s'more a flaw inherent with the chosen format really, and probably more just indicative of "plot would be going faster if sendai didn't stop to fight a dude every ten seconds" and less of the actual waste and excess of using other characters in weird places

but at the same time i don't think it's inherently bad to be using an excess of characters to create a grand exploration of a grand setting; while very likely poor contemporary story writing i'd like to imagine it holds a degree of merit in other respects. i just don't think excess and the sorta inaccuracy produced should be synonymized with mediocrity or outright poor quality, bu~t i can see how it can be hit-or-miss too, and i can also see how certain genres and deliveries don't quite lend as nicely to the format as others

...i still think what holds this story back from being more well-received is just how i chose to pace it really - w - otherwise it'd appear overall more consistent

'cause really the excess use of characters can apply to other instances of touhou i've explored- and the overwhelming's a true statement about universally but at the same time i personally don't think it itself holds them back in any way; 'cause they carry themselves just _so much_ differently

like for FG plot doesn't matter at all and i dunno if you've read gensokyobound but that's a trip compared to this XD s'pretty markedly a kinda… different experience- and it's not just 'cause the writing's different, but it's not a "monster of the week" sort of anime deal like this fic; it follows an entirely like… _structured-esque_ plot and carries itself differently in that respect

the big differentiation between the two fics- GB and this- is that this didn't really start with a coherent structure XD i just wanted sendai to FIGHT DUDES and stuff worked out from there… and it shows!

'course this can vary per reader but s'like, i think that statement indicates issues i already kinda knew and isn't so much in and of itself

i would like to see if ya've got more to say though 'cause it was a good thought!

as always, see you all next time!


	33. 7-3 - The Light of Faith's Devoted

Standing with her arms folded, Murasa stared at the party bluntly. A talisman was neatly placed on her forehead from earlier.

Kasen held her new anchor before herself, rotating it around. "I hope you don't mind me borrowing this. I can give you it back when we're done here."

Marcus twirled the diary around on one finger… "I ain't gonna _read it._ But it's got a lotta wild water energy in it, so…!"

Rinnosuke pocketed some doubloons and the anchor pin he'd obtained. "I'm really sorry about this Murasa, but um…"

Then it was Sendai's turn to give her remarks to the deceased. "...These are cool." She'd found a single cobalt knuckle duster in the chest. "It's mine now."

"...I guess this beats gettin' _exorcised._ " Giving the four a vain look, Murasa waved them off… "Fuck this. I'm 'onna go make _dinner…"_

At the far side of the room, past the sunken mini-ships and algae-accented furnishings, she made her way to a metal door that lead out of the bottom of the room…

...Moving ahead with no real goal in mind, Kasen sighed. "I hope she doesn't hold this against us."

"Aa~h, I don' think anyone'll care when we're done 'ere…" Marcus let the diary hover beside himself, moving to crack his knuckles-

 _crack._ He grinned widely at the noise they made. "Hoho!"

"I don't really care either way." Sendai began to crack her neck a little, only tiny sounds coming out for now. "Let's get back up to the upper levels. Kasen, carry the guys."

...She curiously turned back to Sendai. "Um. What do you have in mind-"

 _Woosh!_ Sendai uppercutted into the air, dark energy filling the limb she threw.

...Kasen watched her soar. "Oh."

 _Woosh! Woosh!_ Alternating limbs, Sendai propelled herself higher and higher into the air. ' _Alright. Wow, this was a lot of water…'_

Nearing the wood ceiling, she made sure to rise with her duster-accented hand-

 _Woosh!_ _CRACK- BOOM!_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

STAGE 3 - The Light of Faith's Devoted

 _Fwa~sh!_ Sendai Hakurei no Miko ascended from the floor, blasting through it with one uppercut. Particles of water splashed out with her, creating a power blast-esque effect from the gap she'd blown through the woodwork…

" _Woa~h!"_ A robed, tubby cat monk in the prayer room dropped his jaw.

"Tha- whah!?" Another robed girl recoiled at the newcomer.

" _She's here!"_ Up here, there was a grey-furred man with an actual cat head, his ears rapidly twitching. "Blades and bolts! _Like we practiced!"_

 _Clack._ ...Landing in the room, Sendai raised her fists instantly at the unassuming opposition. ' _I wonder if they'll take us seriously, now.'_

 _Shi~ng!_ The catman drew a katana, while the tubbier, more human one-

 _Fwash._ -shot a meager spread of orange bullets forward, which began to expand.

"Go Lucky Sign!" The robed girl cast off her hood, revealing eye searingly pink hair. " _Happy Day Eclipse!"_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Oddly circulating yellow and pink ovals began to flow from her form, shielding her.

Sendai only cared about the hulking, katana-wielding one. ' _Only one that's not a joker…'_

He noticed her gaze on him, and… ' _Is that sneering? I can't read cat faces.'_

...She moved forward, ignoring the orange danmaku sent by the tubby girl-

 _Woosh!_ Once she got closed enough, the catman swung his sword. " _Ha~h!"_

 _Swish!_ Sliding back on her sandals with one jerk of her muscles, Sendai easily kept out of the range-

 _Wo- woosh!_ He tried to thrust forward-

 _Wha- Boom!_ One of her sandals met his face. " _Rhee~r!"_ Reeling back-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ He swung wildly, Sendai backing up to avoid each motion, before-

 _Clang!_

 _Cla- clack._ She kicked the blade away once he'd done an awkward enough motion to leave it vulnerable. It clattered to a stop some distance away.

... _Shink._ The cat's claws unfurled, and he readied to tackle. Leaping from his position-

 _WHAM._ Sliding to the side, Sendai met his gut with her cobalt knuckle-

 _Fwash!_ A shockwave-esque blast of water accented her strike, flecking across herself and the cat.

 _Thu- thud._ "Nngh- _grrh…"_ Rolling to a stop on his side, he gave up. "Ow- _ow…"_

"No one messes with Takashi~!" The pink-haired girl screamed from the doorway. " _Go forth!"_

The floaty, glaring ovals of neon energy began to float towards Sendai-

Her form flickered out.

...While she was intangible, she considered her options. ' _I should try that 'oni style' talisman. There's probably gonna be a lot more faceless acolytes… and it's gonna get tiring fighting all of them.'_

She appeared again, closer to the two women.

Drawing the holy talisman from her sleeves, Sendai equipped it, slapping it onto her shoulder.

Instantly, the shell of holy energy took to her form, and the weight on her body made her hunch over. ' _Woa~h, okay. Already forgot how annoying this makes moving…'_

 _Fwam!_ The tubby girl clapped her hands together, three orange bullets spreading from her-

 _pap- pap._ Hurtling through them, Sendai shambled up to the big girl.

" _Bad mo~ve!"_ Beaming victoriously, the girl thrust herself forward to fall on her. " _Haha-"_

 _WHAM!_ Rigidly bringing a clumsy, open hand forward, Sendai crushed her fingers into the girl to parry the tackle.

 _Spla~sh!_ A brief spritz of water pulsed outward from the impact.

" _Oo- onh…"_ Despite the girl's bulk, this attack shook her system and deleted her momentum. "Wha- what-"

" _Huo~!"_ With the same arm, Sendai struggled to even so much as lash out with it, slinging it wide. It met the gut of the woman-

 _SHUNK- blup- boing._ The blow made the big woman's girth jiggle, and-

 _THUD._ She fell over, disoriented. "Ou- oo~h…"

...The cluster of shimmering, star-like ovals from before had become a vortex that was now spreading out across the plainly furnished room.

"I've got you now!" The last, small girl propped her arms on her hips. "Eat it!"

 _Fwa- fwam- fwi~sh…!_ Plodding through the yellow, pink danmaku like an ape, Sendai eventually made it to the girl. ' _Not being able to feel it makes this a lot better. Crawling along like this is kind of dumb, though...'_

 _Slap!_ The girl slapped her once she got close. " _Hah!_ Gotcha-"

Sendai thrust both fists forward. " _Hrouh!"_

 _SHUNK- BOO~M!_ The limbs plowed into the girl's stomach, burying themselves into her. They'd forced her into the shut door, which exploded on impact.

 _Cla- clack…_ As in, it was snapped into two or three parts. The girl was now crumpled upon the floor on the other side, soaked in water. "N-... nnh…"

' _...Maybe a little too much power, for her.'_ Sendai grinned at the devastation like a bad person. ' _Hope she's okay…'_

...After stumbling up to her, Sendai tried to roll her over to see if she'd accidentally ripped open anything-

 _Thunk._ She ended up punting the girl by accident, her movements imprecise. " _Ah- annh…"_

' _Oh, god. Maybe I'll just wait for Kasen.'_

...Very shortly later, Kasen arrived, the guys in her arms. "He~re we are. Um…" She looked around at the three fallen monks. "Already?"

"Yeah, already…" Sendai tried to stand up straight, but her posture slipped back into dangerous hunching. "I fucked up this one over here pretty good. Take a look at her, see if she's alright enough…"

...Setting the guys down and letting them stumble away from her, Kasen trotted over to the girl, kneeled down, and flipped her around. "...O- oh. _Ooo~._ " She'd looked under the shirt, where a blotch of red was visible. " _Renew."_

 _Di~ng._ A cute floral pattern formed over the girl, and then-

 _Fwoa~sh._ She started to heal. "Nn- nn…"

...Sendai was curious. "What was uh, wrong…?"

Kasen stared up at her dryly. "You crushed her guts, you vandal. Be more careful."

The way she worded it made Sendai want to chuckle. "Uh- um, whoops. Eheh…"

' _There's something about gut crushing being compared to vandalism that's just really funny…'_

...While the guys made their way out of the general room and into the hallway with them, Kasen frowned up at her. "Seriously. I'd be more careful with that _talisman._ "

"Sorry~. We're in the middle of a warzone here, so…" Sendai tried to wave her off, but ended up just holding her hand in the air instead, and in a fist. "Ah."

"Well, just use a little more _sense_ before you hit someone." Kasen pressed…

' _Yeah, yeah. Only reason I'm laughing it off is because you're here to undo it. Pretty sure these monks have enough mental discipline to cope with crippling pain.'_

 _Thu- thump._ Shambling ahead, struggling not to just march along on her knees, Sendai proceeded along the hallway ahead.

Proceeding beside her slow gait, Marcus had the diary secured in his right arm, and Rinnosuke had his pistol up.

' _I can't feel danmaku hit me, and it doesn't knock me back as easily like this. It's a shame this holy shell makes me move like a rock…'_

...Very quickly, they'd found their way into a large room. Paper dividers turned it into a corridor of sorts, but it was still clearly a wide room when the ceiling and floor was examined.

Compared to the previous halls and rooms, this one was a warm, candlelight color.

' _Smells good in here.'_ After taking a few sniffs, Sendai picked up the smell of incense. ' _Must be a lounge, or something…'_

 _Thu- thu- thump._ Marching into the room with her limbs heavy, her own footsteps announced their presence.

"Awh. S'the _veg out_ room…" Marcus looked around with a pleasant face... "We should take some incense fer the road. We're gonna need it!"

 _Shu- shu- shunk._ They heard the sounds of sliding dividers from places they couldn't see. ' _Here they come.'_

 _Shunk._ Ahead, the dividers at either side slid open. Four imposing figures of tall, long-haired men marched out from them, coming up to the opposite door.

 _Slam!_ One of them flung it shut, while another one moved to bar it.

' _That's cute.'_ Sendai ran her gaze over the big monks, and the lock. ' _Like this, I could probably just walk through that door.'_

...A man of faded green hair glared over at them, facing them fully-

"Stop." Rinnosuke had his pistol up. "Or I'll shoot."

The man's eyes widened.

' _This is ridiculous now.'_ Whatever tension there was had been removed. Sendai continued to stomp forward, getting into range of the men.

" _Bubble Bla~st!"_ The diary in Marcus's arm lit up a bright sapphire, and he cast a hand forward.

 _BWUP- BWUP- POP- BWUP…!_ A flush of water and big, juicy bubbles blew from the floor beneath all of the monks, tossing them around and staggering them. " _Eegh…"_

Once the chaotic, cleanly eruption had ended-

" _Hruya~h!"_ Sendai slowly spun towards the grouped up guys-

 _BAM- WHAM- BAM- BAM!_ Her directionless, slow but wild flailing knocked all of them over, sending them slipping on the water and onto their backs and sides. " _Fhu- hah…!"_

 _Thu- thud, thud._ While they lied in a puddle together, she continued to the door, moving to rip the wood locking bar off-

 _SHUNK…!_ -only to end up pushing the door in, instead.

 _Cla- cla~ck!_ It collapsed outward from her. It appeared the lock door was built into a panel of paper walling, which was how it folded so neatly and easily. ' _Wow.'_

"Hohoho!" Beaming victoriously, Marcus skirted past the fallen big guys… "Tha' was like, _two_ attacks…!"

"I suppose I take traveling with you for granted…" Giving the men a dry look of his own, Rinnosuke followed. "Every fight we get into is us getting maimed, or us maiming people."

"Let's not forget…" Kasen had finally caught up to them. "The power balance is more-... well, it's more _and_ less stable now than it's been in years."

"Right…" Rinnosuke chose skepticism, while Sendai picked which direction to head.

Only the right turn was free of obstructions. Furniture was piled into the way along the left and forward routes…

"Hehehe~..." A long-haired, silver-headed cat girl smiled up at the four. "...You fou~r are in over yer heads, nya-"

 _Fwoop…_ Rinnosuke had shot a blue dart forward, which had a bubble expanding around it.

" _Bubbles!"_ Marcus cast his free arm forward again-

 _CLANK!_ Kasen smashed her cobalt anchor into the floor, from off of her shoulder.

 _Fwuush- BLUP- BLUP- POP! Pop!_ The combination of water magic that erupted engulfed the cat girl completely.

...When the azure bubbles had popped, and the diamond-like jets of water ended, the robed cat girl was matted against the ceiling, shaking with her claws dug into it. "Wh- nn- nnh…"

"You guys do an _amazing_ job at cleaning up the trash." Deciding not to bother with the barricades, Sendai picked the right corridor to follow.

"Considering there's _three of us_ attacking _one thing,_ I'd hope so." Lurching over, Kasen tugged-

 _Shunk._ -and lugged the anchor from the floorboards, hoisting it over her shoulder again. "You're picking their path, anyway…?"

"If _this_ is the opposition now, we shouldn't have too much farther." Sendai reasoned. "We'll just keep kicking ass until we meet someone."

In contrast to the rest of the halls, this one lead straight past some unassuming doorways, and into an open, dark yard. ' _Are they trying to send us back outside…? That's stupid. We should enter from the roof, next.'_

Plainly, the four of them marched out into the brisk evening air, out of the dim interior of the temple.

However, this yard was different from the temple exterior. Huge, tall posts were scattered all about, some tilted at various angles, and others short and straight. The broad courtyard was barely lit with torches that were hung upon certain posts, and by dim gold magi-lights that decorated the air space.

Mixing with the night stars above, it created a rather jarring visual compared to the blandness of the interior decoration. ' _Woah.'_

 _Clack_. Up above, a girl landed atop the lowest post before the party, even this one fifteen feet off the ground. "Haa~h…"

"Shou." Kasen's voice echoed across the courtyard. "...I know now that nothing I say will change your mind. But, tell me, as a disciple of peace: is there no other way?"

"If there was, I wouldn't be here, lookin' down at all of you from this post." Shou Toramaru took a deep breath, her balance perfect as she held her staff at an angle, gazing down at the opposition below. "Hakurei raiders."

"Just get down here so we can beat you up…" Sendai beckoned her down with a rigid arm. "You're not intimidating."

"All this is gonna come down to, huh…" Smiling-

 _woosh._ Shou did as requested, hovering down from above.

"Tsukiko." Kasen spoke abruptly. "We're being surrounded."

"...So." Sendai didn't really care. "Cast bubbles on them. I don't _really_ know how that works, but it's apparently pretty effective…"

...A low murmur of pitter-pattering resonated off of the solid walls around everyone. The collection of noises made Sendai pan her head to look.

They were not surrounded by men, monks, monk men or monk women.

" _Pincer complete!"_ From atop one of the capybara that had arrived at the scene, a tiny commander- a mouse girl with grey hair- stood tall, clad in unique clothing. "All units are in position!"

 _Vrr- vrr._ Atop each capybara was a tiny turret, and atop others were mice of various shades, riding on the bigger rodents...

There were two companies to either side of the party, and a brief scan of the clearing revealed more coming from small, shoddily built shacks across the entire yard.

' _...You know.'_ Sendai didn't really have words to describe this situation, at first. ' _I've been attacked by a lot of unexpected shit ever since I was revived… but being pincered by mice and just…_ bigger mice _is probably the dumbest.'_

"Uh…" Rinnosuke was actually put aback by the reinforcements. "That's a lot of… mice."

"Toldja I wasn't gonna fight alone!" Shou beamed over at the party. "Now… prepare ta be _sent sailin' from Myouren Temple!"_

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Shou Toramaru, Nazrin & Advanced Mouse Wars ====_

 _Fwoash!_ Marcus threw his arms out. Instantly, a shimmering barrier of energy flared to life around himself, Rinnosuke and Kasen.

Sendai'd hobbled out of range to approach the girl. ' _Let's just smash her and be done with it-'_

 _PATATATAT!_ From both sides, the AA-armed capybara unloaded red pellets of danmaku onto the barrier, at the bulk of the party.

 _Fwoo- fwoosh, fwioo~sh!_ Fireworks were shot from somewhere unseen in the darkness, coasting for the barrier.

Nearing the uniquely clad Shou, Sendai prepared to jab her cobalt knuckle at her. ' _Okay-'_

 _Wha- whack!_ Within an instant, Shou slapped her twice in the face with a single revolution of the staff.

 _Whoosh!_ Sendai jabbed forward-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwack!_ Leaping over her like a cat, Shou spun her staff so that the very tips would clip the top of the miko's head, making it dip forward. ' _Alright- maybe brute force isn't gonna work at all here…'_

 _Fwiosh…_ Immediately tearing the talisman off, Sendai felt the pain hit her. ' _Oh, fuck-'_

 _fwish._ She'd impulsively slid out of the way of a jab from Shou's staff with the aid of dark magic, the metal tip aimed for somewhere along her upper back. ' _Her staff's got a tiny metal point…'_

"Hup!" Leaping away from the tiger-like youkai girl, Sendai dug through her sleeves-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Her leap had cleared a spinning, repeated sweep of Shou's staff meant for her legs.

 _PHAP- BOOM- CRACK!_ In the background, the fireworks exploded into great, dangerous tufts of yellow and red flares against the magic barrier in the background…

 _Fwa~sh!_ A flare from Rinnosuke soared over one of the capybara companies, and instantly all their wild shots gained ludicrous spread, spraying everywhere across the dark courtyard.

 _PATATATATAT!_ The roar of toy guns filled the air, and Sendai slipped the Tengu-style talisman on.

 _Woo~sh…!_ Instantly, wind carried her features, and she grew many times lighter. ' _This is something, compared to the other stance talisman…!'_

When she landed again-

" _Hoo!"_ She threw herself to the side-

 _Clack!_ Shou's staff met the ground where she was. "Ooh…!?"

 _Cla- clack!_ Sandals meeting the slanted, square post along her side, Sendai ran up the vertical surface until gravity would take her again-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwack!_ Meanwhile, along the whole way, Shou was floating up after her, wracking her staff against the post segments the miko used to be.

 _Fwi- fwiosh- fwoosh!_ More fireworks were launched on the ground below, and-

 _Fwii~sh!_ One whirled up towards Sendai, as she climbed the post…

Gravity took her away from her surface, her sandals not very conducive with the wood. Flipping around-

 _Clack!_ She kicked off of Shou's staff, as she came up for her. "Haha!"

Up here, the oncoming firework was noticeable. ' _Woah…'_

Sendai's form flickered out.

 _KABOOM- KABOOM!_ The firework exploded into a messy spiral of blue, danmaku diamonds. Shou weaved through them in turn effortlessly, searching for the target which eluded her.

 _Fwuu~sh!_ On the ground floor, geysers were erupting, Kasen stabbing her anchor into the earth again and again to ward off the distant, anti-infantry danmaku battalions.

" _Bubble Blast!"_ Marcus held Murasa's diary with one hand, and slung magic with the other-

 _Fwa~sh!_ Another flare roared out from Rinnosuke, this one aimed at the artillery mice in the back.

Flickering back into materiality, Sendai ran up an adjacent, taller post, regaining momentum for just a brief moment-

 _CLICK!_ Shou flipped across the gap, away from the previous post, whirling towards the miko like a wooden tornado-

 _Clack!_ Sendai kicked away from the post entirely, letting herself drift into the sea of danmaku around her, as it slowly whirled behind her.

' _Let's get a fair hit in…'_

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Spinning her staff as she whirled up to Sendai again, Shou beamed. "All _helpless_ in the air, aren't 'cha!?"

Keeping her options open, Sendai held out her limbs-

 _Woosh!_ Shou jabbed the sharp end forward first, with startling speed-

 _Shink- pap!_ As it poked into her, Sendai grabbed onto it. "Ou- nh-..."

 _Woo~sh!_ Grinning widely, Shou brought the pole over her head to fling the miko away.

Letting the metal tip slip out of her flesh-

 _Whish!_ -Sendai kicked her legs up, orienting herself upside down over Shou, whipping around with her hands tightly on the polearm-

 _Wham!_ She brought her legs down as she rotated back upright, pulling onto the pole to bring herself down to Shou.

 _Fwoosh!_ A shockwave of wind spread out, Shou falling away from the blow. The angle of Sendai's counterattack forced the miko to let go of the staff...

' _Already fought a pole user recently…'_ Sendai's thoughts trailed back to her mother's techniques. ' _Let's see if she does that 'throw it out so it can kick ass on its own' technique at some point...'_

Righting herself, Shou yelled out. " _Nazrin!_ Keep the support busy fer me!"

" _Deep Payloads!"_ Below, Nazrin bellowed. " _Go!"_

 _fwoop- fwoop._ From around the sheds, tiny mortars were illuminated, amber columns of light lazily stretching across the dark clearing…

' _Holy shit.'_ Sendai watched the ominous streaks pass her, and soar into the floor-

 _FWABHOOM- FWABHOOM!_ Solar-tinted, sun-colored blasts of almost artistically spherical effect bloomed below, bypassing the magic shields by simply descending over their walls.

...As such, Sendai soon saw Kasen pass, holding onto a windswept and frazzled Marcus.

 _PATATATAT!_ Now, all of the attention from the capybara below was on the airspace, red shots filling the sky. ' _Awesome.'_

" _Here!"_ Whirling up once more, Shou readied to slam Sendai in the head with a powerful swipe-

 _Fwish!_ Curling into a ball to avoid it, she found herself flipping forward-

 _Woosh!_ She tried to kick with both legs out of it, and wound up sailing above Shou instead.

That's when Shou's pole came around her, passing before her stomach and stopping her. "A- ah…"

" _Caught ya."_ Speaking into her ear, Shou began to flip the miko around-

 _Woosh- woosh- woosh!_ Sendai curled up into a ball. Like this, she was able to revolve around the staff, sliding against Shou to do so, while Shou spun around, spinning the staff around on one hand while Sendai spun around it.

Sendai got dizzy very quickly. ' _Ho- holy shit…'_

 _Whap!_ The two ended up eventually clumsily ramming into one another, both falling away and back down towards the ground.

 _...Cla- cla- clack!_ As she fell, Sendai slid up against the nearest, stout wood post, he sandals skidding against the wood-

 _Woosh!_ Shou bounced off of nothing, ready to assault her with a horizontal blow-

" _Huah!"_ Slamming an arm against the post, Sendai sprang off-

 _Wham!_ The broad, non-tipped end of Shou's staff crushed into her abdominal region. ' _Oou-'_

 _Bam!_ The blow smashed the miko into the wood pole she was situated against-

 _Whack- woosh!_ This was what she was going for, however. This position allowed her to kick a leg up, Shou's face meeting her sandal.

"Oo- haha…!" The blow made Shou relent, drifting back just a little with a smile on her face. "Good one!"

Her relent let Sendai freefall to the ground below-

 _Pap- pap!_ Her slower falling time let her almost effortlessly cast herself forward, rolling across the ground-

 _CLACK!_ Shou landed just behind her, intent on crushed her with a vertical, downward strike of her staff which'd missed since Sendai gained way more ground than she'd thought.

 _PATATATATAT!_ The roar of danmaku gunfire still blared over the clearing, dazzling red and blue lights drowning out the otherwise ember-lit yard with festive color.

Sendai moved up to Shou, who was turned around, springing to her opponent with the intent to ambush-

 _CLACK!_ ...Her cobalt knuckle hit the staff. Shou had brought it behind her neck to block the blow. ' _What-'_

 _Fwish!_ Water exploded from the impact, mixing with the wind to create a really pretty but useless, diamond-like splash of liquid.

 _Wo- woosh!_ Flipping around, rotating and twirling three hundred sixty degrees, Shou gained a height advantage over her-

 _WOOSH!_ -before kicking down with arrow-like velocity-

 _Shii~f!_ Kicking into a slide, Sendai barely passed under it.

" _Hua…!"_ Leaping into a kick to avoid Shou following up, she involuntarily soared for the post again-

 _Bam!_ Upon striking it and landing on its side, she backflipped off of it around to right herself. ' _She'll be waiting for me to kick back down, or something stupid obvious.'_

 _Shunk._ Tearing her staff from the ground- as she'd tried to stab Sendai in passing, Shou readied to jab with it-

" _Hya~h!"_ Drawing her arms to her sides, Sendai formed magical blades of wind from focusing, using the ambient air around her-

 _Whap- whap- whap- whap!_ The blades carried her forward with artificial momentum, turning her downward fall into an immediate rushing attack.

" _Woah!"_ The blades only slapped her opponent in Sendai's passing, rather than cut her, but that was also fine, since it sent her flailing.

' _Gotcha!'_ Grinning, Sendai considered a followup-

 _KRABOO~M!_ A firework touched down next to her.

Sendai went flying. ' _Holy shi~t! Ow- ooh, haah…!'_

 _Thu- thud!_ Landing against the ground some distance away, she found herself on fire, her whole body searing from the gunpowder and the flash of heat. ' _Fu- fuck, fuck! Tha- that's- a real firework…!'_

 _PATATATAT!_ Over here, all of the capybara of this yard segment turned to her, firing danmaku into her-

"Ua- ah, ah…!" This was easy enough to flail out of the way of by comparison, her burning limbs a different story. ' _Fuck fuck fuck-'_

 _BWUP- POP- BWUP BWUP!_ The ground moistened, and a surge of invasive, cool bubbles rocketed up all around her, exploding almost instantly after they'd ballooned, water slapping into her flesh like small blades.

This was fine for her, really. ' _Oo- oh, yes…'_ The pain of the water spell- likely from Marcus- didn't compared to the relief of the fire being immediately extinguished.

 _Pat- pat- pat!_ A capybara ran past her, the gun on its back sagging off and making it sprint awkwardly. ' _Woah! They're fast…!'_

Near the bland shacks across the yard, Kasen and Rinnosuke were sprinting for them-

 _Shoof._ Shou landed before them. "Ho~, ho~. Howdy do~..."

...Stopping before her, Kasen whipped her gaze back to see if Sendai was alright-

 _Bam- fwish- fwoosh._ One of the capybara carrying mice ran too close to her, and Sendai'd punched it in the nose. A small vortex of water spun out from where she struck superficially. ' _Back. Fucking…'_

...Thud. After reeling its head back, it tipped over, dispensing the grey and white mice on its back onto the ground once it flopped.

"But, I'm not about ta square off with an _oni_ on even grounds, no no no~." Shou shook her head at Kasen, who refocused on her.

 _WHOOSH._ Springing from the ground, Sendai practically slid across the clearing towards her. ' _We're not done yet…!'_

 _BOOM- BOOM!_ Solar mortars shattered the ground behind herself as she ran, Nazrin's artillery trying to pin her down-

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Marcus spun by as she ran, the blade of Japan throwing AA-danmaku and fireworks around, capybara keeping a cautious distance as he protected himself with a vortex. " _Ho ho ho~ly shit…!"_

...White mice skittered into Sendai's way as she moved. As she neared-

 _Shioo- shio- shioo~!_ Sendai had to leap across them, clean lasers of pure light energy shooting from them, trying to stab into her. ' _We're fighting fucking youkai mice!'_

" _I'll stop you!"_ Rinnosuke bellowed at Shou. "If you move, I'll shoot!"

"Do it." Shou gave him a level, neutral stare.

...While Rinnosuke just stared back-

 _DING- DINK- DING- BAM- DINK!_ A star shower fell in the background, shockwaves of pretty, neon yellow echoing across the ground and sending mice flying.

" _Search Sign!"_ Nazrin was audible over the violence. " _Gold Detector!"_

Sendai blared past Rinnosuke and Kasen, to reach Shou-

 _SHUNK._ Shou poked her staff straight into her. "Hah! How _lazy-"_

 _Pap!_ Sendai's hand met her collar. "Huhk-"

" _Hroua~...!"_ With all the raw power her muscles naturally held, she roared as she flung Shou off her legs, flipping her over her shoulder-

 _Bam!_ Shou was dispensed behind her, on her back. " _Oof!_ Hahe-"

 _Cla- clack!_ Displacing the metal-tipped staff from her organs, Sendai fell onto Shou, quickly whirling to straddle her-

 _SWISH!_ Her claws grazed Sendai's face. ' _Fuck- fuck, ow-'_

 _Bam- bam- bam! Bam- bam- bam!_ Now rested atop her, Sendai pumped her fists down one after another, giving her opponent the basic definition of a beatdown, slamming her hands down on her head again and again. Wind and water blossomed from each blow, Shou's head quickly ending up in a puddle as she alternated punishing each cheek-

 _Wham!_ Curling her legs up, Shou kicked them out, launching Sendai from herself. " _Ghe-_ get off…!"

" _Hup!"_ Flipping back onto her legs, Shou-

 _WHUNK._ -took Kasen's anchor to her gut the moment she got back up, sent sprawling onto her back again. " _Whahuh!?"_

 _pap._ A small, red dart from Rinnosuke met her head, fizzling out as it'd been made of danmaku. ' _Oh, boy…'_ Sendai'd recovered from the gut blow from the legs, and saw this.

"Stay _down._ " Kasen tried to reason with her, ignorant of the dart's effects. "We _don't_ wanna hurt you. We just wanna…"

' _...Didn't really think that sentence through, huh.'_ Sendai knew the feeling.

...Shou floated onto her legs again. Her gaze instantly met Rinnosuke, and no one else.

"Kasen- cover for me…" He began to move to hide behind her. She was bewildered at who she chose to focus on, but moved as he'd suggested.

"So _who_ sent all of ya, now?" Shou was finally in the mood to talk, ironically. She marched straight for Kasen. "Why're you _here?"_

...Kasen didn't see this as very compromising, however. "You've all been _attacking us._ We came to find out-"

"You come with the _taoists_ , to stomp us out, in the most _suspicious_ and _dire_ moments of Gensokyo…" A smile spreading across her features, she began to glare. "Through _money_ or through _other deals_ , you see it fit to extinguish our way of life for your _petty gains._ Has the lives of others never occured to _any of you?"_

"Wha-... _what?"_ Kasen was taken aback by the accusations. "...Sh- Shou, what have you been _fed!?"_

"You _really_ shouldn't have betrayed us…" Beaming widely, Shou crossed her legs, and began to hover into the air.

" _Here!"_ From one of the nearby artillery shacks, Nazrin stood over the rooftop, jeweled pagoda over her head. "Bossgirl, _here!"_

 _Woosh._ She tossed it through the air, and it coasted to levitate next to Shou…

 _woo- woosh, whish- woosh._ Air began to fluctuate around the clearing, as she bared her teeth down at the party.

 _Whi- whi- whish!_ Instantly, Nazrin sprung from the rooftop, forward flipping across the whole yard like a bullet to deal with Marcus, and truly begin the spell card she'd already announced.

" _Light Sign…"_ The pagoda Shou held began to glow, and her eyes lit up a deep gold. " _Aura of Justice!"_

 _FWICHOO~M!_ From above, the beginning shimmers of massive, blue-white holy pillars began to form across the entire yard, the light shifting from scattered splashes to color to a pure holy glow. ' _Fu~ck me…'_

 _Cla- cla- cla- clang!_ Across the yard, Marcus flailed his blade to parry the rods Nazrin swung at him, the girl floaty and flighty by comparison to his imprecise, rooted movements. "Hua- haa~h…!"

" _Light!"_ Nazrin spun about-

 _SHOO- SHOO- SHOO~M!_ Gold rays poured from her, stretching to home in on him-

" _Glacie~r!"_ He stabbed the sword into the floor-

 _Kri~ng!_ A blade of ice erupted, allowing him to hobble back in the opposite direction, the beams exploding into shockwaves of gold energy against the pillar, chipping at it…

 _Fwaa~sh…!_ Holy light poured from Shou herself, and then it took the form of a wall of gold, arrow danmaku, which slowly permeating out from her.

Her first target, of course, was Rinnosuke. She'd snapped around Kasen's side, gliding around to position herself behind his back-

He pocketed his gun and began running. "Oh- _oh god…!"_

" _Hyuh!"_ Shou cast one arm down-

 _FWASH- FWASH- FWASH!_ Staves like spears impaled the ground in a wave behind him as he ran-

 _FWABOOM!_ They exploded into geysers of holy, white orbs, looser shockwaves sending him skidding forward as he tried to keep his balance. " _Woaa~h!"_

Sendai had cast her limbs up as she leapt to avoid the high shockwaves, coasting her body through the gaps in Shou's almighty holy aura.

Twirling around again, Shou cast the same limb out. " _Hyuh!"_

 _FWA- FWA- FWASH!_ Three more spears splashed out, these ones sailing right past Sendai. ' _Holy-'_

 _FWABOO~M!_ They exploded behind her-

" _Owhaa~!"_ Rinnosuke was sent soaring through the air-

" _Spectru~m!"_ Kasen cast her bandage arm forward, and it unfurled to let the magic out-

 _Fwishishishi~ng!_ A rainbow-colored aura pulsed in Shou's form, and but she didn't react to it. She was now, however, dripping wet from the vortex's magic, the spell's properties carrying over from the anchor Kasen wielded.

" _Stand asi~de!"_ Pure golden eyes flaring, Shou brought her staff back-

 _WOO~SH!_ Sendai slid to the side as it was flung at her. It spun like a missile, roaring past her with enough velocity to make her heart leap. ' _Wha- wow!'_

 _BWABOO~M!_ It exploded into a great, yellow pillar behind her-

 _FWAM- FWAM- FWAM- FWAM- FWAM!_ Blue-holy pillars revitalized across the entire yard-

" _Anh!"_ Sendai flinched out of one. "Fhuck…"

A capybara flew past her. ' _What the fuck's going on!?'_

Marching forward through the holy magic, Kasen tried to close the distance with Shou-

" _Hroa~!_ " In order to eventually reach Rinnosuke again, Shou spun towards the nearest target, in this case Kasen-

 _BOOM- BOOM!_ The pure white staff struck her twice, sending her stepping back. "Ooh…"

" _Bego~ne!"_ Bellowing, Shou flicked herself into the air, intent on casting her staff down like a spear-

 _KABOO~M!_ It exploded into a holy flare as well. Kasen stumbled back more… " _Nn~gh…"_

Sendai reached her. ' _This is gonna be great...'_ Her mind meant that sarcastically.

Nearing Shou-

 _Wham!_ Sendai delivered a leg to her head without even needing to plan, her opponent not even in a position to plan back.

Shou simply turned to her after flinching from the blow, and Sendai glared into her pure yellow eyes. ' _Seems like she's lost it, alright…'_

 _Woosh!_ The mere act of Shou winding up a spear like a sword made the air rip-

" _Here!"_ Casting forward a Chronicle of Gensokyo as the wind whipped her clothes about, Sendai prepared to skirt back-

 _Fwshioo~m!_ A windy laser stretched into Shou-

 _BAM!_ Shou slammed it down with her staff, cleaving it into two. " _Huah!"_

 _Thunk!_ Marcus let himself roll through the air some distance away, Nazrin's rods striking him and sending holy energy through his system. " _Grhk…"_

"I bet you're _really_ loaded!" Beaming greedily, the really small girl skipped back. " _Guys!_ S'time for some _target practice!_ Let's see how they dance!"

 _Shi- shing. Shi- shi- shi- shi- shing…!_

All the mice, capybara or otherwise, across the entire temple yard began to glow with the same holy golden aura that Shou was.

Reaching into her pocket, Sendai felt like enough was enough. ' _This is- hoho~h my god…'_ She noted how the eyes of every mouse began to glow. ' _Alright, no…'_

" _A~ll shall be lost to yo~u!"_ Shou cast her arms back-

 _FWSHOO~M!_ A pillar of holy light erupted under her, and her holy aura began to fluctuate wildly, the arrows now whipping out randomly and without reason.

" _Houso!"_ Kasen stabbed her stolen anchor into the floor-

" _Holy Surge!"_ Sendai cast the holy molotov she drew into the air, immediately using a wind-based item crash with it-

 _KRAKOO~M!_ With a flash of lightning, the molotov was gone, a line of blue-white electricity stretching from the night sky above. It traced across the ground, reaching towards Shou-

 _SWASH- SWASH- SWASH- SWASH!_ Spinning around like a missle, Shou took to the ground, holding her staff out so that it could clip the ground and send out a massive, blooming shockwave with every incision.

" _Raahhr!"_ From a dark, flaming gap in the floor, Houso the great tiger leapt forth on Kasen's request-

Sendai easily leapt over the shockwaves-

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWAM!_ The burst of holy pillars appeared again, one initializing in her and juggling her into the air. " _Au- uah…!"_

' _I have the worst luck with this bullshit…'_ From being unable to accent her body with any energy besides wind, the pain was rapidly building up.

" _Bless!"_ Kasen shouted a healing spell at someone from across the clearing-

" _Aa- aah…!"_ Rinnosuke ran across everyone-

 _SWA~SH!_ In one sudden movement, Shou attempted to fell him instantly with a sliding slash, but he fell out of the way. " _Whoa- haahaa~h!"_

" _Hyruh!"_ Shou pivoted around on a heel-

 _SWA~SH!_ She'd tried the same move, although now Rinnosuke was stumbling in circles to avert the sudden movements, his adrenaline racing.

 _ZA- ZAPZAP- ZIPZAP…_ He wasn't sure whose team the oncoming, vertical bolt of crackling electricity was on, so that also was a little scary. " _He- help! Someone!"_

 _FWI- FWI- FWI- FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ A huge battery of fireworks erupted from the artillery and resupply sheds, the structures themselves coming undone as their entire stock of rockets began to unload-

 _PATATATATATATAT!_ Platinum bullets poured from every mouse, regardless of size, color or proficiency, intent on drowning out the clearing in an absolute curtain of danmaku-

" _Look what came for ya!"_ Nazrin held her glowing rods out towards Marcus again-

" _Thunder!"_ He cast his blade forward, which was aglow with magic volts-

 _Woosh!_ Leaping through the air on the wind to avoid an entire layer of white, holy diamonds, Sendai's mouth was agape. ' _How's Reimu put up with all this bullshit…!? The future's fucked!'_

 _Thump, thump. Thump thump!_ Houso immediately went for the mice instead of anything else. " _Rhaa~ahr!"_

With speed never seen by Sendai before, they'd stopped firing and began to sprint off, as the massive hulk of a tiger chased after them, using its paws to bat them around.

" _Don't kill any!"_ Kasen bellowed out above the roar of magic…

Hunched over, Shou collected her breath after all of the wild flailing. "Hu~h, hu~h…"

Rinnosuke aimed his gun at her, noticing the tracing thunder bolt's path. " _Soak!"_

 _bwoop._ A blue dart paused before her, a bubble of azure ballooning over her head. She ignored it, and-

 _Pop!_ It splashed her with water.

"Uaoh…" Her berserk state was ended with this shock to her system, leaving her blinking owlishly. "I- I-"

 _ZAPZAPZAPZAP!_ The holy bolt collided with her, after finally reaching her form. " _Aau- huaa~gh!"_

 _THWA- THWA- THWASH!_ Thunderbolts of Marcus's blend echoed across the courtyard-

 _Thu- thud._ Nazrin bounced off her side, wincing after trying to engage him. "Sup- _support mages…_ shouldn't be _like that…"_

"I~ can take a _few knocks_ like you young'uns…!" Limping towards her, Marcus flashed a grin at her. "Ain't keepin' me down wit' no _dousin' rods!"_

The holy thunder Sendai made had ended.

Shou stumbled forward, body jittering from the continued parts holy and parts electric energy. " _Ka- kauf, kaugh…"_

"I- I'm technically older than _you_ , y'know…" Nazrin was back on her legs, grimacing at him. "Oh- _crap_ , boss…"

 _Fwish._ Casting off the Tengu Style talisman, Sendai sprinted up towards Shou, darkness now accenting her joints and legs so she could get there in time. ' _Let's knock her the hell out already!'_

Running up, Sendai raised a leg-

 _CLI~NG!_

She kicked something harder than a head, that she knew. ' _What the-'_

Sliding back, she looked up.

Nazrin had guarded the blow with her dousing rods. " _Shou!_ I'm here!"

...Taking a deep breath, Shou'd finally turned to them, quite late of the blow that would've befell her. "...Hey."

"I don't know what'll happen if we lose, so-...!" Whipping her gaze back to her, Nazrin gave her a confident nod. "Just like it used ta be, right!?"

...Finding herself again, Shou nodded. "Yeah…!"

The aura from her from earlier was gone, the randomly summonly holy pillars having dissipated long ago. ' _Looks like they're deciding to double up…'_

By some miracle, Rinnosuke survived the assault. "Ha~h… haa~h…"

Marcus was up next to everyone again. "Ho~h. Hey- they've got a _wicked_ rat problem down 'ere…!"

"You're _fuckin'_ telling _me…"_ Sendai felt it necessary to punctuate this observation with cursing. "They seem to be getting worn out."

" _Defense Sign!"_ Nazrin yelled out her spell card, bringing her rods up. " _Pendulum Guard!"_

" _Buddha's Light…!"_ Shou drifted into the air, her staff growing, glowing green and bright. "Vajra of _Perfect Buddhism!"_

 _Shi- shi- shi- shi- shing._ Five pretty, solid angular blue crystals generated around Nazrin, glowing with low, ominous energy.

 _FWSHIOO~M…_

Shou's staff expanded. It expanded, kept expanding, and eventually-

 _FWRAR- FWRAR!_ The great, green lasers of each staff end connected with the very edges of the clearing, across the _wide_ length of it.

 _VUU~M._ Slowly, the staff left her hands, spinning forward towards Sendai-

 _Fwoosh!_ She uppercut into the air, her arm tensing with a pulse of dark magic so she could ascend away from the rotating beam of undefined length as it spun. ' _What the hell's that spell…'_

 _FWISHOO~M._ A second staff began to initialize in Shou's held-up arm, this one too stretching to become a huge, bulky beam that obscured her form for a moment. ' _What- again!?'_

" _Rhaaghghgrr~..."_ Houso had finished clearing the courtyard of the mice forces, for the most part. Stalking up along the side, it now held its gaze up at the pendulating crystals of Nazrin's…

Which, were indeed now pendulating. Nazrin's five crystals spread from her form, to spin around Shou and herself like a protective shield, whirling around…

Sendai was climbing the posts scattered around the entire battleground, to distance herself from the huge, rotating beams that were trying to snap to her position. ' _Let my party work some shit out. Not gonna be dumb and let this really obvious crowd-clearing focus them…'_

"The crystals- they'll block your attacks!" Kasen shouted out at the guys.

"Ooh- I thought they were jus' there ta look pretty!" Marcus sarcastically barked back at her. "S'a good thing I use tha' _direct_ magic…!"

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Naturally, from both Shou and Nazrin, red oval-shaped flares and blue diamonds roared out in waves, respectively.

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Erecting a magic barrier, Marcus shoved his hands in his pockets. "... _Two~_ can play the turtle game."

 _Patpatpatpat- patpat!_ The danmaku began to pitter patter against the magic shield, which grew bigger and bigger as Marcus focused harder…

 _woa- woa- woa- woa~sh…_ The barrier of crystals revolved outward, like pendulums in their consistent motions…

" _Rhaaghr!"_ Once they'd spread out enough, Houso lunged out to grab onto it-

" _Rhee~r!"_ As it spun around, it tugged the big kitty along, and it compacted as it was brought around.

" _Ho-_ whou~h…!" Nazrin flailed her limbs nervously at the huge tiger. "He- hey, hey…!"

Shou turned to it, and her eyes widened. "Wow. That's… he's _big…_ "

Sendai reached the top of one of the posts. From up here, the temple below shimmered unnaturally, as if she was on the boundary of whatever kept the courtyard differentiated from the rest of the temple's roofwork; as it didn't seem to exist from the outside otherwise.

 _VUUM- VUUM- VUUM- VUUM…!_ The huge, whirling lasers rotated up after her, but-

 _Click!_ Flicking a heel against the bottom of the post, she leapt off. ' _This'll be just like training…! Except…'_

Centering on the whirling crystals below like their center was a big target-

 _WOOSH!_ She kicked down, plunging like a missile. ' _The stakes're a lot higher!'_

 _Fwa~m!_ Gaining a dark aura as she descended, Sendai felt her hair whip back in the wind, and her heart rise in her chest, the sensation of falling intensifying… ' _Wow- wow, wow…!'_

 _VUSH- VUSH._ Plummeting past the tracing, homing beam epicenters- fortunately not getting clipped- she continued to drop… and drop deeper, deeper down-

She cleared the current of danmaku, ready to uppercut, flash step, rush or anything she could to break her landing once her leg made impact.

Kasen looked up-

Sendai saw the ground filling her vision-

 _ **BAM.**_

Her leg met Shou, on the shoulder.

 _FWISH!_ She uppercut up, threw the other arm to the side as if channeling a wind blade-

Then, she flickered out.

 _WHAM!_ Shou bounced off the floor, her danmaku dissipating as she bounced into the air. " _Hau- hu-... haa~h…"_

Nazrin whipped to her. "Aah- _Shou…!"_

 _FWOA~M._ Folding the magic barrier into a ball once it'd grown big enough, Marcus sent it out. " _Hrua~!"_

...Nazrin turned to it as it cleared through the crystal defenses, nearing her. "Oh- _damn-"_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa~m!_ The magnetic orb spread out, covering Nazrin with the magical energy. "...Uah-"

 _Cra- cra- crack, crack…_ The crystals rapidly fell apart, and the danmaku around her was scrambled and dissipated. "Wha- what…"

Sendai appeared again, thrown into upward momentum after her exit from her trip to a different plane. "Aah…" Whipping around to capitalize on this- kicking a leg to pivot herself- she gazed down.

Nazrin gawked up at her. "Yu- I won't-"

 _Zap- Zap!_ A ball of plasma appeared in her form, and she arced her limbs back. " _Haa- auh-"_

 _WHAM._ Sendai kicked into her with her other leg…

 _THUD._ Not bracing herself as she fell, she landed hard on her back. " _Ugh..."_

 _Thud._ Nazrin rolled to a stop on the ground, some distance away.

…

"If- if only, I'd…" As the others stepped up, Shou weakly conveyed her regrets, "trained harder…"

"Nn- nnh…" Nazrin was also still technically with them, just in pain.

" _Heal."_ Kasen held up a hand.

 _Fwoash._ Energy ran through Sendai's form… ' _Well, thanks… for that.'_

"I _don't_ think…" Rinnosuke shook his head at the crumpled girl. "I don't think _training_ was the problem, here…"

' _Not in the way she thinks, anyway…'_ Grinning to herself, Sendai curled up to stand again…

"Pl- please…" Staring up with a vain expression, Shou resigned herself… "I-... I'll beg. Leave this place alone…"

' _You're the one attacking us, dipshit.'_

Kasen stared into space with similar cynicism to Sendai's. "... _Sure thing."_

While everyone convened, on the far end of the temple yard, Sendai looked around…

' _Oh, hey. She never got most of those fireworks launched.'_ The firework sheds were actually still largely intact. ' _...Let's have Marcus vandalize it before we-'_

 _KROO~M!_

 _CLACK! CLACK- CLACK…_ The ground shook. Tall posts fell from the midst of the courtyard, and dust was kicked up from the mighty impact that rang around the enclosure… ' _Oh, great. I bet someone here's casting meteors or something. I'm surprised_ everyone _doesn't know how to summon meteors at this point.'_

...From the dust that was summoned, a patient looking woman calmly stepped out, her expression carefree. She wore a black dress, with bands binding her bust, as well as intricately banded boots.

Her nearly closed, relaxed gaze traveled across the scene before her.

" _Grghghgh…_ _"_ Houso growled from the sidelines, one of the broken magic crystals from Nazrin's card between its paws.

' _Air of superiority…'_ Sendai examined her posture. ' _...A nearly_ visible _aura of magic, and a noticeable power gap between her and the rest of her idiot parade. If she's not the leader here, I might just give up.'_

...Wordlessly, she smiled at the party.

None of them dared to cut a remark to her- either from jadedness or from the expectation she'd deliver her own. Naturally, she had something to say. ' _Because, really, why wouldn't she…'_

"You are… only one of them." The woman noted. "Your techniques could use definition. Yet… they are as effective as they are brutal."

...When none of the four said anything, the woman continued, bringing her hands up together. "...You endanger the lives of my disciples."

"Ha- ah, hah…!" Bolting up, Nazrin makes for her side. "Yo- you're here…! Byakuren- they…!"

"It's alright." Holding one of her hands out, Byakuren smiled wider. "I saw how it ended. I'm sorry for placing you all in this situation."

"Wh- aah… do- don't be." Nazrin wrote the experience off, standing by her side. "I'm just hopin' we burned enough inta 'em for you to clean up wit' out a mess…"

"Mmm…" Giving her a relaxed nod, Byakuren considered that. "Well, that will come. This isn't going to be a hard fight. I'm more interested in… the _armored_ one. Have you been keeping an eye on her?"

...Nodding hastily, Nazrin began to move. "Yeah- lemme- lemme go check my scouts, hol' on…"

...While she scurried off, Byakuren went back to smiling at the party statically.

"An _easy_ fight, huh…" Lumbering past Sendai- as well as he could lumber- Marcus leered over at her. "Y'know- s'been _some time_ since I've had _this_ kinda practice, fer any… _period_ 'a time."

Simply, Byakuren shook her head. "...I'd always thought your daughter slightly misguided. I suppose she gets it all from you."

...When Marcus settled for staring her down with a grin, Kasen decided enough was enough. "Look- _Byakuren._ I mean- Hijiri- whatever. Look-"

"Don't you think it's a little late, to be playing devil's advocate?" Byakuren tilted her head, but only a little. "You'd be fighting by my side, if you meant what you said."

...Huffing, Kasen took an aggressive stance.

Rinnosuke held his arms out. "You know- I _really_ don't care anymore."

"I can see that." Byakuren levelly retorted at him-

" _No,_ really." Slouching, he just gave her a wayward, finished stare. "Yes, I'm _definitely_ an evil, powerful villain. Out to crush _Buddhism_ and, something. Evil Hakurei. You must be some kind of _detective_ , Hijiri." He pretended to jog to the side in place to accent this.

...Byakuren simply smiled back at him.

Sendai suppressed the urge to chuckle. ' _Now_ that _reminds me of the Kourin I knew. Still, this bitch'll probably be a chore to fight…'_

" _Grgh."_ Houso said, panning its head to the right.

"Honestly…"

 _Cra- crack._ Sendai cracked her knuckles. "If this didn't end in a fight _somehow,_ I'd probably think I died again."

Marcus snorted… "Makes a good reality check, huh."

' _Might as well not waste my breath and get it over with.'_

...Nazrin drifted from somewhere off to the side, returning to Byakuren. "Yeah- hey. She's… fighting through the catacombs."

...Byakuren rose a brow at her.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko: _Reimu Hakurei's Perspective ====_

Letting out a sigh, Reimu drifted along in the darkness, Kiyoko's stomping aside her reaffirming her position as they traveled…

It wasn't total darkness, light flowing from the occasional talisman Reimu slapped onto the cave walls-

 _Slap!_ -and, onto the occasional generic jiangshi that moved to intercept them as they made their way through the tunnel.

 _KRI- KRACK!_ Almost automatically, the corpse reeled back after being hit once-

 _Fwi- fwish- fwash- fwoo~sh!_ Snapping into two, from the meaty enclave of the two halves, a geyser of shimmering crimson erupted from it. " _Huuo~h!"_ Somehow, the dead being roared in 'pain', too.

' _I hate Seiga.'_ Averting her gaze from the visual, she thought back to the last time she'd actually bothered to come here. ' _This is gonna suck, without a party… and granny iron boobs over here seems to wanna step back every time I'm actually in trouble. Does she just wanna watch me get hurt, or what? It's so dumb… I just wanna go sleep.'_

...The tunnel itself was neatly carved, at the very least. ' _I wish it wasn't, so granny could trip and bust an ankle.'_

"Their stronghold is ahead." Kiyoko spoke resolutely.

" _No~._ Really." Reimu wasn't having any of it, though. "I've been here before."

"...As you say." Kiyoko doubted her, as she proceeded stiffly but otherwise leisurely.

' _...Ugh.'_ Everything about her pissed Reimu off.

As they pressed forward through the linear tunnel, they'd come to a small, unlit campfire. Village guardsmen kneeled around it, blades piercing their stomachs, heads hung as the three there formed a circle around the fire pit…

' _Nice placement.'_ Reimu'd already seen Seiga pull tricks like these. ' _...This was creepy the first time. Now it's just sad.'_

Kiyoko didn't so much as betray any emotion at the visual, naturally. She stepped up to them…

 _Cla- clack._ Their armor shifted, as the corpses came to life-

 _SWISH!_ ...Kiyoko swung her blade once.

 _Sprtz- fwish- fwi~sh…!_ Like the generic corpse from earlier, these one's spines folded back exaggeratedly, torsos ripping open and becoming fountains of excess blood. Reimu had to hang back from to avoid getting spattered. ' _I swear she has a thing for blood. Seiga, that is. At least granny being here means I don't have to deal with fighting the morons kept on file most of the time.'_

Hovering over the sea of pulsing, likely magical crimson plasma, Reimu gazed ahead. ' _Actually, I don't see the light over there this time…'_

 _Spli- splish, splish._ Kiyoko stepped through the blood.

 _Splat._ She flecked blackish red from her blade onto the cave walls.

At the end, where there would normally be the bland square door into the mausoleum, there was a shimmering, black portal, with strange ripples of light across the surface. ' _Looks like one of the corridors the taoists typically use nowadays to keep this place hidden. Weird that they covered the door with one.'_

...Stepping up, Kiyoko looked over the runic borders of the doorway-

Reimu hung back for a reason. Once Kiyoko advanced far enough-

 _Clack!_ A small wall of bones erupted into her way.

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWAM!_ White, solid beams of an unknown, light-defying property poured in from the corridor walls adjacent to her, and the ceiling over where she'd stepped.

...While the power from the blasts echoed through the cave as they quickly and discreetly dissipated, Kiyoko remained standing with only crackling energy rippling across her armor.

...After a moment, she held her blade up. " _Heal."_

 _Di- di~ng._ Healing magic ran up across her own form, briefly illuminating her.

' _Pfft… yeah.'_ Reimu grinned at the damage she took. ' _She took that_ really _well…! At least she had to heal, but… when Youmu stepped into it, she was pretty much out of it for the next hour or so.'_

"Dangerous trap." Kiyoko meant this seriously, but she said it in such a monotone that Reimu was pretty certain of it being sarcasm. "This brand of non-elementalism… I'd thought it lost."

"It's alive and well." Reimu shook her head mournfully…

 _Clack!_ Plainly, Kiyoko cleared the small divider of bones with a single jump.

' _There's still not as much stuff down here as there was last time. Seiga's probably got it all at the end so she can try to rush and crush us. Everyone's been half-defying the spell card rules, so heads're gonna roll when we get there…'_

Hovering up over Kiyoko, moving to enter the dark gate together, Reimu sighed. ' _Still, this is really annoying without a party or anyone. Granny's no help at all.'_

 _Fwio~sh._ Once she'd entered the gate, it made a funny noise.

...After a brief moment of darkness, Reimu's vision was awash with clean light. Before them was a large, refreshing pond mounted in a deca-angular bordered stone tub. In it, floated multiple lily pads, water-based flowers, and the water itself was a fantastic, pink and cyan tint, as reflected by the sky of Senkai in this region.

' _Oh, right. They moved to Senkai.'_ Reimu displaced her gaze in realization. ' _This place is weird.'_

In the middle of the lake was a stone island, made of two above-water hexagonal layers. On top of those, was a tall, wooden, hexagonal tower, which stretched up into the beautiful, creamy sky.

...Kiyoko panned her head around, taking in this sudden change in scenery. " _This_ place…"

"...Have you been here before?" Reimu was curious.

Slowly facing her, Kiyoko replied simply. "...Such a question is ignorant of the true nature of this lost land."

"Yeah yeah- weird fantasy place, people can customize portions of it for their fancy mansions and stuff." Reimu frowned at her again. "Well known as the ant homeworld."

...Finished staring Reimu down for her eccentricism, Kiyoko shifted her gaze ahead, and began walking.

 _Fwshi~ng!_ A barrier path stretched across the lake for her to follow.

' _There's little stone platforms to jump on, but they're totally useless since you can't climb the rest of the tower without flight anyway.'_ Reimu began hovering ahead, distancing herself from Kiyoko a little-

 _Spla- splash!_ The water near her began to slosh on its own, seemingly. This drew her attention...

 _Spla~sh!_ A being surfaced, missing half of its skull; a dead, long-haired woman gazing up at Reimu with a moisty, empty eye. " _Hnn- nh…"_

' _Woa~h okay…!'_ She hadn't expected to see the undead again so soon, in such a nice looking place.

 _Spla- splash. Splash, splash…_

The pristine lake water all around them began to shimmer and ripple, the soaked, freshly wet bodies of the undead rising from the grime of the chest-high water.

" _Uu- unh…"_ As the murmur of moans commenced. Reimu darted her gaze around. Some of the corpses took to the air from the water, flying up towards her linearly from their positions around her...

So far, Kiyoko was simply ignoring them. ' _Well. At least it's just… normal zombies.'_

 _Tick- tick- tick- tick._ Casually, Reimu held up a hand and unloaded a stream of danmaku ofuda into a small girl as she neared-

 _Spla- spla- splat!_ The danmaku tore into the fragile corpse, the white t-shirt clad blunette ripping to shreds under the magic's effects, stringy, brown flesh particles spraying into the air like confetti. ' _Oh, geez…'_

 _Spla- splat- crunch! Crack…_ As she mowed down more oncoming, regular zombies, she lowered her eyes. ' _How many dead people does she have…!? Last time I was here, there were more spirits than zombies…!'_

Kiyoko just kept walking forward-

 _Shoo~f!_ From the lake water, a hexagonal stone pillar rose, piercing the light bridge she walked upon-

" _Hup!"_ She leapt, before-

 _Shi~ng._ -forming a single platform below herself to restabilize upon...

 _Shoo- shoo- shoo~f._ All around her and Reimu, stone hexagons began to rise from the water; some of which were hidden, and some of which used to be part of the unnecessary platforming puzzle below. ' _Revenge of the decorative stones. This is all just more inconvenient than-'_

 _CLICK! CLACK! CLICK-_

Reimu threw a look to the side, the glimmer of steel passing her vision. ' _Woah hey hey hey-'_

Pivoting around, she saw some fast being hopping its way along the sides of the pillars-

 _CLA~NG!_ Kiyoko parried it with her blade, as it came for her-

 _Shi~ng!_ The blades hissed together, as the being flipped back towards the stones, and Reimu got a good look at it. ' _What…'_

Its four limbs were replaced with sharp, bloody blades; not of the sword variety, but akin to big, crude needles with flat tips meant for cruder incisions.

 _CLICK- CLICK- TINK!_ Unnaturally propelling itself forward, it leapt from pillar to pillar, rebounding off each with a calculated strike of its thick, slitted blades to shift its constant velocity.

 _CLA~NG!_ Reimu let herself drift higher, as Kiyoko parried the needle arm of another half-metal being that came for her. ' _This is getting weird…'_

Floating up over a pillar, Reimu-

" _Rgha- ghk- ckh!"_ One of the metal things was up there, and it shouted at her in some kind of acknowledgement.

Flinching, Reimu swung at it with her gohei on impulse, since it was very close. ' _Whoa- aah…!'_

 _Thunk!_ The blow made it jolt, but-

 _Woosh!_ Reimu was behind it, when it shot towards where she was like a rocket. ' _These things are pretty dangerous…!'_

 _KROO~M…!_

With a flick of her arm, Kiyoko brought her katana through a nearby pillar. It began to crumble, grey particles splashing into the air-

 _TINK- CLA~NK…_ " _Rhou…!"_ One of the bladed zombies spun off from the side of the pillar, intending to bounce off of it but instead faltering due to the change in the surface.

 _Spla~sh!_ It spiraled into the water, submerging, flailing-

" _Hou~h!"_ Kiyoko abandoned her platform, bending her legs as she pounced, blade poised to skewer the being.

' _Their heads… aren't attached to their bodies, even.'_ Ascending, Reimu observed the ones standing atop the pillars, waiting for their moments to strike. ' _They're sort of suspended by metal… things.'_

 _Shi- shi- shink!_ She'd nailed a stationary one with a barrage of Hakurei needles as she passed-

 _SPLASH- SHINK!_ Kiyoko displaced the lake water as she touched down, blade piercing the metal, sharp nightmare-

" _Haughk- oou~...!"_ It flailed beneath the waves, black clouding into the otherwise flawless water, joining the subtle tinge onset by the giblets of the generic undead…

 _CLANK- CLACLACK- BAM!_ Reimu had to accelerate through the forming stone pillars, the bladed ones becoming more numerous. ' _Why're there so many now…!?'_

 _CLANG!_ A yin-yang orb defended her from one that'd dashed into her through the air-

 _Whack!_ As one came beneath her, she rotated onto her side to whack the head with her gohei. ' _Head attacks probably don't-'_

 _KAK- SPLAT!_ The one she'd layered with needles earlier exploded between some pillars. Pulses of holy flared out from where it was, reducing it to metal parts and bloody chunks. ' _Why~...'_ She narrowed her eyes at the falling, red pieces...

" _Hn- ugrhk…!"_ A grunt bellowed over the sound of sharp blades scraping against the rising pillars, hollow and inhuman. ' _What's that-'_

 _RATATATATATAT!_ A pillar beside Reimu rapidly crumbled away, damage spiderwebbing up it as numerous rifle rounds roared into it from five different sources. ' _Where'd that- come from…!?'_

Eyes wide, Reimu let herself appear on the other end of the pillar-and-water battlefield-

 _CLA- CLACK- CLANG- CLACK!_ Where she was, a bunch of the bladed beings collided with one another, before plummeting into the water.

 _Splash- SLASH!_ Kiyoko marched through the reddening, muddying pond water, cleaving undead machinations apart with concise swipes.

 _Clank- SHRI~NG…!_ One of the beings tackled into her, scraping an arm across her metal armor-

 _Fwam!_ Her arm socket on that side sent out a clumsy blast, ragdolling it. " _Hu- aa- a-..."_

" _Urghk- hu~r…!"_ Reimu heard the echoing grunt again-

 _RATATATATATAT!_ The pillar she took refuge behind this time began to crumble from the hell of bullets that tore into it. ' _Alright, what's actually shooting at me…'_

Armful of ofuda ready, she dipped past some undead villagers who were stuck to the side of the half-broken pillar in their attempts to convene upon her…

The being she saw made her blink, and she'd have double-took if the situation permitted it. ' _What… wha- what is that supposed to-'_

 _Squ- squish._ In the water, a hulking, bald and blindfolded, scantily clothed 'man' of inhuman proportions was facing her. On its huge back, a turret of black metal was mounted there upon a grievous outcropping of flesh, but above the curiously level mount was a flesh sack. Numerous, dynamically aimed rifle barrels poked out, loosely angled by the muscles and loose skin that composed this fleshy sentry.

The way the skin squished and contorted as the barrels adjusted made Reimu's skin crawl. ' _Okay- me and Seiga need a serious talk… like-_ especially _now.'_

" _Ughnk- hee~nh…!"_ The being hulked up again, the flesh on its back flushing and tensing.

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Reimu tossed four ofuda forward to form her defense. It shimmered to life-

 _RATATATATATAT!_ Streaks of light whirled by her in a messy spread, a curtain of actual bullets plowing into her shield and falling away. ' _O- oh, god…'_ She didn't like the way the barrier began to crack as the salvo ended…

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ A cataclysm of ofuda bloomed from somewhere to Reimu's right, Kiyoko unloading on a crowd of the more generic faces that were encroaching on her.

 _Ti- ti- ti- ti- tick!_ As Reimu coasted along the big, gunned brute's sides, she unloaded danmaku into it. ' _Will this even do-'_

" _Hunkh- hunh…!"_ The being's jaw dropped as it bellowed, and-

Reimu vanished.

 _RATATATATATAT!_ The bright, deadly spread hit nothing at all, stretching out into Senkai's airspace.

 _Shi- shi- shi- shink!_ Forming behind it, Reimu threw a handful of needles into its back. ' _There!'_

 _Vrr- squelch- vrr- vrr!_ The fleshy turret on its back began to turn wildly, attempting to focus on her as she strafed around it-

 _Bam!_ She plowed a maximized yin-yang orb into its cheek. ' _Fall over.'_

 _Splash- splash- splash…!_ At it sloshed about-

" _Rrgh- nngh!"_ Reimu heard a different lurching grunt. Whipping around, she saw another, differently bodied but otherwise very similar messy turret being.

' _O- oh!'_ She vanished on impulse-

 _RATATATATAT!_ ...She'd reformed just to the side of the salvo. ' _A- ah…'_

" _Hau- uu- aaugh!"_ The giant, turreted being she was initially focusing on began to stumble about, filled with fresh holes from the friendly fire it suffered. The water around it turned a deep red-

 _KAK- SPLAHT- SPLOSH- SPLOSH!_ Her needles went off in it, and it exploded into a rich, meaty stump. ' _Aaa~h!'_ Reimu nearly jumped out of her skin from the resulting visual. ' _...At least-... it's effective…!'_

 _Cla- clack!_ Kiyoko was just about done with the bladed beings, her armor protecting her from the clumsy thrusts and slams of their piercing blades.

" _Hyah!"_ She threw her blade wide-

 _Splash- Shink- SHI~NG…_ She'd cut cleanly through another one, and also through the edges of adjacent hexagonal pillars.

 _Shi- shi- shi- shink!_ Reimu loaded up the already hole-ridden other turret being with more needles, before hiding behind a remaining pillar. ' _Totally how I wanted to spend my evening…'_

 _KAK- SPLASH- BAM- SPLAT!_ Some moments later, the needles blew, the blue-white holy bombs blowing the undead-machine hybrid to pieces.

...Reimu took a rueful stare at the blooming red mist that resulted. ' _The lake-... it's all a muddy red now.'_

 _Shunk._ Kiyoko poked her blade into the final flailing bladed assassin. " _Huu~ haa~ huu~...!"_ It moaned out a gaspy, quiet yell, before-

 _Cra- crack._ Kiyoko twisted her blade, and-

 _Shunk._ -accidentally took the head off of the metal prongs that held it.

...She stared down at the skin-tight skull stuck to her sword indifferently.

...Reimu floated up to get away from the iron-scented tinge of the water. ' _I should go to Eientei when I'm done here. This doesn't seem very healthy…'_

Once things had returned to relative quiet, Reimu looked around at the devastation. ' _...Ugh-'_

 _Whack!_ She beheaded the zombie of some unassuming guy with a swing by accident, once it got too close to her. ' _At least I'm not tired. Well… more like sleeping just… I don't feel like sleeping right now. I'm still tired.'_

"Ha~u…" Meanwhile, Seiga suppressed a yawn, and failed.

Reimu whipped her gaze to the ghostly hermit, who was hovering above the lake now. " _Seiga!"_

...Rousing herself from her faux-boredom, Seiga gave her a wry smile. "Oh, there you are."

 _Patatatat!_ A spray of ofuda came from Kiyoko-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Corpses and gibs drifted from behind Seiga, and zipped up from the water beneath her to take the sealing talismans. "Now, now. That would be _too~ easy._ Oh, and… I've actually got a _friend_ for you. _"_ Her gaze centered on Kiyoko…

...Kiyoko drew her arm socket back slightly by rotating her torso-

 _Shoo~f…_ A stone pillar rose between her and Seiga-

 _KRATHWASH- ZAPZAPZAP!_

Reimu jumped from the thunderboom that emanated across the lakeside, and shut her eyes at the blinding light that befell Kiyoko.

' _Great. Tojiko's here…'_ Eventually, her vision returned from the blinding thunder strike.

" _Heal."_ Kiyoko rose her katana-

 _Di- di~ng._ -and mundanely healed herself again.

...Glowering down at her, Tojiko brought her hands up to rub her ghost temples. "You had _no reason_ to survive that!"

' _Right…?'_ Reimu mentally jeered at her elder's expense.

"Rela~x, Tojiko~." Seiga waved her off from behind her pillar. "That's why you brought your company, after all…"

...Hovering down from above, the bright but vague forms of sunset-tinted spirits descended and lined up beside Tojiko. They were large, comprised of multiple blurry parts, and had unkempt, bronze halos glowing above their unordered forms.

"But- _still…!"_ Tojiko wasn't letting it go. "Whatever. When we're done with her, you guys can do _whatever_ with her body." She instructed the spirits around her. "Just don't use your fire when she's in the water, or you're stupid."

Reimu vanished. ' _Let's get this over with.'_

She appeared behind Seiga, and Seiga faced her-

 _Fwish!_ While Reimu stared at her, three of her hair sticks went whizzing past her left cheek like bullets-

 _Fwish!_ This time, she leaned to the right to avoid Seiga's hair ornaments, which would've pierced her face and right cheek-

 _Slap!_ Reimu caught a jiangshi talisman Seiga'd lobbed, and brought up her own Hakurei brand in her other hand-

 _Fwish._ After she'd lobbed it, Seiga quickly drifted away and gained distance. "Aww~. You're _rea~lly_ pissed about all this, aren't you…?"

...Waving her hands behind her own head, Seiga drew six more hair ornaments, these ones ending in a shiny needle colored with a red flair. "I know I won't get out of this without you trying to _hit me_ every two seconds. So I'll just hit you back."

' _Hit me back, huh…'_ Reimu eyed the needles plainly… ' _They're probably laced with poison, or something awful. As long as I keep mid range-'_

Two of Tojiko's four spirits came for her instead of Kiyoko. ' _Oh, cool.'_

 _Fwifwifwi~sh…!_ As they neared, the spirits grew brighter and brighter, gaining an eye-blinding bright tint...

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Reimu randomly spread ofuda into their trajectory, and one dimmed-

She disappeared-

 _FWHAA~M!_ The spirit she didn't strike exploded outward into a massive, messy solar flare of flame and light energy, aimed at where she was.

 _Thwack!_ Now behind it, she brought her gohei down on its 'head'-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwack!_ Spinning around, she made it convulse with repeated strikes. As it drifted down to escape her, igniting with holy flames from the gohei's brushes-

 _Thwa- thwa- thwack!_ Reimu let go of her gohei, and let it travel to the spirit and whirl inside of it-

 _Fwap!_ She sent a single, glowing white talisman down onto the back of it. With that, it sadly sunk down towards the water, the holy fire growing brighter and brighter...

 _Woosh!_ Reimu flipped forward awkwardly, to maneuver out of the way of a series of nearly invisible hair pin needles tossed by Seiga...

' _This is getting annoying already…'_ Frowning, Reimu looked ahead at her…

 _Fwoa~sh~! Fwoa~sh!_ Below her, the two spirits she sealed re-initialized over the water after they'd touched it, the halos over their 'heads' now gone.

' _Actually, I've got an idea…'_ Reimu began to float towards Seiga-

 _FWHAA~M- BAM BOOM BAM BAM BOOM!_ Massive, solar blasts erupted from where Kiyoko was, the spirits exploding like miniature suns. ' _So bright…!'_

 _SPLA~SH!_ Kiyoko was running under Reimu, who moved for Seiga-

 _THWASH! THWA~SH! THWASH…_ As Kiyoko powered through the murky water, huge lightning bolts struck down in her path, Tojiko's form aglow with neon yellow energy as she followed after her…

As the spirits neared Reimu and dangerously wound up, and Seiga prepared to rush her-

" _Dream Sign!"_ Twirling her gohei around, Reimu drew her ofuda. " _Evil Sealing Circle!"_

Seiga immediately went the opposite direction, eyebrows raised.

 _Fwifwifwi~sh…!_ The spirits began to charge, glowing higher and brighter, becoming almost sun-like in their presence-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Countless talismans whiled from Reimu's clothes and sleeves, whirling out to form a massive circle around herself-

 _FWA~SH!_ The circle lit up with an intricate, magical pattern of lines drawn by hundreds of whirling ofuda. The wasted talismans at the edges of the pattern simply flared out like rain, showering the entire lakeside with paper and holy magic. In the end, the wide encapsulation formed a holy shaft of white which stretched some ways up…

It was over just as quickly, the all-encompassing light covering everything before fading out.

The sun spirits were now gone, the spell having exterminated them. "Alright…!" Reimu looked around for her main target…

 _Bloop._ Seiga popped out of the dirty water below, unscathed by it. "Spell cards already, hmm? I suppose I can't blame you."

Bloated, talisman-covered undead bodies littered the water, mingling in with the lily pads and flowers.

"Fwa~h…" Tojiko had chugged a panacea in the background, to undo her sealing-

" _Ough!"_ Kiyoko's katana simply whirled up to her on its own and flew through her, making her recoil in pain...

' _I wanna know what's fair about ghosts being able to use items. 'Cause it's not…'_

"Before we go any further, I don't think we'll get a moment to discuss this again…" Leaning back in the air, Seiga smiled down at Reimu. "How did you enjoy my _Marksmen?"_

"...Hmm?" Reimu didn't instantly pick up on what she meant, her brows furrowed. "...Do you mean the… _gun things?"_

"Well, yes." Seiga let her eyes droop a little at the question…

"I think you've spent a little too much time in your own head…" Frowning, Reimu began to address the problem she saw. "I've got a lot of questions."

"I _doubt_ you've been getting any answers…" Giving her another wry smile, Seiga allowed her head to tilt as she considered to to proceed. "And, that's not going to change."

"What's-... even the point of saying anything to me, then?" Unfurling a handful of ofuda, Reimu glared forward at her. "Let's get this over with."

"Well, it's not like either of you will _need_ anything to think on, when we're through here…"

Looking comfortable from her reclined spot in the air, she waved her hair stick 'claws' forward playfully. "Come and _get me,_ Hakurei."

 _THWA- THWA- THWASH!_ In the background, near the lakebed and closer to the Mausoleum tower, Tojiko was alight with yellowish, crackling energy, her spirit regenerating as she'd slapped her hands together and summoned thunder-

 _FWAM!_ As she skidded through the muddy red to avoid the bulk of the bolt volts, a beam of white traveled from Kiyoko's arm socket-

" _Oou~ -uu…!"_ Shutting her eyes, Tojiko ended up lurching back as if the holy magic were a gut punch as it struck her…

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Her defensive charges in her clothing pulsed through her form once again; and unlike before, this was very very evident. The rush of the charge made sparks from her, and her form had flashed white for a moment. 

' _Again, let's just try and mid-range her.'_ Ignoring the other skirmish going on around her, Reimu focused her gaze on Seiga…

Seiga was waiting for her patiently. ' _...What's she got prepared?'_

 _Ti- ti- ti- ti- ti- tick._ As she approached, Reimu shot an ofuda stream at her from one hand.

Seiga zipped out of the way instantly and coasted. As the stream was readjusted, she continued to float around it, as if she were centered to it…

" _Hermit Arts…"_ Licking her lips, Seiga darted higher, farther from Reimu's stream so that she'd stop shooting. "Wall-Phasing Wormhole."

 _Shoo- shoo- shoo~f!_ More pillars began expanding all across the lake, these one stretching up to thrice as high as the ones below, to compensate for how high the girls were flying…

Reimu furrowed her brows at the hexagons as they passed her, the water having long shimmered off of them by the time they'd passed her elevation. ' _This card's… new.'_

Seiga took towards one of the pillars directly behind herself, giving Reimu a wave. "Bye~."

"Wha- _hey!"_ Gohei brandished, Reimu flew in her direction-

 _fwish._ Seiga entered the stone pillar.

 _FWAA~SH!_ Jolting, Reimu whiled back around. An explosion of red, polygonal bullets shattered from the pillar behind herself, Seiga blooming out-

' _Uh- ah!'_ Through the danmaku lightshow, however, came more non-luminescent projectiles in the form of the vile-tipped hair pins, courtesy of Seiga. After evading them, Reimu scowled. ' _That's-... really dumb. She actually almost-'_

 _Woosh!_ Flaring through the dense but otherwise useless polygons, Seiga had six more pins ready, whirling towards Reimu's form. ' _About time!'_

Moving to meet her- " _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Reimu threw an arm out-

 _Ting- ti~ng!_ It pulsed twice, hair pins striking it and bouncing off.

Dashing through the barrier as it dissipated, Reimu swung for Seiga, with a wide, flaming swipe of her holy gohei-

"Whoo~psie…" Flipping upside down in the air, Seiga used both hands to roll up and over the opposite shoulder of Reimu's swing…

"Ah…" Reimu watched her do a flip over her form. Seiga's neutral, calm blue eyes peered into hers up close...

 _Fwish._ Somersaulting upright on the opposite side of her, Seiga let six more pins expand from her sleeves and between her fingers. "Fufufu~."

...Reimu poked her gohei into the air. "Cleanse…"

 _boo~m._ A series of micro-explosions took place on her shoulder's skin that Seiga was in contact with…

 _Shoo~f._ One pillar was rising beneath them…

To deny Seiga access to it, Reimu dove down to land on it herself, gazing up at her opponent-

 _Swi- swish!_ Seiga flew down to her right, before jerking and rounding her left entirely.

Throwing her body around, Reimu focused on her-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sealing ofuda flew into the air, as Seiga diverted again.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ ...The cycle of Reimu flailing and throwing things at the strafing evading girl went on for awhile.

Reimu eventually stopped, while Seiga just kept evading back and forth randomly. "Um…"

' _...Is she just doing that on reflex, or-'_

 _Cli- cli- shink!_ Slipping out of her funny, predictable mid-air dance, Seiga tossed three pins at her, and one connected with her hand. ' _Ah- no!'_

"Fufuha…!" Allowing herself a brief laugh, Seiga blinked down at her. "How _careless!"_

 _Cli- click!_ Tossing the pin from herself, Reimu moved her gohei to cast a status-cleansing spell again. "Cle-... clea- cleanse!"

 _Fwi- fwoo- fwoosh._ As the magic worked, she stumbled for a moment. ' _That made it hard to talk… and move. She was trying to paralyze me.'_

Indifferently, Seiga-

 _Woosh!_ -snapped towards her again.

' _She wants me to leave this pillar in the end I'm sure, so-'_

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ She threw her arm out again-

 _Cling- CLING!_ Seiga struck the barrier with two jabs of her pin claws. "Ah-"

 _Whack- whack!_ Reimu spared her two blunt whacks to either cheek, advancing only slightly. " _Gotcha!"_

 _Fwoom…!_ The blows made her ignite with white, burning fire, but she seemed fairly indifferent. "...Clever enough. I'd expected you to teleport out." Seiga admitted her thinking as the flames began to dim naturally. "Astounding discovery. Flawless foresight."

' _Nice sarcasm.'_ Reimu immediately committed hypocrisy.

Dipping down below the pillar, Seiga moved towards it. ' _...Shouldn't have pronounced this by taunting me. She's gonna try and surprise me from below.'_

Ascending, Reimu made a yin-yang, and expanded it above the pillar…

 _fwish. FWAA~M…!_ As she'd expected, Seiga exploded from the top of the pillar, an almighty blue gush of danmaku flaring out with her-

 _FWISH!_ Dropping her yin-yang like an anvil, Reimu followed it down to avoid the rising, blinding bullets-

 _CLACK!_

"Nn- nn…"Seiga barely kept the orb from plowing into her arms, her needles poking vainly between her fingers as she held both up stock-straight. The yin-yang orb drilled into the tips of the needles, sparks scraping off of the friction between the two…

Letting herself drop from the side, Reimu ended up behind Seiga-

 _fwish._ Seiga'd begun to retreat into the floor again-

 _Woosh!_ Missing her swing on the back of her head, Reimu watched her leave almost vainly herself-

 _Whack!_ -before instinctually dropping onto her legs and kicking Seiga in the back of the head as she lowered. " _Ungk-"_

 _whish._ With that, Seiga was finally gone-

Reimu minimized the yin-yang before it could crush her own leg. ' _Woah- woah-... yeah. Don't need to repeat that…'_ She mentally recoiled at a childhood memory…

" _He- he~lp!"_

Tojiko was having the time of her life, hiding behind a ruined pile of crumpled pillars-

 _KABOO~M!_ Kiyoko shot into it with a laser of pure white, stone spiraling away from her shot which came from her arm socket.

" _Seiga- help me!_ Damn it!" Thankfully for her, the pile was still half-there. "She's _way harder_ than Reimu~!"

Seiga was then next to her, having ascended from the water below her. "Come o~n. You said stun procs _work._ It's very easily doable."

"Wha- it's like, _almost no chance_ for _half a second._ " Tojiko glowered at her friend… "She takes _nearly no damage_ from electric shit, and- my regeneration only helps so much if she doesn't _instantly exterminate me!"_

"...Use the wate~r." Shaking her head, Seiga began to sink again. "You're smarter than thi~s. At least _stall..._ "

"Ugh- _fine_ , fuck you…" Tojiko vainly watched her leave her alone…

' _Watch her try again-'_

Reimu flew up to avoid a possible ambush from the pillar she stood upon-

 _FWAA~M!_ She was right, too. Danmaku flared up from below-

 _FWAA~M!_ But, it also flared from a nearby pillar, yellow fragments shattering out. ' _What-'_

 _Shink!_ A needle stuck into one of her sleeves from below, three flying up past her side-

She threw herself to the side on impulse. ' _Wha- oh no!'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Three came from the other blast of danmaku. ' _Seiga must be using her home field advantage here. This place is probably loaded with portals and holes she can just use to make her seem like she's Yukari…'_

 _FWAA- FWAA~M!_ Two blasts, of red and green fragmental danmaku, flared from two pillars that were both on opposite sides of Reimu-

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ She threw paper behind herself to offset any oncoming needles, before she vanished entirely.

She'd reappeared where the needles she displaced would have traveled; this is to say, since she stopped the ones coming up behind her, she went forward.

 _Whack!_ Her gohei came down on a pale arm sticking from the tall, grey stone hexagon, making it ignite for a brief moment before it retreated. ' _Gotcha!'_ Like this, she was before all of the danmaku that'd erupted-

 _FWAA~M!_ She was thrown back as Seiga erupted from that same surface again, a new layer of pink fragments blowing her away. " _Aaa~h!"_

' _Fff- ow ow ow- I- I can't believe I-'_

 _Thu- thu- thunk!_ As she flailed, she met three of the six needles that came up after her with her gohei-

 _Shink._ One hit her in the lower ribcage, and she paled. ' _This-'_

" _Clea-..."_ Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to yell the spell again.

' _...This doesn't disable my flying.'_ Her body was now paralyzed, but she could still look and fly.

Seiga flew straight up to her, eager to capitalize. "So sa~d…"

Reimu hung still as she approached, to appear more helpless.

Drawing a jiangshi talisman, Seiga cautiously hung back, aware of the lack of limits on her target's magic herself. "I'll make sure you never hunger again, shrine maiden."

Reimu wanted to furrow her brows. ' _Creepy.'_

...Seiga obviously wasn't going to make the first move like this, since she was just drifting there with her talisman out. ' _She wants me to attack. Since I can't move well like this, she probably thinks- and is right in thinking- that she can get me with that. There's gotta be a way to free myself, for a moment…'_

Her form vanished.

Seiga snapped her gaze up, to grapple her as she descended onto her-

Except, Reimu wasn't there. She checked down, too, but Reimu also wasn't there. "...Pftoo." She was dissatisfied.

 _Splaa~sh!_ Down in the water, Reimu dunked herself.

Her body jolted with the vague feeling of cold, and her mouth hung open under the red grime. ' _Mghu- uuh-"_

 _Splash!_ Ascending out of it again, she coughed involuntarily. " _Hkuh- ugh- hah-_ clea- cleanse…"

 _Fwi- fwi- fwoosh._ The incantation-binded magic onset again, purifying her body of the zombie-borne viruses that'd just flowed into her wounds from the water, and freeing her of the poison from the pins. ' _Alright!'_

 _FWAA~M!_ Seiga popped out of the water beneath her. " _Hello~!"_

" _Augh- nngh!"_ Reimu took a few hits as she sprang back like a cat. " _Nnh…"_

' _Cheap, stupid card…!'_ She grit her teeth. ' _She hasn't even been using the spell card rules for- like, a day at this point! Screw this!'_

"Spi- _Spirit Sign…!"_ Thoroughly disturbed, pissed off and threatened, Reimu activated her ace card. " _Fantasy Seal!"_

Seiga pursed her lips, and dipped back into the water silently.

' _Since she warps around and hangs out in walls…'_ She threw her gaze around to the five big pillars still standing. ' _Seven orbs, five pillars, Mausoleum wall, lake right below me. Once I knock her out of one of these places, I can jump in and get her good. Actually- they home anyway, so I could just-... nah, bad idea.'_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwam!_ Seven orbs of technicolor, rainbow light energy expanded around Reimu from nothing. This orbiting ring of yin-yang danmaku kept to her form as she floated up…

 _Fwoo- fwoo- fwiosh…_ As she moved, they snapped out of their places and loosely hung around her a little longer, growing dangerously, beautifully bright as she neared the midst of the pillars-

 _Woo- woosh!_ One went for the lake portion where Seiga hid and one went for the Mausoleum, moving at bland, static angles. ' _They'll begin homing if she was at one at any one time, then I can toss the rest and try to pin her.'_

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ She'd sent the other three out for random pillars. One began homing up the length of the pillar to her left. ' _There! She's gonna move!'_

 _Woo- woosh!_ After a delay, she sent out her other orbs-

 _FWA- FWA- FWAM- SPLASH- FWAM!_ At this point, the first five exploded, echoes of powerful energy distorting the air where they struck, making it look like the pillars were wiggling.

 _FWA- FWAM!_ The last two orbs struck the last pillars-

" _Owah!?"_ Seiga rolled out of the pillar, the raw energy blast flinging her. ' _Yes!'_

Reimu appeared behind her-

 _CLACK!_ Her gohei thundered down on her side, a blast of holy fire accenting the strike-

 _Woosh…!_ Seiga roared towards the water below, letting herself go limp. " _Au- uunh…"_

 _Spla~sh!_ She let herself physically splash into the water…

' _...I don't think she'll stay down after a hit like that.'_ Reimu was skeptical of the spectacular way she plummeted. ' _Hermits are hardy and tricky.'_

...After looking around-

Seiga was behind her again, emerging from a pillar. Reimu brought up her gohei defensively. ' _No more sneaking. Lemme just hit you…'_

...Seiga plainly dropped her needles, letting them plummet below. "Haa~h. You're being more _annoyingly clever_ than I'd taken you for. Hakurei _intuition_ , hmm?"

"Let's just say… I'm used to youkai with big egos." Reimu glared forward at her, grinning.

 _THWA- THWA- THWASH! THWA- THWA- THWASH!_ Below, Tojiko was giving it her all, whirling around Kiyoko and throwing her arms with flair, triplet salvos of thunder rocketing down into and around her-

 _SWASH!_ " _Hru~h!"_ Kiyoko spun around, her blade swinging around her three times over-

" _Ung- huaa~h…!"_ Tojiko was thrown into the air pitifully by the slash, her bottom half momentarily separated for a moment before she reformed above-

 _Fwoa~sh!_ Her form pulsed and crackled, electricity roaring through her to keep herself together from her enemy's general, imprecise attacks-

 _Patatatatat!_ Kiyoko flung her ofuda into the air after her, and she ended up with a coating again.

Looking like she wanted to cry, she drew her sixth panacea, all but repulsed at the sight of one by this point-

"Yeah, hey…" Seiga put her arms on her shoulders, making her flinch violently. "Ooo!"

" _Fuck it!"_ Tojiko flung away dramatically. "You deal with her- if it's _so easy!"_

...Pouting at her, Seiga let her eyebrows raise. "Aww. I suppose that will benefit the both of us, anyway…"

' _Yeah, run.'_ Reimu wasn't sure how she slipped away, but she did. ' _Tojiko's stupid easy to take down, if she doesn't take you down stupidly easy first. Thunder magic sucks really hard.'_

...True to expectations, Tojiko looked like a time bomb as she whirled up towards Reimu, chugging the panacea she needed. " _Mmrr~m!"_

' _Oh, no. Granny's let her get all her dumb buffs up, too. She better be nearly outta panaceas…'_

 _Fwoa~sh._ As the spirit healed up, she clapped her arms together-

Reimu vanished.

 _KRATHWASH- BOO~M!_ Where she was, the air exploded into a violent flash of yellow and white.

The orange-tinted bottle fell from Tojiko's mouth. "Ok- okay- where'd she-"

 _Bam!_ Appearing behind her, Reimu fell and swung with her gohei at the same time to wrack it across her head.

" _Ngh…"_ Only flinching- even from the holy ignition that beset her afterward- Tojiko instantly whipped around to her-

 _ZAP- ZAP- ZAP!_ Reimu hung back from the resulting mini-thunderstorm that ensued from Tojiko's wrath. ' _This is gonna be a slow burn fight…'_

Meanwhile, Seiga was hovering around Kiyoko… "So~. What _era_ do _you_ hail from…?"

"Your necromantic craft ends today." Kiyoko readied her blade, bringing it up… "The lives you've toiled with, I will avenge today."

"Playing it straight, I see." Seiga didn't miss any beats. She reached behind herself-

 _Shi~ng._ She drew a stocky but broad Chinese-styled blade, the actual blade rather thin. Since it was the size of a one-handed blade, she also had a flintlock in her offhand. "Goodbye." She aimed the pistol at Kiyoko-

 _POW- Ti~ng!_ A barrier surface flared before Kiyoko's face plainly, to deflect the shot, and she frowned.

Seiga wasn't surprised in any way, and her warm smile didn't betray any second thoughts.

Kiyoko raised her blade with her only arm-

" _Spirit Link…"_ Seiga uttered her desired spell card. "Tongling Yoshika."

 _Spla~sh…_ From the dull water before her, Yoshika crawled back out, her body restored and ready for another round. " _Uu- uunh…"_

 _SHI~NG!_

...With one, downward slash that'd extended across the length of the pond, a blade's glimmer flashed across the water.

 _Shu~nk!_ Yoshika slowly tilted backwards. " _Uu- u- u…"_

As she came undone, splitting into two entire parts-

Seiga neared her, smiling smugly. " _Rebind."_

 _Sna- snap- snap…!_ Glowing, azure bands began to stretch across Yoshika's innards, and healing magic seemed to bring her body back together again; including her jiangshi talisman which had been sliced.

 _Fwo- Bwpop!_ Once she'd recombined, bullets bloomed from her, in strokes of black and pitch-cyan. The black orbs had white cores, spreading out, while the cyan lasers traveled out in waves, like an aura.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Distancing herself from her pet, Seiga sent out a barrage of blue-hilted knife bullets, the wide spread fanning out before Kiyoko…

 _POW!_ Also, between her danmaku, she shot real bullets.

 _TI~NG!_ Kiyoko was still accounting for the possibility, keeping a barrier near her one obviously exposed sensitive region, which was her chin and mouth. As such, this bullet was also lost.

" _Aaa~h!"_ Tojiko yelled out nearby, covered in talismans...

"Quit- stop kicking your legs…!" Reimu had the girl hoisted over her shoulder. Her clothes were now poofy and fluffy, weirdly afloat, and her hair was margins more frizzed out.

The danmaku coming didn't stop Kiyoko, who kept plowing through it as it pittered into her armor.

' _If she didn't have that armor on, she'd have a really different opinion…'_ Reimu considered danmaku-blocking armor to be cheating. ' _How many wards and enchantments does that thing have?'_

 _BwPop!_ Slowly, gingerly coasting forward, Yoshika closed in on Kiyoko, the same danmaku from her revival blooming off of her. " _Nnn- nnh…"_

 _CLA~NG!_

Kiyoko used her blade to block Seiga's, the latter having slipped into and out from the water to close the distance instantly.

 _Clack- click- POW- clang!_ As Kiyoko plainly parried each oncoming swipe, Seiga seemed to be scanning her form, delivering mixed bullet shots to her exterior to test her-

 _CLANG- KRACK!_ With one swipe, Kiyoko snapped off the top of Seiga's blade.

" _Hah!"_ With a yell, Seiga flung herself up to her armored foe-

 _CLANK- CLANK!_ She'd poked her half-of-a sword across the armor in places that seemed like they'd be exposed, searching for a vulnerability-

 _Clank._ Kiyoko latched onto the broken blade with her gauntlet-

 _BwoPop!_ Yoshika closed distance on her, having strafed around Kiyoko. She went for her sole arm to try and restrain it-

 _Fwish!_ Seiga let go of the blade-

 _WHAM!_ Kiyoko had tugged it back at that exact moment, sending Yoshika twirling away with a blow to the face.

 _Click._ Seiga had her flintlock pistol right up to Kiyoko's cheek. "And…?"

 _POW!_

Seiga traced the line of black, where Kiyoko had slid out of the way to avoid the shot before it fired-

 _POW! POW!_ Two shots clattered against armor, Kiyoko whirling up in a tackle towards Seiga-

Slipping out a jiangshi talisman in her free, ex-blade wielding hand, Seiga thrust it forward.

 _Slap!_ She passed through Kiyoko's form partially, precisely slapping the paper onto the front of the armor's visor.

"Oo- ow, ooh…" Once she was through, Seiga brushed herself where she'd clipped Kiyoko, for only a moment. "That's some _aura_ …"

...Twirling back around to her, she beamed. "But, it wasn't really a _wildfire_ , not quite. Your soul burns brightly, maiden… if you can be called that. However, humans by nature cannot resist-"

 _Rip…!_

Seiga refocused on her. Turning around, Kiyoko had cast the talisman off.

"...Oh!" Simply raising her brows, Seiga nodded. "Well. Now I feel _silly._ Using the wrong talisman, and-"

"It was the correct talisman." Kiyoko affirmed for her. "Yet, it was rather arrogant of you to-"

 _Fwam!_ A beam of white stretched from Kiyoko's arm socket, blowing Yoshika away again as she stalked up. "-to assume the light of a Hakurei maiden was so dim. You cannot possess me."

Quite simply, Seiga furrowed her brows. "Hmm?"

Dropping her katana, Kiyoko brought an open hand forward…

She closed it and tugged back-

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ From where Seiga passed through her, ethereal, shimmering chains of white, blue and yellow light formed, binding the hermit girl's limbs. "... _Oh!"_ Eyes wider than usual, Seiga's gaze traveled to her limbs-

 _Claclaclaclack!_ Tugging on the chains, Kiyoko pulled her-

"More adept with- spiritual nuance than I thought…!" Looking for a way out, Seiga let her gaze travel to the water-

 _CLINK!_ Once Seiga was whipped past her once, she tugged the chain violently to begin flailing her around overhead.

 _Clack!_ Letting her grip shift looser on the chain, she took sight of the Mausoleum wall ahead.

 _Woosh!_ She let go once she was confident the momentum would send Seiga spiralling into it.

To take minimal damage, Seiga curled herself up.

 _BOOM!_ Her body splayed out the moment she struck the broad, wooden wall. " _Anh…!"_ Holy energy flared across her body to keep it solid, preventing her from avoiding physical contact.

 _Thud._ Even so, she didn't hit the ground as hard as Kiyoko thought, or would have liked.

 _Spla- splash, splash._ Dead set on following up, Kiyoko marched through the cranberry-colored liquid.

Seiga was already up from the ground. Instead of delivering anything witty back at her, she simply turned and moved to run around the side of the Mausoleum-

 _Clack!_ Kiyoko held her gauntlet out, and caught her by the light chains which bound her. "The moment you sacrificed yourself to make an attempt on my mind. It would appear more becoming of you to accept what you traded."

...Reimu hovered down, near them. "Don't go too far, now. I'd like to beat some sense into her, for all of this."

This seemed to have irritated Kiyoko, who glared back at her- even if she couldn't see it. "She deserves death. Her malice, while… innately juvenile and curious, is a destructive plague."

' _...I'm gonna go more with 'stop all the things you're doing or I'll seal you for good' and see how that works out.'_ Reimu decided upon. ' _That, and she kinda isn't the only person trying to homicide me today. Tojiko-what's-her-face there was trying to fry me, too. Pretty sure most of the responsibility's on Miko for being a dunce then, and there's no way she's not getting out of this without buying me like, a whole new shrine.'_

...Reimu had decided. ' _The zombie thing is still screwed up though, so I'm gonna stop that.'_

"You can't _kill_ me…" Gleaming at the two gleefully, Seiga gave them reasons to worry. "I am an ally of Shoutoku."

"...You know that's not _entirely_ true."

 _Woosh._ From above, the woman of the hour descended. Miko had her arms folded, surveying the two Hakurei before her with a flat but perceptive stare. "I'm… both surprised, and not surprised that these two have already made it this far. My only question might be 'why us first'..."

"Actually, mom's busy destroying the temple outside." Reimu clarified plainly. She drifted closer… "We came to destroy you. _Figuratively._ Unless you've really lost it or something." She glared down Kiyoko to accent this point…

"So, hey…" Seiga grinned over at Miko. "...I'm not the kind to admit when I'm in a jam, bu~t…"

Shifting her posture, Miko sized up the chains constricted around her arms, legs and parts of her chest. "Seiga. You have destroyed the courtyard of my crypt, and soured relations with a potential ally. As far as I know, I owe you nothing."

Seiga snorted, letting her eyes flick up for a moment. "Come no~w. You know the masonry's chea~p."

"...Yet, the _stench_ will probably remain for months." Frowning a little, Miko scanned the bloody, brown water. "You had better know sanitation magic as well as you know necromancy."

"You'd be _surprised."_ Smiling warmly, Seiga nodded at her. "I'll have you know, sanitation is a sometimes necessary step of the procedure…"

"I'm sure." Expression still stern, Miko looked over at Kiyoko. "...Release her so that she may get to work."

...It took Kiyoko a moment, but she chose to let go, for now.

 _Cli- clink._ The chains vanished instantly.

Feeling herself over again, Seiga smiled widely. "Thank yo~u. Now-"

"I _am_ curious, however…" Miko wasn't going to let her leave with just that. "What _were_ your plans? Assuming you managed to turn both of the Hakurei here today."

...Seiga simply stared back at her vainly. "You're joking, right?"

"Yeah- about _all of that…"_ Reimu drifted towards her again. "I'm _seriously considering_ sealing you in a jar and selling you, or something. And-..." Flicking her gaze to Miko, she questioned her too. "Did you know about all of this…!? The _gun zombies_ \- how _many there were_ , and-"

"I can assure you…" Miko closed her eyes. "This is a first for me, too."

Seiga snorted again. "Ah, yes. My deepest sorrow for betraying your trust."

...Miko simply glared over at her.

' _Yeah, not buying it.'_ Reimu was on the fence for only a moment. ' _Miko knew, but she's not gonna say. Whatever, I'm gettin' a new shrine anyway. With a big moat, so people stop annoying me. Actually, those stone platforms would be awesome to greet actual patrons with...'_

... _Thud._ Reimu tossed Tojiko from the air beside herself, letting her roll across the stone beneath the Mausoleum's great tower. "Also, she tried to zap me. I'd like a bag of money as compensation for that."

' _Next time these guys get uppity, I'm grabbing some friends so we can come beat the yen out of everyone easier. ...Then again, I'd have to share it...'_

"Her situation was… more excusable. She was following outdated instructions." Miko basically waved off her situation. "If you would both follow me, I would like to discuss what we know. As well as the terms of our prospective partnership."

"...I see no reason to listen to you." Kiyoko denied her request.

"We share a collected resistance to youkai." Miko made sure to say something she thought Kiyoko wanted to hear. "I can feel it, deep within you. ...In fact, the _sheer depth_ of your anger… that aside- you share the ideal of protecting humanity from youkai. I can respect that, as it is my goal as well."

"Your aid is unworthy, and the offer an insult." Kiyoko was quick to rebuke. "I fail to see what help a bureaucrat could offer me."

"...Then, perhaps…" Miko smiled up at her. "I'll speak a language you're more in tune with. We could sing the song of the sword."

...This piqued Kiyoko's interest.

Miko could sense it, grinning back at her.

' _If they duel, I can just hang back and pillage their snack pantry here…'_ Reimu instantly devised a plan to relax, her body aching and heavy from all of this late night horror and fighting. ' _What they've done to me so far was outlandish enough that it'd be dumb if they told me to stop. Hehehe…'_

Her stomach growled. ' _So tired…'_ Once again, she was reminded of her youth. ' _This night's sucked. I wish_ anyone else _was here right now…'_

"Crown prince!" Futo descended from above.

' _I hate myself.'_ Reimu took back her wish. ' _On second thought, I wanna beat her up now too.'_

Miko snapped her gaze to Futo, as the energetic girl joined her. "Futo- treat Reimu to some tea and snacks."

...Futo hung back on her heels, prolonging her skidding stop next to her. "O- oh?"

"...Let's go." With a simple gesture, Miko began to rise, moving towards the upper floors of the great tower.

To follow her, Kiyoko braced herself a little-

 _Cla- clank…!_ Her one, iron wing unfurled from the back of her armor rigidly as she leapt upwards.

…

 _Thu- thu- thunk._ Seiga placed a blue plastic bucket on the stone platform outside the tower. Reimu watched her pull out a little mop… "Al~right…"

"Hey." Reimu stepped up to her. "I mean it. Stop messing with bodies so much, or you're gonna regret it."

"Yes sir, Hakurei sir." Seiga gave her an eccentric salute, closing her eyes lazily as if she were pretending to be Byakuren. "I will immediately drop all my projects, convert to Shintoism, become proficient in healing and holy magic _and_ donate to your shrine the thirty-second of every month."

"I either seal your magic, or _seal you_." Reimu pressed, not pleased with the immense sarcasm. "Or, you _stop doing it._ It's not right- _especially_ when you make deadly weapons out of them. You really screw up the… soul process thing, when you do that, you know."

' _Alright, I'm not a Yama or the shinigami, but there's just… something really wrong about bringing the dead back just to use them as expendables or weapons. It's also just really freaking gross.'_

Seiga stared into her eyes. "You won't find me doing it again. I can promise you that, Hakurei."

' _Nice wording.'_ Reimu caught how she phrased it instantly. ' _...Whatever. At the rate this is going, I'll just suck all of Miko's money out of her. Maybe she'll tighten her leash then. And- again, next time, bringing at least two other people with me who aren't granny. Granny could've just instantly nuked everyone and this would've been done, but instead she chose to take a blood bath for like, an hour. Stupid, culture-shocked, harda-'_

"Um, miss Reimu…" Futo tugged on Reimu's sleeve as she seethed. "There are cookies awaiting you in the lounging area, if you would…"

...A stupid grin immediately crept up Reimu's face.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

AN:

shou and nazrin fight for sendai

real seiga and real tojiko fight for reimu

i have no idea if the seiga/tojiko fight went on for too long because my end-semester scheduling was whack as fuck so the writing sessions were mega segmented

at the same time it's sorta random if sendai fights go on too long in general but - w -

not sure what's actually the worst part of this series though since there were a lot of good exchanges, it's just a _big thing to take in yo_

and i don't have the luxury of immediately grasping the true form of my writing schedule's attacks so WE'LL SEE IN REVISIONS

but otherwise reimu vs. seiga was pretty fun, and reimu vs THE MARKSMEN ZOMBIES was also pretty fun

that and i really liked setting up the whole battle arena, that was pretty great; as well as all the gorey zombie explosion depictions

not sure how to feel about the seiga/reimu part being almost if not longer than the actual sendai fight XD

even so i feel it was pretty consistent

the SHOU AN' NAZRIN FIGHT was also pretty fun because it was just complete chaos and the party dynamic's really starting to shine between the complexity and sheer variation in things happening

it's like most other fights up until shou and sendai're done dueling eachother and then everything explodes

also some mooks leading up to the battle but they got brushed aside rather easily at this point - w -

...thinking on it, i do _really_ wanna write a story with a coherent established plot at some point based off of a pre-established touhou

sendai's still got a lot of good moments between cool and sometimes droning fights - w -

but anyway the next fight's… the _GOOD FIGHTS_ dude; the BIG BAD BOSSES are up again dude

we're also making good progress through all of the like sane touhou incident pools so eventually we're gonna get to a point where it goes full plot and ultra crazy bullshit

now that i think about it the plot-only / minimized GRATUITOUS FIGHTING cut of sendai should be a like, quick and easy thing to do after this fic is done since _let's be real any fights that aren't super essential can be totally highlighted, cutted, and written over with like a few paragraphs of dialogue and prose_

but i do think this fic still showcases like, every touhou's actionable traits in literary form well enough and shows the results, benefits and NON-BENEFITS of using them, depending

edit: uh so yeah about plot-focused sendai

that exists now

it actually makes it hard for me to proofread this because so little aside from fun action sequences happens here

plot really does serve as a greater hook dunnit (also action scene SIZE…)

NOT SURE HOW I'LL GO FORWARD FROM HERE IN THIS TO BE HONEST

i mean i have a direction still yeah but format-wise, hmhm. maybe we'll see some kind of change, maybe not, maybe i'll switch priorities for now, MAYBE NOT

I'LL THINK ABOUT IT WHEN THIS BATCH BOMB DROPS

anyway yo that's all fer this chapter

as always, see you all next time!


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